Tommy Prospect - MAPS [Mixtape Review]

What's up nerds, freaks, and geeks? Long time, no interaction! (I guess you can blame that on me. My bad!) Some of you may know me as the musical Don Juan Escobar aka the real Carlton Banks aka Bill Nye's 2nd cousin aka the original black nerd aka  the kid who divided by 0 and got away with it, but if you don't know me at all, my actual pseudonym is Waverly Spades. Today's review consists of Tommy Prospect's latest project, "MAPS." I first heard of this a few months ago when he posted the single "Good Intentions" on his Soundcloud. Let me tell you that I REALLY liked that song. I had that same feeling I had when Drake dropped Club Paradise before Take Care. I just knew the shit was gonna be good, but it was ironic because I didn't really like any of Drake's music previous to that. That's how I'm feeling about this. I like Tommy Prospect, but I always had the feeling he could do better and that track has lead me to believe that he has good intentions (see what I did there) for his album. I believe it'll do even better than my previous reviews of him, but there's only one way to find out! So, let us begin!

Young (ft. Napolean Pro$pect) - Whoa. It's like I immediately just stepped into the sounds of 808's and Heartbreak. People haven't done the autotune/distortion thing since D.O.A. Wow. The beat gets you hype. I feel there's not much as a message from the song besides the KND feeling of complaining about growing up. I like how this track feels. I don't fully understand the Johnny Cash reference.
"I ain't never gonna be young again"
3.2/5

Gray - The beat sounds like it was made by someone at the OFWGKTA, but more nicely simplistic (If that's a way to put it.) The song is a bit boring for me to listen to.
2/5

About That Action (ft. Miley Woo) - This beat is tight! I really fucks with this one a lot. Miles starts it off with a nice verse about high school (something a lot of us can relate to at this point in our lives haha). Miley has grown since the last time I posted him on this blog. "This highschool shit is for the socially gifted." Prospect just makes this shit hype and I respect that. The vocals are all panned a little to the left, and that irks me a bit. I like how the beat switches up when Prospect goes in. "Your girl sending me snapchats that she couldn't send to her story." He's way more braggadocious than I would expect from the last 2 songs, so I'm getting that Drake vibe again where niggas seem somewhat sensitive, but switches up to hard guy flow. It's dynamic and mad unexpected at first, but it works.
"I was tryna be positive, but that's positively boring"
4.6/5

Born (ft. Jahkobi) - I blame Kanye West for tracks like this. I like it, but it just comes off with that Hip-Hop-grunge type sound. At times the distortion is so heavy, you can't hear what is being said. That's why I compare it to grunge. The part at the end where Jahkobi sings at the end is possibly the best use of Autotune I've heard in a while. It fits.
2.4/5

Mad Crisis! (ft. Happy Child) - The beginning of this song almost reminds me of a song you would hear in a movie that's takes place in some barren dessert with a terrorist camp. Like the beginning of Iron Man or something. The beat is so hard. You can hear the mad crisis in that alone. There is no rapping at all in this track and it kills me a bit
3.6/5

Lie To Me - A sample of some grunge-rock song (or is that Future? lol). That's exactly what I'm feeling. The beat innovative at the core. I personally almost want more variation in it, but I like how simple it is. Also after the past two songs, I'm glad to hear more of Tommy rapping. The "Lie To Me" chorus buildup at the end is beautiful. This is one of those songs where I don't fully have words to describe it, but I like it.
"Lie to me. I need to hear it."
4.2/5

Real Crack - This joint right here makes me want to stomp. It makes me want to start a riot. It makes me want to let demons out of my soul to attack you. That's about it. The production of this is ridiculous.
3/5

Good Intentions - I heard this song  before the mixtape dropped and this is probably my favorite song on this mixtape. Also, one of my favorite Tommy Prospect songs in general. This may be the most reflective song of the tape. It's about how a boy means to do good, but in change to do good, he fails and  messes things up around him. Change turned him into a dick. Being a dick makes you lose yoru friends. It's all a chain reaction really. I like this song. Maybe because I think I could relate honestly. I think a lot of people can. The beat is just ridiculously beautiful and ends on a nice note.
4.7/5

Pink Lemonade (ft. R.a.D.) [Prod. by Tommy Prospect, Waxbill & Carl Christ, Ceptthots] - Oh snap. Start this joint, and you hear him referencing the last track. Wishing he never made it, but I love that shit. Don't say that, Tommy!  R.a.D.'s verse is cool. The second verse really confuses me. It sorta killed the vibe I had with the song. That Pink Lemonade must be good as shit to make a 7 minute song about it. Or maybe it's a metaphor for vaginas or something. Where's RapGenius when you need it?
2.5/5

X - Another song that I listened to before the mixtape came out. This is actually my favorite song on the tape. I feel more soul in this than anything else. Tommy Prospect crooning over his own distorted voice is just very calming. I can't decide if he's more reminiscent of a country artist or How To Dress Well. The random Jamaican scream and other vocal scream samples. It just creates an atmosphere of itself. You don't even realizing the mixtape is ending. You don't want it to end. It's like being in a cloud. Who knows where "X" is or what spot it's marking, but I would guess that it's heaven. That's what this sounds like.
5/5

I have very mixed feelings about this mixtape. It's evident that Tommy Prospect (the rapper formerly known as TGK) is continuously improving, as a rapper, producer, and singer. He and the groop of friends (Miley Woo, Jahkobi, R.a.d.) that I consistently hear on his tracks are keeping up with him too. An artist's Progress is my favorite part of listening to music. From the moment I listened to the first track, "Young," I knew it was setting the scene for some experimental tape. Tommy really tested with how weird he could go and how introspective could go while still making good, creative music. It really all is creative. These beats are all GOOD. They're innovative. If he expanded on some of these beats alone, I could imagine where they could go. The whole album is like Tommy stepping into 808's & Heartbreak while bumping Yeezus and holding Kid Cudi's hand at the same time. I love it. Much of the lyrical content is somewhat self-oppressive at times. I start to think of the Sadboyz movement. The autotune is overused, but it's used in a creative way. I like it, but it goes out of tune sometimes which I just find a little funny. Sometimes, I sorta think Prospect did that on purpose. Overall, Prospect made a solid and experimental tape. He definitely broke some creative boundaries on a hip hop sense. If I could give this a genre, like I previously stated, this would be Hip Hop Grunge. I like it, but I also want to hear more of Tommy Prospect rapping. I'm reviewing the Tommy mixtape next week. hehe maybe my wish will come true.
70.4% C- Nerd Approved

This review was brought to you by Waverly Spades, and now I'm off to by college memorbilia because that's where I'm going next year and I don't want to be the only guy without a shirt to rep when I'm Shmacked shows up.

All production done by Tommy Prospect except for "Pink Lemonade." Full list of credits

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Top Rookie - Down The Rookie [Mixtape Review]

Oh hey there, nerds and trekkies. It's me, Bill Nye's 2nd cousin aka your atypical blogger aka a man with not so many names, but you most likely know me as Waverly Spades, the nigga that never actually posts shit. Today, I come to you with Top Rookie's latest release, Down By The River. Top Rookie is a three-piece rap group out of Minnesota consisting of Miley Woo, Emceeven, and someone not so new to the blog: Tommy Prospect (formerly known as TGK). This is one of those things I've been saying I'd listen to and review for a while, so I'mma sit down and do it now! Since this is a group, I'm going to do something I've never done before and tell who had the best (or at least, my favorite) verse in the song.
Mind's Eye (My World) - That beat is nice and chill. Mr. Prospect went on some other shit with that flow. The whole track is just a chill start. Best verse: Prospect 3.4/5
Lost For Days - Miley's flow was craaazy. I love that hook. Prospect verse was a great followup. M7 came off strong, but she still had such a laidback sense in her voice. I don't know what I think, but I love it. Like, I didn't expect it would be as dope as it was. (I mean that in the best way possible.) Best Verse: M7 "If you don't believe in me, then you's an atheist" - Emceeven 4/5
Recordin & Roastin - WOO. I was tired of the typical form (Miley, then Tommy, then Emceeven). This beat is hard. Tommy is hard. I love that verse. At this point in the mixtape. I'm starting to notice that Miley sounds like he's trying to sound like Ab-Soul on the flow tip, but it's not fully his thing, nawm saying? It's not bad, just could be improved. M7 said "you should always watch your back in my streets," and I sorta laughed because these are little white children we are talking about. Best Verse: Tommy Prospect "I'm so hot, my flow cold. You burning up while you shiver" -Tommy Prospect 3.2/5
Triple Threat - AYYYE. Much love for the So What sample. Shoutout to Prospect for that "Got yo girl on my snapchat" line. Best Verse: None really stood out to me. 2/5
Rumble In The Jungle - This track vibes. Best Verse: Miley's 1st one. (yeah lol) 2.3/5
Abstract - This is honestly the best track I've heard so much. I blame the beat and the change in flows. Ayo. I know M7 did not just make a reference to Kim Kardashian's sextape. Best Verse: Miley "I'm just happy that I grew up with a pot to piss in" -Tommy Prospect 4/5
Demonstration (ft. Wavey Nico) - So this is supposed to be the club banger, huh? This track is so hypocritical. The chorus is "We are selling records at a record rate!" Do these guys not realize this is a free mixtape? lol. There are actually like a lot of funny lines in this track. "I play this for yo team and they Joseph Gordon- LOVE IT." haha that is gold. I don't like the mixing so much on this track. No shade, the Wavey Nico guy is hella basic. It's a very quick, Rick-Ross style verse. (It reminds me of Ross' verse in Monster.) That group hook sounded so dope! "You see reality, I see a dream." -Tommy Prospect Best Verse: tie between Prospect and M7 3.2/5 Let You Live - This beat is pretty trill. The first line to stand out to me was "We hitting up that party like you hittin up that Pornhub." Hey, Ruby, don't just diss PornHub! They've never done a nigga wrong! Everybody's flow was fucking ridiculous! Wait a minute, this is M7's 2nd porn reference, but who's counting. wut. Favorite verse: all three of these were actually the dopest verses I've heard on the tape so far (despite the line against pornhub). The each had their own unique feel. I liked them all so much ahha. 4/5 Interlude - Chill ass beat and M7 teaching some lessons. I doubt much more you could ask for. (not gonna rate this one because it didn't feel like a full song, nawm saying? moreso an interlude, which it is.) Drugs on Everest - Shoutout to Miley for that chorus because that shit is groovy as fuck. Best Verse: Tommy 4.3/5 The Passion - "Shoutout to them freshmen." WAIT. TOMMY! AREN'T YOU A FRESHMAN? C'MON SON. That beat feels like some OF type shit. Rap dope. Stay dope. Miley talks about so much sex in his verse that it's pointless and annoying. "High off that sweet life. Pot cookie" -Tommy Prospect Best Verse: M7 3.8/5 Toro - If you wrote out a trap beat on paper and gave it to an orchestra to play, this is what that beat would sound like. It's awkwardly, hard as masturbation with your mom downstairs. I got a bit sad when the beat dropped because I thought the song was already over and I like this joint! haha. Miley's verse is pretty funny. Everything's trill here. Best verse: Miley Woo 4.8/5 Big Things In The City (ft. Jahkobi Martin-Senna) - WHOOOOOOOOOO IS THAT SAYNGING?!? PAIOKDE;LAVJEO;AKLDPOEIK! Jahkobi gets much love for that hook! Those Top Rookie cats get much love for knowing this dope cat. Crazy verse. Gotta love the jazzy ass beats. I love the irony in Tommy's verse. He talks about having new chrome kicks, but he's taking the bus and spent his last penny already. That's an urban artist for you, haha. This is easily my favorite song on the mixtape. Best Verse: MILEY SINGING 4.89999999999999 Runaway - fuck I don't even know what to say about this one. Tommy made this beat, so they askin' fo a lease. Best Verse: Tommy Prospect 2.7/5 Uneducation - This beat gets much love. I'm assuming Thomas sang some shit, chopped it out, and played it. I really fucks with it. This is probably my favorite beat on the tape. This is the most inspirational track on the tape. I love this song a lot. Miley had my favorite verse this whole tape. It was very intellectual, but still kept that inspirational feel. I love the whole combined chorus thing. the beat is so orgasmic tho... those synths at the end!! Best Verse: Miley Woo (M7 is a close 2nd) "In the end, we all gon die, so why you keep debating?" -Miley Woo 4.9/5
So here we are again. Another review, another ending. I feel like I have a lot to say about this group, but then I'll probably write this and it won't make so much since, so let me dive into this. First of all, there are no production credits anywhere and that annoys me. I'm assuming everything is made by the group's Producer/MC combo, Tommy Prospect. I applaud them for having all originals. The mixtape starts pretty basic to me, but as it progresses, their songs progress. There is sometimes more maturity in themes and ideas that I like. A big problem I see throughout the tape (moreso in the beginning) is that they'd be just rapping and talking. Like, they'd be saying stuff, but it wouldn't have much substance and they'd put in a fast flow to make sound cool. A lot of rappers do that and think it sounds cool, but what's a dope flow if you're saying nothing? What would Kendrick Lamar be if he switched topics with Cheif Keef? nawm saying? There would also be some typical lines I heard throughout the tape that just annoyed me ("I eat all of these rappers like they are dinner" -Miley Woo, "I'm caged in these bars" -Tommy Prospect, "What I'm cooking up"). Overall, the tape showed such potential with a mix of soulful stuff to just hard, trap type beats. It's a weird project that was going in different directions at time, but it was cool, you know? 74% - C
This review was brought to you by Waverly Spades and now I'm off go school shopping. All the shit is like 1 cent at Walmart right now before they start advertising.
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