I dropped a Gut Reaction review of Channel Orange about a month ago, since then I had a lot of shit going on. I started doing yoga and integrated more vegan recipes into my meals (See what I did there?). My aunt introduced to the different chakras in our body. Sooner or later it clicked to me what Channel Orange was about.
You see, the Sacral chakra (also known as the Orange chakra) is associated with our emotional and sexual needs. It's based on the element of water. When we suffer a loss or feel emotionally isolated our sacral chakra is imbalanced. Thus, leading us to finding addictions to fill this void. So what the fuck does this have to do with Channel Orange?
......Channel Orange
Chaneling Orange Chakra.
Frank Ocean comes off as a peaceful person who's not particularly religious, but more-so in touch with chakra and spirits. He writes with a tone of innocence and introspect in the age of Trey Songz and Chris Brown. Dont get me wrong, I like bitches and drinks. The album's main themes are Pleasure vs. Purpose, Emotional Isolation, and Enlightenment.
Pink Matter and Monks perfectly summarize these concepts. In Pink Matter Frank questions the purpose of the woman's body, seeing as the woman's body is a common symbol for life Frank is questioning the purpose of life. Are we here to seek pleasure through women (or guys if you swing that way, swag) or are we here to create life? He indirectly addresses these questions throughout the album.
In Monks, he addresses our generation ability to treat music as a religious experience.
"mosh pits & bare chest stage diving sky diver spray the crowd with cold water now its mosh pits & wet tits i think i need a cold shower cool waters "
Frank uses his live shows to Channel his fan's orange chakra. Like I said before, the element of our orange chakra is water. He sprays the crowd with cold water, a double-entendre. People use music to escape, to fulfill them temporarily.
Meanwhile in the second verse Frank basically proves my point:
"monks in the mosh pit
stage diving dalai lama feet covered in cut flowers they mosh for enlightenment clean chakra good karma one with the water"
Clean chakra...one with the water. Frank refers to the musician as a Dalai Lama, an enlighten-er to the monks. The monks in the mosh pit are a reference to the music fans who go to the live shows. He feels he's spreading good karma by sharing his energy with his fans.
Meanwhile in songs like Super Rich Kids and Crack Rock Frank speaks on people dealing with emotional isolation, longing for love but instead using money, drugs, and sex as a coping mechanism for their void. It seems as if Frank is using extremes to hold a mirror to our faces as a society. Though we're not crack addicts or Super Rich Kids, most of use the pursuit of sex, money, and drugs to cope with our lack of love. No?
If you pay attention to Frank's lyrics you see a infatuation with water. From songs like "Swim Good", to the bonus track on Channel Orange "Golden Girl". Where Frank falls for a girl on a island. Even songs like "Sweet Life"
"Why see the world? When you got the beach?"
That could be interpreted two ways, either at face value as Frank being sarcastic. Or maybe Frank is saying why be mentally involved with the world when you could be one with the water. Channeling your Orange Chakra....
I feel like this is a perfect coming-of-age album for me. As I'm leaving religion behind and getting in touch with my spirituality this album connects with me as more than just a cd full of singles.
Lemme splash this vaginal juice flavored ciroc on behalf of Chad Butler, may he rest in pimpin.
But look one thing that always bothered me my nigga? Prostitution and strippin in the 2000's. It seems so barbaric....so uncivilized. I don't have a problem with the idea of prostitution and strippin but to be doing it in this generation? Nah listen, get off the corner and get on your new HP Probook.
You over here getting assaulted, drugged, and raped when you could be sipping latte's simply taking your clothes off your niggas in the comfort of your own home.
You can't afford one? What are you doing with your prostitution money yo? Invest in yourself don't depress yourself.
See look, pimping should be dead right nah. But these pimps ain't tryna transition from pimping to Macbook Macking. They don't have the tech savvy for it. Which is sad. So you know what the Swag-Generation gotta do?
We gotta steal these pimps hoes (I use the term loosely, fuck you) my nigga. I'm bout to tweet this local prostitute right now, the fuck you mean? I'm sending friend requests to all the bad chicks that graduated with me that didn't gain weight my nigga (there's not a lot). You see, this Webcam Whoremongering is legal and safe my nigga. It's in these girl's best interest to come and join the team. You're not fucking or touchin any of your clients you're just minding your business changing clothes and the webcam just HAPPENS to be turned on....
And a white dude named Greg just so happens to be masturbating staring at you with his cold....sad eyes. But I digress.
You don't have to worry about getting slut-shamed by insecure niggas who don't like their girls that are Jimi Hendrixed (read: Experienced).
See man, we gotta do this for Pimp C.
I don't understand how a girl can go out in the street, rain, sleet, snow, and fuck and suck whoever then come around and give another nigga her money...
You see, Brando, that's because your game is tight.
Oh I know my game is tight! I'm talking about another nigga!!
But forreal, these girl need to be guided away from these crazy violent ass niggas and fuck with the Swag-Generation. You 80's cats were too strung out on crack to treat your ladies right we gotta pick up the pieces ya dig?
I'm handin out free game to you bloggin ass niggas. Think about it, if you show a girl the dangers of prostitution and stripping she'll have no choice but to see "Yo my nigga you right, I need to invest in my FUTURE (everest collee commercial)".
I was just choppin it up with this stripper chick she telling me her sister got a roll of quarters thrown at her in the strip club. See....that won't happen to you at the Samsung Strip Club.
I'm dead serious too, I'm really tryna hit up these chicks bout this business. I got a vision....young chicks love a nigga with vision and no money cause they don't have bills to pay so they don't give a fuck.
We doin this for Pimp C, y'all. We doin this for Suga Free. We doin this for Iceberg Slim.
But most importantly?
We doin this for the love of the game. Lord bless the game and those who manifest it diligently.
It's not even that his music is bad. I just have a bad feeling when listening to his music. There's just an aura of sadness in it. Or maybe I'm crazy.
Think back to when Graduation came out, Kanye was at his commercial and critical peak. Noone could touch him, not even 50 cent. Not even his flamboyant ass album cover.
I mean seriously, this nigga had a fucking cartoon teddy bear flying in a rainbow twirl shooting out of a fucking fish's mouth. And it was awesome......homosexually awesome.
But anyways, after the loss of his fiance and mother, Kanye's music really took a dive. I WANTED to like his new music. When Love Lockdown premiered at the VMA's I WANTED to like it. But sooner or later it felt empty. To this day I still havn't heard 808's and heartbreaks in entirety. (Paraoid is my shit though)
I hear people discussing My Beautiful Long Ass Album Title and think to myself "Hey, I should listen to this album again!" The same thing always happens..
I stare at the cd case...
Open it up...
Stare at the poster/liner notes
Then put the cd case down and move on to something else.
Don't get me wrong, the album was decent, So Appalled and Monster were great but...
The album has a really depressing tone to it. I can't pinpoint it. Something's wrong with this nigga forreal. I can't listen to his new shit. He's like the childhood friend that went through a tragedy and tries to overcompensate by telling you how many girls he's fucking and how drunk he got the other night.
You don't have to front my nigga, go ahead and grieve just don't repress that shit.I feel that energy.
The shit has gotten so bad I downloaded a version of Mercy without the garbage Kanye verse....
"Now EVERYBODEH....is MOVING....they BODIES"
Nigga what the fuck? I gotta hold in my laughter while grinding on a white chick in the club when that part comes on....
Do you know how self conscious chicks my age are? Why are you doing this to me? Fairy.
But forreal, I listen to Odd Future and Esham and I don't feel uncomfortable, but new Kanye is a whole different person my nigga. It's eerie.
Take a seat, internet, let's have a talk. Why don't you want Nas to be great yo? What did he do?
According to some of yall niggas Nas hasnt made a good album since It Was Written.
Niggas shitted on his Untitled album (which is my favorite Nas album of all time), matter fact, niggas shitted on literally EVERY Nas album when it came out. Good god yo. What is this?
Then this nigga finally comes out with a universally acclaimed album and y'all decide to form a ghostwriting conspiracy, word?
You bloggin ass niggas make me sick yo. I blame KRS-One.
Is it the Lil Wayne Effect? Think about it, noone gave two fucks about Lil Wayne between Tha Block Iz Hot to The Carter 1. Swear.
I mean he was popular but his name never came up when talking about rappers. Then The Carter2 came out and everyone was on his dick. Lil Wayne had the audacity to start this trend of calling him the best rapper alive, then guess what?
Bloggin ass niggas went innnnnn. People search and scavenge for ways to hate Lil Wayne, it's amazing.
Is this why y'all can't leave Nas alone and let him win? Cause people call him the greatest?
Jay-Z been dropping hot garbage for years. I'll be fair, not even garbage, just boring brah.
Quote ONE line from the Vol.3 album.
Yeah, me neither.
Meanwhile I've been tryna situate myself into college while fafsa's acting like hoes.
And I'm kickin it with a ex-crack dealing stripper.........where is my life going.
Aight I've been indifferent to this nigga 2chainz ever
since he gained fame in the south around early 2011. I'm tryna be open
minded and listen to niggas I don't give a fuck about instead of
blasting Jodeci and Curren$y.
Lotta hip hop bloggin ass niggas
hate 2chainz because cool people like 2chainz, but his verse on mercy
was entertaining to say the least.
Even though that nigga made the mistake of making it obvious that he ran outta creative juice during the end of the verse.
"Rain.....pouring/ All my cars are foreign/ All my broads is foreign/...........ummmmm MONEY TALL LIKE JORDAN"
Yeah, nigga, I caught that shit. Nice try.
Nevertheless,
you have to give 2chainz some kind of credit. He took Ace Hood's
"Hustle Hard" flow and did an olympic gold medal earning dash with it.
Not only did he do that, he made everyone else in the rap game rap like
him. It's amazing.
Almost all of my favorite old rappers
used that flow atleast once in the past year, and it hurts my heart. I'm
looking at you, Pusha T.
No, YOUR Duncan Hines is irrelevant. I'm still copping that album when it comes out though Mr.T.
(Ha, I called him, Mr.T... Someone compensate me for this free swag juice that i give you niggas)
Anyways I'm getting ahead of myself, I have low expectations for
this album. I atleast want something I can workout and seduce chicks to.
Man, y'all niggas can diss drake all you want but these Swag-generation chicks love him. I listen to him while I'm seducing a chick.
I'll listen to a million deaf babies cry if that's what a girl's
into, I don't give a fuck. Either that or I get laughed at for playing
Voodoo by D'angelo.......
Never again.......never again
Hold up, can I talk about the cover real quick?
This nigga really doesn't give a fuck about us, huh? Like....NO fucks whatsoever. Fuck being creative right? Word.
Rappers stay having horrible covers. I'm not even gonna comment on Wiz Khalifa.
But yo forreal, if I was a rapper I'd have the same cover Wiz
Khalifa has. Except I'm chillin with a polar bear. And Im rockin a white
turtleneck sweater matching with the polar bear's fur. But that's just
me.
Wooooord.
1. Yuck ft. Lil Wayne
So this is how you wanna start your album off? Featuring lil wayne brah? Word. Cool
The first rap you hear is and I quote:
"I'm known to go donkey on a camel toe/And then turn that camel toe into a CASSEROOOOOLE"
OH my god 2chainz where have you been all of my life? No Homo vs. Capcom 2
THIS is how he starts his debut album dog. He has been signed to a
label for like....12 years and noone gave a fuck about him till a year
ago. AND THIS IS HOW HE RAPS.
2chainz I wanna apologize for ignoring you cause you really don't give a shit about NOTHING.
"Bitches on my dick like Brad Pitt" Lil wayne you tryna bite Lil B I got dirt on you doggie.
Now lemme tell you. 2chainz basically raps about how he's gonna
fuck your girlfriend with his friends and he'll make sure to remind you he
used to sell drugs to the black community......as if that's cool. But
whatever.
Cool song, next track
2. Crack
This song is called Crack. No clever pun about drugs, no subtle allusion. Just Crack.Martin wept yo.
This beat is nice? I don't know, I wouldn't spend money on a album full of mixtape sounding beats. If I wanted that I'd go to livemixtapes. I'll give 2chainz respect for not raping the Ace Hood flow like usual. *shrugs*
"I DONT GIVE A FINUCK.....I DONT GIVE A FINUCK....TELL EM SUCK MY DINICK"
I predict a ocean of ratchet mothafuckas quoting this on their facebook status when they're not posting pics of themselves with one dollar bills aiming guns at the camer......
I live in the south, I see this daily.
3. Dope Peddler
I need to hear this in a strip club. Shout out to lap dances. Word. This shit is redundant as fuck though.....that's all I got.
4. No Lie Ft. Drake
We've all heard this song before. I witnessed a party full of niggas and chicks and this song came on. Everyone jumped around singing drake's part I sat on the couch staring at them niggas like "man I'm blogging on you niggas soon as I get home". There were NO girls at the party son. No man should live like that. So how do I feel about the song?
*shrugs* Sounds like something I'd play if I was white college kid that drinks vodka from a funnel on a daily basis. Take that how you wanna take it.
5. Birthday Song
All you want for your birthday is a big booty hoe?
Really, 2chainz?
Really?
NIGGA I WANT THAT EVERYDAY
But I digress, this beat is decent. More stripping music. I give Chainz points for saying "Bands everywhere"
Hella bandz.....hella bandz. In the club throwing hella bandz.
This shit isn't that notable though.
Oh there's Kanye West too.....
Man this nigga will never stop being corny and weird. Don't change, Kanye. But honestly, he killed 2Chainz on this. That's really not an accomplishment.
*listens to the last 40 seconds of the song*
Somebody please get the MPC away from Kanye?
6.I'm Different
Produced by Dj Mustard, yup, the rack city guy.
Man look Ima say this real quick. This is NOT something you can play if you're a bloggin ass nigga who don't know how to slap a chick's ass on the dance floor and look at her like "What?!" like it's HER fault you're a savage. This is party music. This is playing NBA 2009 with your drug dealing friends because even though they sell a copious amount of drugs they spend it all on ugly jordan sneakers and fresh durags instead of buying the new NBA games.
This ain't no fucking bitch nigga music son.
With that being said, this song is cool.
7. Extremely Blessed ft. The Dream
Aight 2chainz wants to slow it down for the laaaaydiiiez. This beat is pretty dope, even though it sounds like a pretty ricky song from 2005 *cringes*.....I don't ever wanna feel how I did that year.
2chainz decides to sit back as Dream serenades us with his winnie the pooh mixed with the hamburglar ass. As you should on a r and b track like this. I don't wanna hear about your crack selling 2chainz. Not right now, I'm busy.
8. I Luve Dem Strippers feat Nicki Minaj
YEAH I LOVE DEM STRIPPERS
How do you make up a hook like this?....Like what kind of conversation were you having to inspire such a hook?
2chainz sounds really confrontational and insecure about himself on here.
Like you know what?.... YEAH I luv dem strippers. Don't you look at me like that Dijuan. I luv dem strippers. Yeah I said it.
Bravo 2chainz, I feel you.
Oh, what about the song? It fucking bangs. This nigga quotes New Edition "Telephone Man". The quote is so random and irrelevant I thought I was listening to Kool Keith again......my Freshman year was a weird time in my life.
Nicki almost sounds like Danny Brown with her flow. I'm dead fucking serious.
9. Stop me Now ft. Dolla Boy
This is the first beat that doesn't sound like traditional 2012 southern rap. Very soulful. 2chainz switches up the flow a bit. I appreciate the change in tone. This is most likely going to be a single with a awkward music video where 2chainz has a light skin chick that he's having a turbulent relationship with but at the end it's all good because he bought her a new lambhorghini and she's so thirsty that she has no choice to forgive him.
Scratch that, it's more drug talk and 2chainz telling us how real is he. MY bad. Who's this Dolla Boy nigga? Is he another real nigga who sells drugs to the black community because the white man held him back in high school?
How creative.
This song was pretty decent minus the random outburst from Dolla Boy. Send him back to Atlanta....the gay black man capital.
10. Money Machine
This song is dope as fuck for the beat alone. Even though the Birdman song with the same name is 10x better. Y'all bullshit as much as you want but Birdman is a great artist. Man...his verse on "Money To Blow" changed my life. I'm serious.
11. In Town ft. Mike Posner
Okay remember that paragraph I made about the music video with the light skin chick? THIS is the song. This is the smoothest song on the album so far. And Mike Posner produced it. Damn I give him props. Even though he sings like a talking inanimate object in a disney movie. This shit wavy as fuck brah. Free Max B so he can remix every billboard top 200 song in the past 4 years. Yes sir.
12.Ghetto Dreams ft.Scarface and John Legend
Ahh the typical "ITS SO HAAAAAAAARD.....LIVING IN THE DUTTY SOUF...SO MUCH DRUUUUUGS AND POVERTTTTTTY...LAWD WONT YOU SAAAVE MEEE....I DONT WANNA TAKE A NIGGAS LIIIIFE". You can already tell because of the featured guests and the track name.
But yo this song is pretty good. The sample sounds familiar. It sounds like "Usher - Throwback/J Dilla - Stop".
I need more stripper shit cuh. Fuck this.
13. Wut We Doin feat. Cap.1
The way that southern people make hooks is amazing, so conversational.
What are we doing?....Getting to it.
So literal. But yo this beat bangs but it sounds like typical southern shit nah mean? I want that next level shit if this is a major label album my nigga. I don't care if it's produced by the Stargate with Keyshia Cole's depressed ass on the hook. If I'm paying money I want the next level beats.
Ehhhh....worst thing about it is this is the LAST song on the album dude lol. Like THIS is how it's gonna end. I ended this album feeling the same way I did before I heard it. No bueno.
This isn't bad, but it's not good either. Mind you, it's better than Rick Ross' album for 2chainz charisma alone.
Now let's get to these bonus tracks
14.Countdown feat. Al B. Slapping Bitches
This beat is kinda dope, I don't like the hook. But I would still sing it in a strippers ear cause I'm a grimey nigga. Anyways, Al B. Slapping Bitches drops by to do a slow song for da romantic strippers n shit. I kinda fuck with it.
15.Like Me
So they decide to sample The Weeknd, eh? This nigga's voice is hilarious. So fragile....like if I saw Weeknd's voice in a magic forrest I'd walk slowly and tell it "It's okay....I'm not gonna hurt you."
Anyways, this beat is shrug-worthy. Just a bunch of synths and snares. Typical south shit.
This isn't lap dance worthy either. If I can't bob my head to it or get a lap dance to it I don't even wanna hear it brah.
16. I Feel Good
This beat sounds like something a New York rapper would rap to in 2007. Take that how you wanna take it. Anyways, 2chainz saves this song from being snore worthy. Good thing it's 2 minutes long.
17. Riot
This is on the mixtape, right? I've heard this at parties last year so I think so. He's using that flow again. The beat is typical south shit. Don't get me wrong, I'd take my shirt off it throw air punches to this song. But would I purposely listen to it? Hell no.
I wish they released an acapella of this album and released a instrumental version of God Forgives I Dont.
Cause honestly, 2chainz production bores the fuck outta me and Rick Ross' rapping bores the fuck outta me. You really can't win in hip hop anymore. :(
Wanna know why he doesn't want us? Because we want him, no homo.
Andre's like a woman, we've showered this nigga with compliments and attention and now he don't want us anymore. He doesn't have to work for our affection anymore brah. Whenever Andre gets bored (or broke, since he's on heroin (read my Frank Ocean post for further details (I got triple parenthesis, nigga, get on my fucking level) he'll drop by and give us a verse so we can shower him with love and affection (ultra no homo) so he can be temporarily satisfied for a year or so. Fuck that, Andre.
See it's like this, if a prostitute knew that all she had to do was show you her ankles to get your money she wouldn't even want to work for the money anymore. She'll just show you her ankles and shit so you bloggin ass niggas can cum all over yourself.
That's what andre's doing man, he's showing us his musical ankle. And we're allowing it....we're cumming. (Omega No Homo)
Like...niggas will spend months dissecting andre's 45 second verses while Andre's sitting back eating vegan lobster and listening to Bjork? Playing Ready 2 Rumble on the dreamcast just because he secretly wants to be Afro Thunder? He'll never be as flamboyant no matter how hard he tried. Fuck you and your ankles Andre. And fuck the Dreamcast.
Here's what I'm tryna say. Andre is never gonna give us what we want (an album) if we keep losing our minds over his guest features. I propose we boycott Andre 3000 until he drops some solo music. This is the only way to inspire him. No more clicking links to songs that he's featured on.
Don't even mention this nigga on the internet. Make him work for our love.....super no homo turbo: deluxe edition.
Somebody gotta get Andre 3000 the fuck out of here before Big Boi drops another album by himself.
That was depressing.
This my shit though.
I would totally get a lap dance to this.....shout out to lap dances, word.
Come back for my next post titled "Why the white man's hatred of black men directly correlates to Jesus being black"
