& IT AINT JUST RAP, I SPEAK LIKE THIS..

STILL THE MOST RELIABLE. STILL THE MOST WAITED ON. STILL THE MOST LOOKED-OVER. STILL THE MOST HATED ON. STILL LOVE HIP HOP. STILL PLAY THAT OL' NAS. STILL PLAY THAT SAME JAY. STILL MY OWN BOSS TOO. STILL GOT THE SAME WISH. STILL THINK ABOUT ALEX. STILL NOT A MILLIONAIRE. STILL NEVER SAVED ENOUGH. STILL NEVER GAVE A FUCK.

MIXTAPE MONDAY

DOM KENNEDY - FROM THE WESTSIDE WITH LOVE

i'm going to start off by saying, this is one of the best mixtapes i've heard all year.. with that being said, let's get into it.

i downloaded it a few months ago, but haven't really listened to it.. on saturday night while i was doing my dishes (good girl botch!!), i had my music on random, when "on and off switch" by dom kennedy came on.. i was like "fuuuckkk this song is soo ill.. don't i have a mixtape by him somewhere?!".. so after the dishes were done, i dug through my files to find this gem.. and i have listened to it at least twice a day since.

the first track starts off with a beatbox and some what of an eery production, but with a dope flow to follow.. then i heard, "on the beat like this, i never thought i could sound street like this / make top plays of the week like this / and it ain't just rap i speak like this.." WHHHHHHHHHAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT!! fuck yes bitches. fuck. yes. his voice is totally similar to luda, which is weird cuz he comes from cali.. and honest truth, he's one of the first cali rappers i've actually enjoyed in a LOOONGGGG time.. i'm more of an nyc rap person.. i dig that dirty grimey unh bitch unhhh type shit. however, with a swag like this, dom is dirty!!
still me follows and goes well. it's what every rapper thinks, summed up into a song, except it's said well. "dom grown up, better than we expected".. i like songs where rappers say "yo this is where i wanna be.. this is what i was, this is what i am.. and yo, i'm fucking awesome".. confidence is fucking key if you want to be a rapper.. and that is fucking manditory. MANDITORY.
1997 is a cali beat by faaaaaaar. that blaze with your top down type production. you can fucking feel it..!
love is the future is another favorite. it's fucking comical. "all we know is good weed, fine girls, palm trees, you know i'm that nigga girl, fuck haven't you called me?!.. i be on that now stuff, i know you see me round, you like the way i style huh?!" UUNNHHH.. that whole tip where it's like fuck you didn't want me, want me now, but i'm having fun swag issss tooooo dooope.
i liked this tape a lot, but don't want to speak too much on it. i feel like you need to listen to it.. because it will by far feed your ears in a fun way. lyrically, it's simple. his flows are simple, and his cadence is simple.. like he's talking to you.. like it's a simple fucking conversation.. and that sounds petty, but for some reason that fucking works. everything just fits together and it's worth the download. i think the only thing that hurt him, was that he got a little repetitive. i think i'm also a little biased because he payed homage to A LOT (nas, biggie, jay-z, atcq, etc.) of greatness. he's no nas, but i'm not afraid to put him on the same shelf.

you can get it at datpiff.com, enjoy!

3.5/5