Bink - 3.5 [EP Review]

Wow, I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks. Well welcome back class. It's me, your teacher, the real Carlton Banks, the original black nerd, Bill Nye's 2nd cousin, etc. Today, I have in my inbox, Bink's latest EP, 3.5. He asked me to listened to the whole thing before I ever judge him again and that's what I'm going to do right now. If you don't know who Bink is, he's a teen rapper from Baltimore rapper (he dons himself the best). This kid has mad lines and an alter ego named "Skate God." I'm not so fond of his music, but at the same time, I'm so drawn to listen. With that said, I have somewhat high expectations. I liked his last mixtape, and I'm really hoping this is wayy better. That album art is interesting. I sorta want to know when that picture of lil Warren was taken. lol.

Invitation (Prod. by Sk808) - That beat alone is a nice way to start something. A lot of crazy flow shit here. Not much to say here.

3.5/5 (See what I did there?)

Obvious Reasons (Prod. by DreStolahh & DameBeats) - Listening to this chorus, I feel this whole song was directed at me lol. I NEVER SAID HE LOOKED GAY THO. The song is okay, until around 3:00. That's when shit really gets hot! I fucks with that!
"Trappin late night in my Jordans"

3.7/5

Baby Stroller (Prod. by JuneDocc) - The mixing on this is just bad. I'm sorry, but that annoys me, which is sad because this is a really great song. "Fuck a blog talkin shit behind a CP (computer). When I get big, they gon stalk me for a mothafuckin retweet." I feel attacked by that line... but I love it.

still gon' talk shit about this nigga tho lol,

but this song is ill. I love this shit right here. He should redo the mixing and shoot a video. That would be the illest.

I really appreciate this song. Bink is right. Make music about you. -looks at all fake rappers-

"These rappers ain't shit. They don't rap about shit, but you listen to them, so you still can't judge."
3/5

Sikken Tyd (Prod. by Dame Beats) - OH SHIT SON. THAT'S A GOOSEBUMP SAMPLE. I thought the song was going to be amazing and hard and what not, but that voice effect killed it some for me. Made it hard to pay attention. I'm Sikken Tyd of the bad quality.

2/5

A$$ (ft. DonToldYa &Noski) [Prod. by YungOneBeats] - I like how the song switches around from person to person. That's clever. The beat is oookayyyy.

2.9/5

Frank Sinatra [Prod. by Delta Records] - That beat is nice and jazzy. I reeeally like this song too. I don't know why, but I'm thinking of Swank Sinatra (aka Dyme-A-Duzin). This is another song I feel iskilled a bit by the mixing. After a while, you can't hear the beat. idk maybe he did that on purpose for some weird artistic shit.

4/5

Food For Thought [Prod. by YungOneBeats] - This is a great song right here. This is my favorite song so far. Bink gets really introspective and it's an interesting view of him. I'm definitely gon sing that hook and download that joint. One thing that makes me laugh, though, is that he says "I ain't got time for hoes." Isn't this the same Bink who always talks about fucking a lot of bitches?

"This ain't the life that I chose, but this is the life that I'm living."

4.6/5

Chocolate (ft. DDm) - That beat is craaazy! Who made it? It's a good start, but I'm not a fan of the chorus. Bink was on his Slim Shady lol. His verses were crazy. Ahhh DDm? I love that dude. His verse was just ridiculous. I had to replay that. Not much to say, but a solid track.

4.9/5

Brickz N Zanz (ft. DonToldYa & Snxxp) [Prod. by Sk808] - Did they drop this before the mixtape? I feel like I've heard this. This sounds like some throwaway Flatbush Zombies shit. The verses weren't weak, but the lines sound typical, like stuff I've heard before. I skipped to the next song midtrack because it was just boring.

"Goddamn Skate God, you're goregeous."

2.7/5

Breathless [Prod. by HunkE] - That beat sounds like some old Kid Cudi shit.. I'm already fucking with this. This sounds like one of those beats that not even the whackest rappers could fuck up. Not saying Skate God is whack, but you know what I mean? Like the "I'm On 2.0" beat... even Gudda Gudda had a good verse. Bink kills it. That is all.

4.4/5

LFDY (ft. Jujuan Allen) [Prod. by Dosha Burna Beats] - Piz is on that beat and it's hot! I fucks with it. Some A$AP Rocky type shit for the chorus that I'm vibing to. Bink killed it. I like his 2nd verse slightly better than the first. LFDY=Live Fast, Die Young. It's a superstar lifestyle. Jujuan goes wild on his shit. I love that nigga. "Know I won't live till my 70's, so my 7's blessed."

"My older siblings got a couple kids. Damn, I remember when were just kids."

4.9/5

Random Acts of Flyness [Prod. by TheOnly4PointOh] - Anybody remember the song he did with Jay Verze called "Random Acts of Flyness." Quick! Somebody call him unoriginal for recycling titles! lol. This joint is fly though. He just spits straight for 3 minutes. quarterbrickofwhite

"The best, there are a lot of you, but the greatest, there's like 5 or 2"
3.2/5

Division & Mosher (ft. Rickie Jacobs & Jae Poet) [Prod. by Dosha Burna Beats] - Each verse sounds like a Charles Hamilton freestyle. This whole joint sounds CH, down to the beat, and I'm a fan of it. Bink did some hot shit. Rickie Jacobs just went in. Just like every other time. "By any means, I'm not converting to skinny jeans. I like big asses. You know, the little things." Jae's verse was nice too. I've definitely heard more amazing stuff from him though. 

"Fuck being a rapper, you should just be a philanthropist."
5/5

Reminiscing - Somebody send that beat to French Montana. loljk. It's chill. I fucks with it. I don't smoke, but I think I'd get high to this. Not going to lie, it sounds like Bink wrote most of this while he was high. This isn't anything special, but it's a cool track.

2.6/5

Les Finale [Prod. by Delta Records] - That beat is hot. -bobs head- -Bink starts rapping.- Oh shit, this is a great song. Bink just goes real on everything here. The flow gets ridiculous. The beat gets crazier. The mixtape needs more tracks like this.

"They see me from afar thinking that I am a star, but I'm a regular motherfucker, just like all of y'all."
4.7/5

Ok, so I got a little bit of what I expected with this EP, but I also got some more. Overall, I really like the project. In my opinion, it's better than the Fuck Rap series. A few songs really stood out to me, like Les Finale, Division & Mosher, and LFDY. Others seemed like just like Bink doing his own thing, but not putting as much into it. Each song is really hit or miss. Part of that seems to be due to the beats, and then some, he just says some ridiculously crazy things. Most of the features are ridiculous (most notable ones in my opinion include, Rickie Jacobs', DDm's, and Jujuan Allen's). I like how Bink stays with some of the same DMV producers (Piz Corleone/Dosha Burna, Sk808, Yungonebeats). It feels like he's really working with Baltimore to attempt at improving the scene's chances at making it. It's all teamwork and he's doing his part. One thing that really annoyed me was that the audio quality was not good. I know that shouldn't matter because it's about the music and yadda yadda yadda, well quality is one of the main things I hear, and I'm not the only one! Some tracks sounded like (in the words of Jay Verze) "potatoes." Some verses sounded like they recorded on laptops, and then others had amazing quality. The voice didn't fit on the beat sometimes, that type of stuff. A good amount of mixing/mastering needs to be worked on. Besides that, the EP was nice. I want to hear Bink do something conceptual. Like a storyline or some type of focus. Bink tends to rap about a lot of the same stuff, but it get's weirdly random. I feel like when he's ready for a real concept album or project, that'll be amazing. Keep that shit up, Bink
74.8% + 2% Extra credit for mad improvement
76.8% - C+

This review was brought to you by Waverly Spades, and I FINALLY FINISHED MY FIRST MIXTAPE REVIEW OF THE NEW YEAR. YEAH NIGGAAAAAAAAAA. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
oh and midterms next week. I'm not fuckin with this studying.

Download 3.5 by Bink
@RealBink

Y1 - FinallY Or1ginal (Mixtape Review)

What's up errrybody? It's me, the real Carlton Banks aka Bill Nye's 2nd cousin aka that nerdy ass nigga who decided to start a blog and bash on the niggas he hates aka Waverly Spades. I haven't done a mixtape review in a minute. Recently, Y1 found his way into my ear and I was itching to take a listen. Nicholas Pullen is an up and coming rapper from Baltimore going by Y1. Let's see what he sounds like.

Members Only (Introduction) [Prod. by Piz Corleone] - This song is a nice intro. Y1 throws some nice bars with a dope flow. Nice way to start shit.
"I don't need critique. I am who the real is." Well fuck this review.
4.5/5

Famous [Prod. by Audio Dope] - That hook is very warming. What is that from? It sounds so familiar. Y1 tells us how he wants to live. It's life most of us go for. I like how Y1 paints his dream to us. I really like his flow. The beat is great. Idk why, but this is better than other songs I hear where artists are complaining about how they want fame. This song is dope.
4.7/5

Don't Give Up [Prod. by William Kraz Johnson (of Eyecon Music)] - That MJ sample! yasss. That beat is on some 9th Wonder shit. This song is smooth. Y1 raps more about fame, but from a different angle, the dreaming part. The premise of fame. Y1 makes a dream so inspirational.
"Baltimore til my back break. Even though it's just a lil spec, that lil spec gon give this man a check."
4.2/5

Skylight [Prod. by Kae B (of Eyecon Music)] - This song had a dope music video. It shows a lot of Baltimore areas that I'm familiar with, which makes me happy. Someone from Baltimore getting love like that is a great thing to see. This easygoing song is nice to vibe to as the tape continues.
"I'm just tryna make it to the skylight. Surrounded by vampires, what a Twilight"
5.2/5

Recruiter (Skit) - Damn. I usually don't like skits too much, but this skit speaks numbers, not only about unemployment, but how most jobs aren't really shit. I'm glad I'm not the only one who believes it. Don't conform to just being a number. "Can we hurry the fuck up cuz I got class in like 45 minutes" lololol

What I Gotta Do [Prod. by William Kraz Johnson] - This song is nice. It took a few listens to get used to the chorus. Nice message on determination.
"The weed I had to cough it up because it was clouding every vision I would conjure up"
3/5

2000 to Forever (ft. 810 & Black Sunn) [Prod. by Kahlil The Wiz Kid] - The beat is that feel good shit! Y1 killed it and picked the perfect artists for features. When I first heard 810, I thought that was Da Kid Gowie! lol. 810 and Black Sunn perfectly complimented the track this is probably one of my faves off of the tape.
"All you do is slang hatred, then hide in the Matrix."
4/5

Reincarnation [Prod. by William Kraz Johnson] - Ohhh we're slowing things down now, huh? The beat sounds like a cut off one of the old Kanye albums. Y1's faster flow goes perfect over this. It's like Twista's verse on Slow Jamz. haha. I fucks with this track.
"Sometimes you gotta change the paint to get the right picture"
3.9/5

Rich Man & The Pauper (ft. Jay Verze) [Prod. by William Kraz Johnson] - A pauper is defined as a person without any means of support, but is there anything that defines a man as rich?  I remember when this joint dropped a few months ago. My question since I first heard this: Out of Jay Verze and Y1, who is the rich man and who is the pauper?
4.2/5

Music Is Cocaine (Skit) - At first, I thought this was just some random skit where Y1's playing guitar and I was like "wtf?," and then my nigga started singing. This should be made into a real song. It sounds like some J. Cole shit.

Let's Get Away (ft. Ashley Alexander) [Prod. by William Kraz Johnson] - That sample has me reminiscent of J. Dilla stuff. I'm also thinking of 9th Wonder. This track is just chill. It's the equivalent to a filler for me. I like. Vocals are provided by Ashley Alexander and they are quite beautiful.
3/5

Beautiful (ft. B Swails) [Prod. by Go (of Misfitz Sounds)] - Go (of Misfitz Sounds) gets mad love for the beat. It's nice and smooth, but I can't find the guy online whatsoever! Y1 drops a few hypnotizing bars. B. Swails voice is just soothing. The bitches are gonna love this. Y1 is adulating someone in the best way possible. I'm going to sing this to a girl and see where that gets me. lol
"I just like to live like it's my last night cuz when the day comes, this a past life."
4.7/5

Drinks In The Air [Prod. by Joshua "Jehdi" Thomas of The Humans] - The idea of this song makes me chuckle a bit. It starts on some really chill, Jamie Foxx type shit, and then the verse is  just Y1 going in. It's a nice, sudden change of feel. I don't drink, but I'm sipping my Pepsi to this joint. Jehdi is an amazing fool for this beat, especially that chorus section. This joint is the perfect mix of rap and club RnB (the Jamie Foxx/T-Pain shit).
4.2/5

Little Does She Know Part 1 [Prod. by William Kraz Johnson] - So much, yet so little to say about this song.. I'll let it speak for itself. Beat.. also crazy. Can't wait for Part 2.
5.2/5

Kobe Bryant [Prod. by Piz Corleone] - GOT ME FEELIN LIKE I'M KOBE BRYANT. This beat is on some Waka shit. If you were here, you could see me doing my swag dance. This nigga, Y1. This nigga right here, son! This nigga right here! Somebody put this shit on 92Q so I can drive to school like "CHANGE MY NUMBER ON THESE FUCKERS LIKE I'M KOBE BRYANT!" I love this song. I'm usually not into songs over beats like this, but Y1 is so versatile that I actually like this! His flow is ridiculous!
"Might be on the same team, but there's no alliance"
5/5

Goodnight - I thought the beat was a Kanye intro lol. This song starts with some crazy lines like "Don't be sipping like a bitch. I give a damn bout what yo throat say!" The beat is RIDICULOUS (after you get past the Kanye intro. lol.) The chorus reminds me of some J. Cole shit. This track is stupendous. The beat has a Kanye ending too. lol.
"Just don't be like Daniel and try to Jack my shit!"
4.9/5

Lincoln's Address - This track had a dope music video. The song is just inspirational. It's a nice look around and a great way to end the tape.
"Even though I'm 1%, my flow has to represent the 99."
4/5

Point blank, this whole tape was great. I heard a little of Y1 before, but I honestly did not know what to expect. I wouldn't call this a mixtape, but an album that Y1 was nice enough to give to us for free. Pullen is an amazingly versatile artist, going from songs like Skylight, to Let's Get Away to Kobe Bryant to Lincoln's Address and keeping it all real and amazing. There is never a lack in quality, stylistically or lyrically. This is honestly one of the best mixtapes I've heard this year. Y1 at times sounds like the perfect mix of Lupe Fiasco, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar. That's 3 of my favorite rappers rolled into a guy from Baltimore. This was a great mixtape and I can't wait to see what else Y1 has in store.
86.3% - B+

Y1ForPrez.com
@iam_y1 | Y1 on YouTube | Y1 on Tumblr
Go Download the Finally Or1ginal mixtape!

This review was brought to you by Waverly Spades, and I'm off to reluctantly write an essay on the feminism movement of the 1920's.