Music Review
Artist: Chapel
Album: Prince of the Plains
Words: Cherisse Harris
Prepare for an emotional rollercoaster! Chapel's back with his third CD, Prince of the Plains – a mixtape of infectious hooks and slick rap talk that balance out selected Neptunes' instrumentals. In his latest effort, Chapel ably schools listeners on how to keep it real, the ABC's of club-hopping and of course, having lots of bling – "'cuz what's sex without the floss?"
Lyrically, Prince of the Plains is on-point, though production on this mixtape needs closer inspection. The first song, "Genesis" is a strong, bass-heavy track with gritty lyrics. "I send a kiss to the bitch in you/recognize God in the physical/how you survived in the streets is a miracle…" This kind of clever wordplay is fluent throughout the CD but later tracks, "Return of the Prince" and "One Hitter Quitter" drown in weak instrumentals. Luckily, Chap rebounds with "Get Up." Like a quiet storm, "Get Up" creeps in and explodes. Chap definitely earns the "Prince" title with this one. Rough, sexy vocals over synthesized chords and handclaps make for an ass-shaking club banger.
"Speed Demon" on the other hand, is damn-near perfect. With Chap's buttery L.L. Cool J-like flow and the track's smooth melody, you can almost dismiss the way he poorly handles the bridge: "Drive thru Mickey's/ drive thru Wendy's / drive thru Burger King / when I wanna jump I don't even try to front / got my mind on hittin' those skins." I say almost because it's hard to ignore shaky vocals when they're a cappella.
Just when you wonder what the Prince will come up with next, he surprises you with a rare jewel, "Road 2 Riches." Chapel works magic with an inspiringly familiar chorus, "On the road to riches and diamond rings / real brothers do real things." If you listen close, you might even hear 2Pac or Biggie singing a verse/hook. No, not really but his lyrical swagger is strikingly similar. These days, it's difficult to separate real lyricists from busters but with Chapel it's easy. You can't deny his skill.
To read more from Cherisse Harris follow the link below.
Neyo
Album: Prince of the Plains
Words: Cherisse Harris
Prepare for an emotional rollercoaster! Chapel's back with his third CD, Prince of the Plains – a mixtape of infectious hooks and slick rap talk that balance out selected Neptunes' instrumentals. In his latest effort, Chapel ably schools listeners on how to keep it real, the ABC's of club-hopping and of course, having lots of bling – "'cuz what's sex without the floss?"
Lyrically, Prince of the Plains is on-point, though production on this mixtape needs closer inspection. The first song, "Genesis" is a strong, bass-heavy track with gritty lyrics. "I send a kiss to the bitch in you/recognize God in the physical/how you survived in the streets is a miracle…" This kind of clever wordplay is fluent throughout the CD but later tracks, "Return of the Prince" and "One Hitter Quitter" drown in weak instrumentals. Luckily, Chap rebounds with "Get Up." Like a quiet storm, "Get Up" creeps in and explodes. Chap definitely earns the "Prince" title with this one. Rough, sexy vocals over synthesized chords and handclaps make for an ass-shaking club banger.
"Speed Demon" on the other hand, is damn-near perfect. With Chap's buttery L.L. Cool J-like flow and the track's smooth melody, you can almost dismiss the way he poorly handles the bridge: "Drive thru Mickey's/ drive thru Wendy's / drive thru Burger King / when I wanna jump I don't even try to front / got my mind on hittin' those skins." I say almost because it's hard to ignore shaky vocals when they're a cappella.
Just when you wonder what the Prince will come up with next, he surprises you with a rare jewel, "Road 2 Riches." Chapel works magic with an inspiringly familiar chorus, "On the road to riches and diamond rings / real brothers do real things." If you listen close, you might even hear 2Pac or Biggie singing a verse/hook. No, not really but his lyrical swagger is strikingly similar. These days, it's difficult to separate real lyricists from busters but with Chapel it's easy. You can't deny his skill.
To read more from Cherisse Harris follow the link below.
Neyo
posted by Brandon | 11:21 AM
|
0 comments
