3-1/2 stars -- Surprisingly decent
Anthony Rupert | Milwaukee, WI | 06/29/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Last year seemed to be filled up with nothing but dismal releases of rap albums (Kia Shine, Soulja Boy Tell `Em, TWO from the Pack, and the list goes on and on). Within the last few months, though, with the exception of Lil' Wayne, no one's really been releasing any mainstream rap records at ALL. Who would have guessed that one of the most listenable releases in a while would be a mixtape from JR Writer?
While I'm not going to ask what JR Writer is even doing on Babygrande, I'll say that although the album is called Pollitcs and BS, I wonder just where that title came from because there are no political tracks on here at all. But there ARE some pretty decent tunes like "Let It Rain", "Hands Up" and possibly "You Know I'm Nice". And while the freestyle "Come With Me" doesn't really have JR saying anything new, it's also pretty solid.
However, when JR tries to use classic samples for his choruses, he hits ("Uptown Girl") and misses ("It's Like a Jungle"). But other hooks also fail, like "How You Want It" and "Do Dat". And "Dimelo" makes no sense. Politics and BS is above-average, but like I said in my review for 40 Cal's latest mixtape, if you're not a big fan of Dipset, B.I.F.
Anthony Rupert"