Ay I think I‘d be right there with you if you didn’t say by far haha! I think it’s a couple songs in the convo. The chunky production on the title track plus him incorporating the cheat codes to get out poverty theme puts it up there. Doom by himself puts Belize up there lol. Everybody lost their minds on Strangers. I ain’t mad at aquamarine on top though!
Preciate it brodie!! The production is great but I’m a huge lyrics person and he’s one of the best to ever do it. He’s rapped in 4 different decades and has been elite in all of em - he’s solidly in my top 10 rappers all time…fringe top 5.
Black Thought gives PHD Dissertations from the streets with his rhymes. Always delivers and this collab with Danger Mouse is the best album of the year so far.
I’m telling you bro! Master with words! I’m still back and forth between this and mr morale for AOTY so far. I think cheat codes easily has the more flawless track list but I think the cohesiveness of the storytelling on mr morale kinda makes of for some of that. Not sure where I’ll land by the end of the year
Black Thought and Danger Mouse really delivered on this project. The features on this album were incredible. MF Doom and Killer Mike had the best feature verses in my opinion. Cheat Codes to me is the third best rap album of this year, the only two album I have in front of it is Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers and Drill Music In Zion.
I’m right there with you! I had super high expectations and it ain’t disappoint at all! Doom was def my fav - I liked El-Ps feature over Killer Mike’s…this time cus I feel it’s usually the other way around lol. Off first couple listens I got Cheat Codes at 2 behind Mr Morale. I actually got drill music in Zion a lil low. I think lyrically it’s best album this year but it’s albums that ain’t too far off with significantly better production. Right now I got I got it around 4/5ish behind MMBS, Cheat codes, Aethiopes by Billy woods and I flip between drill music and Zion and melt my eyes by Denzel.
@@BSideRapReviews We have the same albums in the top 5 for this year. My top 5 in order is MM&TBS, DMIZ, Cheat Codes, MMESYF, and Aethiopes. The only reason why I have Cheat Codes third is because it lacks the conceptual brilliance that MM&TBS and DMIZ has.
See I rock with that cus that's my exact same rationale for having MMTBS over Cheat Codes. Honestly, if all you did was rate every track and average them out, Cheat Codes might be clear number 1 but the cohesiveness of MMTBS, DMIZ, and Aethiopes as well make it where the album itself is better than the sum of each individual track. Ay you know what they say bout great minds lol!
B… had to come back just to hear your review of this once again. Hearing your breakdown of this masterpiece left me with that “this is why not a single reviewer can match this guys ability to dissect. This is masterful. It’s rare to go back and listen to a review. Props my brother👊🏿
YOOOOO my guy I appreciate you fr!! So glad you rocking with it and the fact that it’s folks who appreciate the art the same way I do is what keeps the channel going. Preciate you circling back to the vid bro and your support is always appreciated. Salute ✊🏾
I was anticipating this album all year!! Black Thought brought me to the album but Danger Mouse definitely kept me there! He started with the production IMO and I’m definitely looking forward to his work in the future. Great review as always!
Bro same!! It’s crazy cus black thought has been one of the best in 4 different decades now - that’s insane. But I’m right there with you - it’s like I know danger mouse is an excellent producer but he’s not the most active, especially in terms of hip hop so it’s easy to lose him in the mix of great producers. This might be the most well produced album of this year though. Preciate it brodie!! Salute!
Your first comment is perfect lol. Black Thought has never had a bad verse and it's probably what makes him the top ten of all time. He would be the person we nominate if aliens come here. 100% batting average.
Hahah right! It’s only one other person who I’d consider and that’s Andre 3K. Outside of Love Below where he did more singing than rapping he got close to perfect batting avg but I gotta rock with Black Thought cus he got more at bats lol. Both of them aliens themselves so who better to nominate 😂
"Transfer the power for salt water and flower" from Saltwater is a bar about praising your ancestors with offerings, something a lot of Africans take very seriously
Danger Mouse was the perfect pairing for Black Thought, two aliens. I had to go back to the DANGERDOOM album after bumping this album a few times. On the rock tip, the stuff Danger Mouse has done with The Black Keys is also great. And can’t forget Gnarls Barkley!
You ain’t lied!! The pairing already looks good on paper, the only question was since Danger mouse so versatile, what was gonna be the overall sound of the album. Def had to go back to the dangerdoom album esp after hearing Belize. Went back to that Odd Couple album by Gnarles Barkley after this too. I never really got into rock but might have to check that one out. How you ranking this among the best albums this year?
@@BSideRapReviews I think Danger Mouse did at least Attack and Release and Turn Blue with The Black Keys. The band is just two cats from Akron, Ohio that have very blues-influenced tunes. Dan Auerbach has a great voice. This album has to be in the top 3/5 for me. Aethiopes is there too, might be at the top. In no particular order, Killing Nothing by Boldy and Real Bad Man, Gold by Rigz and DJ Muggs, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers by K. Dot., and Saba and Denzel are in there in the top 10 maybe. I feel like the back end of 2022 has a lot of potential to shuffle a lot around: Roc and Alc, JID, more Boldy, Mayhem and Daringer, more Droog, maybe something from Mach?
@@Doctor_Beats Okay I heard that name before which is saying a lot cus I really only listen to rap lol!. Every album you said is in my top 10 except I got the saba joint right outside my top 10. I build my AOTY list during the year so it makes it easier in December but right now I got it Mr Morale and the Big Steppers Chest Codes Aethipoes Melt my Eyez are your future Drill Music in Zion Tana Talk 4 God Don’t Make Mistakes the Course if the Inevitable Killing Nothing Gold In that order but it’s liable to change. The 26th with JID and Roc Marci gonna be an amazing week. 2 really highly anticipated projects. I really hope Rome Streetz drops - bruh signed to Griselda and stopped releasing music lol!
@@BSideRapReviews Definitely check out The Black Keys if you have a chance, I love mainly rap but outside of that I listen to Black Keys. They actually have done a lot of work with rap artists like RZA. It’s worth checking out an album called Blakroc, a collab album with Black Keys and Rocafella records. Features tracks with RZA, Mos Def etc
@@BSideRapReviews I should’ve been more diligent haha, I guess I’m also not running a hip hop RU-vid channel though haha. Rome definitely needs to release something. It’d be sweet to hear another project with him locked in with one producer like the ones with Muggs and Futurewave. With Big Ghost, or Alchemist, or Nick Craven.
I’m telling you! I have him in my top 5 MCs all time cus he’s been among the best rappers in 3 different eras of rap. That’s dope af - I was born around that time frame haha. I love old school hip hop but my love for it grew from going back and deep diving back when I was in high school. My first full project from then was actually how I got over which came out my sophomore year of high school I think and I was hooked.
Justice System and the first album Rooftop Soundcheck is very reminiscent of this flow. Well worth a place in every collection. First album 1994 the rest in the 00s
There's something about a collab album between a great rapper and producer that gets to me and this one hit on all levels. I love shit like DAYTONA, Pinata, Madvillainy, etc and I immediately put this up there at the top with the best. Need a Kanye West executive produced Cyhi The Prynce album tho
Bro you ain’t lying!! Idk if you’re a roc Marciano fan but I’m extremely excited for this roc Marciano and alchemist collab dropping this Friday. Maaaan you right but at this point I’ll take any cyhi lol! When GOOD was doing that Daytona, Ye, album run, they really dropped the ball for not dropping a cyhi project
This album is fire, I love it so much more than the Streams of Thought projects (and I loved those too!) Glad to see people recognizing the Talented Mr. Trotter Aquamarine is goated
It’s pure heat!! This has been an incredible year for rap and this is at the top as a AOTY contender. Same I rock with the stream of thought joints but the production plus the lyrical focus on this is why Black thought is one of the greatest of all time!
@@BSideRapReviews for sure! You got any recommendations for similar stuff that dropped this year? I havent been keeping up with music since i started my new job i can only keep up with my favorites (like black thought)
@@TheWintastical bro feel you on that! You prob already checked these out but imo JID’s The Forever Story and Kendrick’s Mr. Morale are the top 3 albums along with this one. Outside of those, I think think Denzel Curry’s Melt My Eyez See your future, Lupe’s Drill Music in Zion, Billy Woods Aethipoes (hes really abstract though fyi) and Saba’s Few Good Things (starts off slow but second half is pretty awesome), and Elzhi’s Zhigeist are similar because that have excellent rapping, dope production, and theyre all fairly conscious as far as the content. I think a lot of the best rap albums of the year are the albums that have that 90s, East coast, coke/gangsta rap feel to them so if you like that lane of him hop, you’d have to check out Roc Marciano’s The Elephant Man’s Bones, Conway the Machine’s God Don’t Make Mistakes, Benny the Butcher Tana Talk 4. I actually think ima make a playlist of albums I love that I reacted to and I’ll let you know when that’s on the channel too!
@@BSideRapReviews hell yea thanks bro I appreciate the effort that went into this! You definitely earned a sub and ima check out all those, starting with elzhi i hacent heard that name since Elmatic, im excited to listen and ill keep an eye on your channel for more music news
Loved this project from front to back. Surprised how much I liked the rocky and russ feature. Definitely seemed like the odd ones out of the line up here but damn, they held their own.
Bro I feel the same way about both projects! Love this joint and have loved it even more with more relistens. I haven't listened to Russ outside of a few songs - I didn't like his music but I thought he was a decent rapper and he held his own. I do like Rocky - esp old Rocky - but I never thought of him as that great of a rapper...he def shocked me with how good his verse is lol! The flow he used to open his verse was FIRE
Great review and breakdown as usual. Never listened to a full Roots or Black Thought album but I’ve listened to this twice, solid project. Here’s an idea for a future vid- it’s the 25th anniversary of Funcrusher Plus by Company Flow this year, would be dope to hear your throwback review
Preciate it bro!! Black thought’s solidly in my top 10 rappers of all time. It ain’t his best albums imo but How I Got Over and Undun are my favorites. That would be a solid one to react to - I ended up checking them out after someone put me onto 8 steps to perfection. No guarantees s but ima try to check it out and try to get to it before the year is up!
@@BSideRapReviews not sure if you’ve ever shared your top 10. If not, a video of that would be dope. You can explain each pick and maybe share your favorite song or album by them.
This project was a very good introduction for me to Black Thought because I knew him from some recent features he had with Em, Benny, Gibbs, WSG and Logic. I watched his Flex Freestyle and all I can say is 10 minutes of 🔥. I was happy to hear Danger Mouse again after all those years. DangerDoom is a classic. This album was very put well together and all the features hit, even Rocky. DOOM's features brought a tear to my eye. I always loved how good your analysis was throughout the reaction. I always appreciate some quality opinions and some ideas that I probably missed. Thanks for the video bro. I consider Cheat Codes to be in my top 5 rap albums of the year, up there with Denzel, Lupe, Denzel and Phife Dawg posthumous album.
Ayyyy lets go!! I feel like this album has definitely reached a wider audience compared to his other recent joints. I hope you go down the rabbit hole and start binging his old work lol. Some of my fav songs by him are Web, Dear God 2.0, Kool On, and twofifteen (the first 3 are Roots songs). Preciate the love bro! I appreciate y’all too many 1 for the support but also just all the great discussion too. I don’t remember the last time every single feature came with it like this lol. I think if dangermouse decided to get active, he’d become one of the premier producers. If you replace Phife dawg forever with mr morale and add Aethipoes by Billy woods, that’s my exact top 5 🔥 I haven’t given forever a thorough listen though - I gotta jump on it, but I like the production from what I’ve heard.
@@BSideRapReviews I feel like Mr Morales was rushed and didnt live to the expectations. That does not mean that Kendrick didnt release a good album. On the contrary I feel like this is his most personal yet. I didnt listen Billy's new album yet but I will do it
Yeah bro - I ain’t mad at that at all. Right now I got Mr morale ahead at AOTY but I ain’t mad at Cheat codes at all. That’s prob my number 2 right now. I got a couple in front of Elephant man’s bones but it’s top 5 for me. This year been crazy for rap!
Great reaction to this album. The whole album is fire but I wholeheartedly agree with you on "Belize" feat. MF DOOM being a personal favorite of yours because it's mine as well. I too am an MF DOOM fan and the game misses him, sick ass flow. Here's a little easter egg for us fans, you're very analytical and researched in hip hop. Let's see if you can find the connection between "Belize" and "Great Day" by Madvillain. Cheers and love from California bruv!!
Preciate it brodie!! Yeah the doom verse with that vocal sample gives me chills!! My guess is that that verse is from his prime in the 2000/ which gives it a lost verse type feel. Hmmm at first I was thinking maybe the baseline was from the same sample but I think it gotta be that the stray cat reference on Belize is a direct reference to great day? Love bro! ✊🏾
@@BSideRapReviews Great theory but no, you know what it is? So on “Great Day” he says “I wish I had two more wishes And I wish they fixed the door to the matrix, there's mad glitches Spit so many verses sometimes my jaw twitches One thing this party could use is more... booze” in that flow one would think that he ended that by saying “bitches”. So on “Belize” he says “The mood switch, he chewed off strips off a brewed witch Danger make him groove off a glitch Makes your boo booty twitch and the crew rich, bitch Always wanted to say that” I know it’s nerdy as hell,lol. Hope it made sense. 😎
This def my favorite album of the year so far and unless Tha Carter VI drops, I don't think that's gonna change. Top 3 gotta be this, It's Almost Dry, and Larry June's new album Spaceship's on the Blade
This been on constant replay - so great from start to finish. I haven’t heard that Larry June joint yet. I really rock with pusha album especially the production. Push rapping always gon be on point but I did think his rapping was def better on Daytona. Right now my top 5 is Mr Morale and the Big Steppers, Cheat Codes, Melt My Eyez See Your Future by Denzel, Aethiopes by Bill Woods, then Drill Music in Zion by Lupe
@@elijahlynch3623 I had it 6 after cheat codes dropped but now after roc Marci dropped I think I gotta bump it down down to 7.…this just a crazy year for music imo. Don’t hold me to this but right now I’m thinking my top 10 looks like this: 1. Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers 2. Black Thought & Danger Mouse - Cheat Codes 3. Roc Marciano & Alchemist - The Elephant Man’s Bones 4. Billy Woods - Aethiopes 5. Denzel Curry - Melt My Eyez See Your Future 6. Lupe Fiasco - Drill Music in Zion 7. Benny the Butcher - Tana Talk 4 8. Conway the Machine - God Don’t Make Mistakes 9. Lloyd Banks - The Course of The Inevitable 2 10. Boldy James & Real Bad Man - Killing Nothing
You edited out some of his dopest lyrics on No Gold Teeth: Never make the bag wait I just add weight to the bag until the bag break That holy swag make the cash get the gas face
Dope lyrics fasho but ima have the whole song playing if I keep every fire line in 😭 yeah I had to chop it up a lot cus I wanted to focus on that lil running/racing theme he had going
I got it a 2 album race right now between this and Mr Morale. Agreed, production and beats are AMAZING. So this is why I'm torn though between which one is AOTY...I think Cheat Codes is the best collection of songs of the year. So like if you were to take every song, rank it 1-10 and average it, cheat codes is AOTY. But, I think with Mr Morale, he cohesiveness, lyrical and musical themes, and storytelling make it to where it's like the album itself is better than just the average of each individual track. So that's where I'm at and I'm leaning Kendrick right now but I aint mad at anyone who got Cheat Codes at all!
I had to go check them out cus I wasn’t familiar with them and they’re tough! Bro 80s rap was so conscious - they don’t have similar sounds but instantly reminded me of public enemy, Melle Mel, etc because of their subject matter
That joint with Benny? Yeah I rock with that! I ain’t a Russ fan but I can’t deny they dude talented at and I love his business savvy. Can’t lie though - i ain’t reacting to it. I honestly just been reacting to stuff I’m really excited to react to and I honestly enjoy doing new stuff and sticking to albums
@@BSideRapReviews Watching this reaction again. I always catch something knew when listening to Black Though projects/songs. In Belize with Doom, notice how Thought mentions sitting on the should like a highway patrolman in his verse, then Doom says he gets rude with the dude off Chips (Eric Estrada TV show)...lil subtle stuff like that keeps me coming back to BT's spongs songs. Plus he's my #1 lyricist.
Aquamarine has entered the chat lol. Nah seriously I rock with that take! My personal favorite is Belize and I’ve been leaning towards aquamarine over identical deaths mostly just because of the length of identical deaths.
I seen a bunch of KD3 at AOTY - I respect that Fasho! Maaan for Cheat codes, I went back and forth so much. I ended up having it number 2 but I like it as a AOTY pick
I’m intrigued…elaborate! You mean just as the goat? Chappelle is the goat comedian imo but I think thought has actually aged a lot better and that’s without a hiatus. Chappelle stuff is pretty good to me but dang his old stuff was on another level. I’ll still casually make references to his old jokes to this day.
Oh yeah bro I’ve listened to that fasho! Haven’t heard it in a minute but ima doom fan so def familiar with the project! Sofa king is one of my fav doom songs
14:45 I sure hope he's not referencing Jordan Peterson...dude's mad corny bro said "up yours, woke moralists! we'll see who cancels who" when twitter banned him 😂 great job breaking down bars and production as usual tho
Lmaoooo he did say that BS…and he looked right in the camera and said it with a straight face 😂😂😂 I mighta been reaching though lol! Preciate the love brodie!! ✊🏾
Album is hard to explain, and near perfect. Please don't pay attention to or listen to Jordan Peterson. He is a misogynist, Fascist, anti-Semitic, grifter with nothing to offer you or the world! Black Thought using "exo-skeleton" as a reference to something Peterson said could take the whole album down.
Time will tell but I think this might be a modern classic. This album is probably better than Undun and Undun is one of the best (despite being underrated) albums of last decade. I think Peterson is kinda corny and he has that snobbish, pseudo-intellectual vibe that a lot of ppl with careers in academia have, but if you think he’s a misogynist, facist, or a grifter I gotta caution you against forming an extreme “us vs them”, “my side is always right” political ideology. And this is coming from someone who’s voted straight ticket democrat my whole life. His whole rise to fame was because he was arguing he was arguing against compelled speech with the pronoun thing which is the exact opposite of facism. What’s one misogynistic thing or anti-Semitic thing he’s said? Throwing hot button labels on someone is adult version of name calling. And there’s def misogynist, facist, anti-Semitic grifters out there but to call him one makes me believe you’ll call anyone who’s views don’t line up with yours that cus he just doesn’t fall into those categories.
