Royce da 5'9:-the bar exam 3 review
Back when Royce Da 5'9” dropped “The Bar Exam” back in 2007, you knew it was gonna be a showcase of lyricism as so DJ Premier, whom hosted the 1st edition proclaimed and now a few year later we've got “The Bar Exam 3”. After dropping the highly touted “Bar Exam 2” you wouldn't haven't thought that Royce could out due the mix-tape because it was a damn near classic mix-tape up there with other classic mix-tapes over the years to come out. With DJ Whoo Kid doing the mixing and hosting duties this time out it can either be dope or get rather annoying but all judgement aside the bar exam series is showcase for real hip hop where lyricism is home.
With the bar exam opening with a rather forgettable “Intro”, the next track “The Most Interesting Man” shows Royce flipping flows like gymnastics over Outkast's “B.O.B.” beat and even killing a beat that is a rather fast tempo track shows Royce's versatility. And as you start going through the mix-tape you get tracks like the Black Milk produced and featured along side Elzhi & Royce on “Real Hip Hop” where really shines and shows off the lyrical skill without all the gimmicks and punches, where Royce just seems at home on the track and pure rips it.
The overtly hilarious “I hate your Pants” is a diss to the new generation of rappers whom rock tight jeans and all that crap, while yet inventive also can come off as slightly annoying to listen to multiple times. The shining part of this mix-tape is the fact that there is so many punchlines to add up and it's pure lyrical ability on showcase. Once you make it past some of the bull crap whack jokes that sometimes see juvenile at times like some of the gay references on various tracks it's a thoroughly enjoyable mix-tape. There are a ton of gems on here such as “Taxi Driver”, “Beamer, Benz, Or Bentley (ShadyMegaMix) (Feat. Slaughterhouse) where you get all of Slaughterhouse versions of the song blended to make a dope mix that tops the original Lloyd Banks version of the song.
Overall this mix-tape is a definitely 3 out of 5 because it seems Royce's ego is on display more than ever here and the tape seems slightly bloated with throwaway tracks like “Vagina”, “In the Club” and even no Joell or Royce on prolly the most standout track and most anticipated “Nobody F***ing With Us “(Feat. Bun B & Slaughterhouse) is a huge misstep. But none the less the tape soldiers on and shows why Royce is the best out right now. While this tape doesn't have the hunger as “The Bar Exam 1 & 2” it does retain that lyrical dismantling factor that shows lyricism is still alive in hip hop and hip hop is certainly a long way from being dead.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by main_man
Bookmarks