Albums Black Thought and Danger Mouse - Cheat Codes (Discussion thread)
- Thread starter Dylmatic
- Start date
VladTheImpaler
The Sensational Prince
Heard this on my ride back from Philly yesterday.... really a nice project! Lyrics and beats are excellent!!
areohbee824
Superstar
Special album, serious contender for my AOTY
Song ratings : Aquamarine 10/10, The Darkest Part 10/10. Belize 10/10, Because 9/10, Violas and Lupitas 9/10, Sometimes 9/10, Strangers 8.5/10, No Gold Teeth 8.5/10, Saltwater 8.5/10, Cheat Codes 8/10, Close To Famous 8/10, Identical Deaths 7/10.
This album evoked many visuals and emotions for me personally, the album is packed full of substance and clever lyricism, even if their not always super relatable, Black Thought is rapping ferociously on some of these tracks and showing a real hunger and self-assurance about who he is and his inner thoughts, Outside of this album, you have 10 plus albums from The Roots, where you would have to really look into it, to find a bad verse from this man, he always had that reputation for getting on an MC's song/album and stealing the show or showing the art of freestyle and being able to execute it Live on Air, on many different platforms over the years but the one thing missing was the solo projects, until 2018 when he dropped 2 great EP's "Streams Of Thought Volume 1 & 2" , volume 2 was very impressive with it's live instrumentation mixed with traditional production by Salaam Remi and that raw/direct rapping from Black Thought, 2 years later we would get "Streams of Thought, Vol. 3:" which for me was solid in many parts of it but a little overly experimental and had a few hooks on the album where i felt were misplaced, outside of fantastic tracks like "Magnificent" "State Prisoner" "Thought vs Everybody" & "Fuel" , you get awkward tracks such as"Nature of the Beast" , fast forward to 2022 and we got "Cheat Codes" the longest in run time for Black Thought solo wise, no real filler, no awkward missteps, everything has it's place on the album, from the features, to the rapping, to the beats, to the versatile tone on each song, you get gritty tracks, Smooth & rough productions, conscious and reflective moments, uptempo and energetic tracks, beautiful and elegant hooks, in "Cheat Codes" I can't really ask for more, one thing I also like about Danger Mouse as a person outside of his interesting production style is, he is kind of like Madlib where he doesn't really care about the accolades or being the center of attention, he just makes the music and keeps that mystique and low key side to himself, lets the music speak for itself, I respect it and I respect this great album they have left for People to hear, it feels like one for the culture and just done out of pure passion, the album has a lot of skill on display and I sense a real potency with Danger Mouse & Black Thought, enough to say a sequel or deluxe version is needed
I was expecting this album to be Experimental and a little out there giving Danger Mouse's knack for doing abstract and complicated but interesting productions but he just kept it skillful, pretty traditional and well suited to Black Thought with the beats, I love the distorted production from Danger Mouse, mixed in with that dusty basement style of production with a Vinyl type sound on the ears, also mixed in with charming and warm soul samples to balance, Black Thought just rapping ferociously and displaying a real spiritual and deep minded style of lyricism, the way the album opens up is perfect, it has a sort of triumphant and turned all the way up Soul sample on the track "Sometimes" , just under 40 minutes of great music, Black Thought recently dismissed a tour for the album in an interview, It just feels like he's also simply leaving it to speak for itself, as great art, I think "Aquamarine" is one of the best songs of 2022 for sure.
Highs explained : The tracks are all placed perfectly for me. some of the hooks on here are incredible, outside of the show stealer Michael Kiwanuka, you also get hooks from Dylan Cartlidge & Kid Sister, which are really nice on the ear, engaging and executed with finesse, all three of those hooks evoke that emotion and self-reflection in me I was speaking on, "Aquamarine" "Sometimes" & "The Darkest Part" the 3 entitled tracks with the guest hooks, "No Gold Teeth" "Saltwater" & "Strangers" all have dark and filthy production with plucky baselines, "No Gold Teeth" is similar in style production wise to "Cheat Codes" with its dark and gritty sound but its smoothed out much more with what sounds like Piano, Saltwater" is a dark and eerie beat, it introduces itself with an almost airy and tense anticipation, before the beat drops into a hellishly bleak and eerie sound, which sounds tailor made for the guest Conway The Machine, "Strangers" is a little less gloomy production wise than the 2 afore mentioned but it has a similar urgency and tense feel with the production, Killer Mike gives this beat the nasty flow to close the song out, the most emotional beats and moments on the album have to go to "Violas and Lupitas" which is the closing song, the beat just hit me right in the feels the way it was done, it comes off cinematic, so for me it was the perfect choice of song to end this album, "Belize" is also one of the more emotional beats and most definitely the most emotional spot on the album, giving you get a guest verse from the late MF DOOM, the beat is dreamy and the verses are trippy but soothing on the soul from Black Thought & DOOM, possibly the more Spiritual and resilient tracks as a listener on the feel they give me personally are "The Darkest Part" on the whole & "Because" for the most part, the guests do their thing for sure but the hook in particular really was top notch.
This album evoked many visuals and emotions for me personally, the album is packed full of substance and clever lyricism, even if their not always super relatable, Black Thought is rapping ferociously on some of these tracks and showing a real hunger and self-assurance about who he is and his inner thoughts, Outside of this album, you have 10 plus albums from The Roots, where you would have to really look into it, to find a bad verse from this man, he always had that reputation for getting on an MC's song/album and stealing the show or showing the art of freestyle and being able to execute it Live on Air, on many different platforms over the years but the one thing missing was the solo projects, until 2018 when he dropped 2 great EP's "Streams Of Thought Volume 1 & 2" , volume 2 was very impressive with it's live instrumentation mixed with traditional production by Salaam Remi and that raw/direct rapping from Black Thought, 2 years later we would get "Streams of Thought, Vol. 3:" which for me was solid in many parts of it but a little overly experimental and had a few hooks on the album where i felt were misplaced, outside of fantastic tracks like "Magnificent" "State Prisoner" "Thought vs Everybody" & "Fuel" , you get awkward tracks such as"Nature of the Beast" , fast forward to 2022 and we got "Cheat Codes" the longest in run time for Black Thought solo wise, no real filler, no awkward missteps, everything has it's place on the album, from the features, to the rapping, to the beats, to the versatile tone on each song, you get gritty tracks, Smooth & rough productions, conscious and reflective moments, uptempo and energetic tracks, beautiful and elegant hooks, in "Cheat Codes" I can't really ask for more, one thing I also like about Danger Mouse as a person outside of his interesting production style is, he is kind of like Madlib where he doesn't really care about the accolades or being the center of attention, he just makes the music and keeps that mystique and low key side to himself, lets the music speak for itself, I respect it and I respect this great album they have left for People to hear, it feels like one for the culture and just done out of pure passion, the album has a lot of skill on display and I sense a real potency with Danger Mouse & Black Thought, enough to say a sequel or deluxe version is needed
I was expecting this album to be Experimental and a little out there giving Danger Mouse's knack for doing abstract and complicated but interesting productions but he just kept it skillful, pretty traditional and well suited to Black Thought with the beats, I love the distorted production from Danger Mouse, mixed in with that dusty basement style of production with a Vinyl type sound on the ears, also mixed in with charming and warm soul samples to balance, Black Thought just rapping ferociously and displaying a real spiritual and deep minded style of lyricism, the way the album opens up is perfect, it has a sort of triumphant and turned all the way up Soul sample on the track "Sometimes" , just under 40 minutes of great music, Black Thought recently dismissed a tour for the album in an interview, It just feels like he's also simply leaving it to speak for itself, as great art, I think "Aquamarine" is one of the best songs of 2022 for sure.
Highs explained : The tracks are all placed perfectly for me. some of the hooks on here are incredible, outside of the show stealer Michael Kiwanuka, you also get hooks from Dylan Cartlidge & Kid Sister, which are really nice on the ear, engaging and executed with finesse, all three of those hooks evoke that emotion and self-reflection in me I was speaking on, "Aquamarine" "Sometimes" & "The Darkest Part" the 3 entitled tracks with the guest hooks, "No Gold Teeth" "Saltwater" & "Strangers" all have dark and filthy production with plucky baselines, "No Gold Teeth" is similar in style production wise to "Cheat Codes" with its dark and gritty sound but its smoothed out much more with what sounds like Piano, Saltwater" is a dark and eerie beat, it introduces itself with an almost airy and tense anticipation, before the beat drops into a hellishly bleak and eerie sound, which sounds tailor made for the guest Conway The Machine, "Strangers" is a little less gloomy production wise than the 2 afore mentioned but it has a similar urgency and tense feel with the production, Killer Mike gives this beat the nasty flow to close the song out, the most emotional beats and moments on the album have to go to "Violas and Lupitas" which is the closing song, the beat just hit me right in the feels the way it was done, it comes off cinematic, so for me it was the perfect choice of song to end this album, "Belize" is also one of the more emotional beats and most definitely the most emotional spot on the album, giving you get a guest verse from the late MF DOOM, the beat is dreamy and the verses are trippy but soothing on the soul from Black Thought & DOOM, possibly the more Spiritual and resilient tracks as a listener on the feel they give me personally are "The Darkest Part" on the whole & "Because" for the most part, the guests do their thing for sure but the hook in particular really was top notch.
so damn good. like a warm home cooked meal
Conway running himself back was cool, dont think id heard that before. my AOTY thus far, got the red wax w/ CD
Conway running himself back was cool, dont think id heard that before. my AOTY thus far, got the red wax w/ CD
viktordoomsecretwars
Superstar
This has to be album of the yeah, right??
viktordoomsecretwars
Superstar
Theres so many to choose from but it’s up there
:
viktordoomsecretwars
Superstar
I was proven effective by clinical tests
For livin' many lives, dyin' identical deaths
I thought, "Why? How could this have ever been if I'm blessed?"
Then I had a talk with God that was interview-esque
He said, "'Riq, as near as the west and far as the east
There's a warrant for your arrest by the karma police"
The dharma was deep, I thought it was too dark to defeat
But made it here to tell the story by the chalk of my teeth
I'm a survivor, a thriver, a husband, and a father
I rise with every morning and star in another saga
Empire, mosque, Fear of God or Balenciaga
Viva to either La Résistance or La Raza
I met the monster on a rooftop of the plaza
The teleprompter said there's still an Oscar to conquer
My witch doctor asked me what's blockin' my chakra
I told him it was probably caffeine, chronic and vodka
I need a word, but a sponsor that won't be heard at a concert
I cried so many crocodile tears, my eyes hurt
As I approached the altar, another convert
If you could read my mind, you heed the signs first
For livin' many lives, dyin' identical deaths
I thought, "Why? How could this have ever been if I'm blessed?"
Then I had a talk with God that was interview-esque
He said, "'Riq, as near as the west and far as the east
There's a warrant for your arrest by the karma police"
The dharma was deep, I thought it was too dark to defeat
But made it here to tell the story by the chalk of my teeth
I'm a survivor, a thriver, a husband, and a father
I rise with every morning and star in another saga
Empire, mosque, Fear of God or Balenciaga
Viva to either La Résistance or La Raza
I met the monster on a rooftop of the plaza
The teleprompter said there's still an Oscar to conquer
My witch doctor asked me what's blockin' my chakra
I told him it was probably caffeine, chronic and vodka
I need a word, but a sponsor that won't be heard at a concert
I cried so many crocodile tears, my eyes hurt
As I approached the altar, another convert
If you could read my mind, you heed the signs first
viktordoomsecretwars
Superstar
Yeah, you so clich', you're the nouveau riche
That come up hard as a youth and knew no peace
You hit that lick and switched to a new motif
In a whip with two low seats and new gold teeth
You say you wanna live fast, gettin' paid in cash
Puffin' the most gas and die in a car crash
You never learned math in school, you cut class
So you can't count what's in the clip, you just blast
I feel your mind spinnin' in place and just bufferin'
And all you tryna see is someplace with less sufferin'
Or make a lot of big blue faces just hustlin'
What could I say that you would embrace? I guess nothin'
This isn't in attempts to reach you and your hitters
The last thing you do is bullshyt a bullshytter
The streets is a bytch, you up in the club with her
You should cеase and desist, but you too in love with hеr, yeah
That come up hard as a youth and knew no peace
You hit that lick and switched to a new motif
In a whip with two low seats and new gold teeth
You say you wanna live fast, gettin' paid in cash
Puffin' the most gas and die in a car crash
You never learned math in school, you cut class
So you can't count what's in the clip, you just blast
I feel your mind spinnin' in place and just bufferin'
And all you tryna see is someplace with less sufferin'
Or make a lot of big blue faces just hustlin'
What could I say that you would embrace? I guess nothin'
This isn't in attempts to reach you and your hitters
The last thing you do is bullshyt a bullshytter
The streets is a bytch, you up in the club with her
You should cеase and desist, but you too in love with hеr, yeah
viktordoomsecretwars
Superstar
I'm supreme, my jean jacket for the shoot was Jean Gaultier
Philly, PA, we been gettin' ours the brodie way
When it come to drama, I'm a young Sidney Poitier
Y'all know not to sleep on me like Don Quixote
Since the glory days like Springsteen, I been clean
Any garment on me, that thing mean
My inseam 32
Get it, the king, they're not worthy to
The legendary crew do more numbers than you heard we do
So tell these chauvinist crabs it's over with
I'm a clover-list, rollin' that gas that's odorless
Got the bad bunnies shakin' they asses low to this
German motorist, cake and that cash could flow to this
Musa Keita toss the carry-on luggage to agree to my black skin
Somewhere between Violas and Lupitas, go ask them
About the gatekeeper, world leader
Kill shyt quicker than Usain could run a hundred meter