CINEMA
4
By SHEESH MCLEESH
At the time of writing this review, DON’T BE DUMB is coming up on a week since it’s release in 2 days! I can’t stop re-listening to this album from start to finish, it’s so good! The album rollout has made the listening experience even better! Winona Ryder and Danny Elfman in the Punk Rocky video. Danny Elfman orchestrating and doing his thing throughout the album and during the Amazon/SNL performance(s). Tim Burton obviously being the curator of the cover art, as well as his work on the “WHISKEY/BLACK DEMARCO” video. DON’T BE DUMB IS LITERALLY A (TIM BURTON) MOVIE! But seriously, right away “ORDER OF PROTECTION” gives a very atmospheric, dark vibe and Rocky flows so well over it! I love this track! “HELICOPTER” comes in HARD directly after the harmonic outro of the first, and the song just HITS DIFFERENT compared to when it was a single!! Especially because Mike Dean added some heavy synths at the end on the album version! The transition from the first track vibe into the 2nd track is so good! “STOLE YA FLOW” has Rocky dissing his OPPS, great track! Catchy! “PLAYA” has amazing funky bass from Thundercat and I love the ad-libbing throughout the track. The whole songs vibe easily makes it one of my favorites on the album! “STFU” has easily been the most controversial track on this album, as it gives heavy Death Grips vibes. Not everyone’s gonna like this one. It’s a loud, fun track, that I personally love! “NOW I FEEL THE RUSH (NO TIMEEEE)” stays repeating in my head! “STFU” leads into “PUNK ROCKY” and it’s a great track. I love the rock influence Rocky has throughout this album. It’s the new “Sundress”! “AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO) is a great track as well, with the way it switches up and the way Rocky raps on it! “WHISKEY (RELASE ME)” is amazing! Damon Albarn (GORILLAZ) ad-libbing throughout the track sounds so good (there’s also some Westside Gunn ad-libs at the end that adds to the vibe. (Initially I wanted a verse from him, but I see the vision now!) I’m not even a fan of Doechii, yet “ROBBERY” had me feeling some type of way! The title track “DON’T BE DUMB/TRIP BABY” WOW! This is THE song for me off of this project! (The Nintendo bar is my favorite on the album!) The outro to the album, “THE END” just brings the album full circle with the way it all started out. I love will.i.am and his contribution to the track. Jessica Pratt, as well! The eerie “THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS” feels so Tim Burton-ESQUE! Even if I didn’t mention a song in this review, I love them all! Each track brings a different vibe and there’s not a single bad track (IN MY OPINION) Simply put, this album is a must listen experience if you’re a fan of Rap and CINEMA! Don’t be dumb and treat yourself to a full listen of this album! P.S: GRIM FREESTYLE should of been on this album! I was expecting it to be, considering the fact that the instrumental of the song is playing on the AWGE website where you go to buy merch! But hopefully there’s a deluxe! (AS IM TYPING THIS, a new version of the album has been released with a new track “FLACKITO JOYDE”. It’s a song, for sure HAHAHH It’s Rocky’s take on a Spanish track that’s kinda catchy throughout the chorus, that’s all I’ll say. Hopefully this isn’t a “deluxe”)
