TERIYAKI BOYZ – SERIOUS JAPANESE
1] please come INTRO!
2] WORK THAT feat. PHARRELL & CHRIS BROWN
3] AFTER 5(A.M.) feat. MADEMOISELLE YULIA
4] TOKYO DRIFT (FAST & FURIOUS)
5] SWEET GIRL feat. DONDRIA
6] TERIYA-KING feat. KANYE WEST & BIG SEAN
7] 5th ELEMENT feat. CORNELIUS
8] SERIOUS JAPANESE
9] ZOCK-ON! feat PHARRELL & BUSTA RHYMES
10] (CANT’) “BAKE” THAT “FAPE” feat. TAKAGIKAN & ADROCK
11] いつも IT’S MORE
12] I still love H.E.R. feat KANYE WEST (ALBUM MIX)
13] get the hell OUTRO
14] TOKYO DRIFT (FAST & FURIOUS) REMIX feat. PUSHA T & FAM-LAY
I’ve been off the TERIYAKI BOYZ party van for a while. Just last month, I learned about ZOCK ON! I figured I’d would be too late to review it but I was never about doing those on time anyway. Either way, I was blind-sided with this latest album. I was just browsing around and found it in the latest releases list. I didn’t miss too much based on the tracklist.
Let’s do this right in standard blm album review format (save the best for last):
5TH ELEMENT
This reminds me of Moon The World from BEEF OR CHICKEN, showcasing their ability to rhyme on top of an irregular beat. It’s at the top just because it’s not quite as catchy as the rest of the tracks on the album. It’s good but nothing I’d be blasting out of the car anytime soon. Makes me want to understand more of the language…
SWEET GIRL
This one is kinda unfairly put near the top because it’s a good song but I just don’t like it as much as the other tracks. Also, the use of auto-tune makes me lol a bit. I really don’t mind the effect since I don’t listen to all the hip-hop acts that use it on this side of the lake. Nothing personal, just something’s gotta be here. Found the Jack Bauer/Sparrow shout out funny.
SERIOUS JAPANESE
Solid beat. Nice flow. FOR SERIOUS. CHO SERIOUS. Nothing personal again for being up top.
TOKYO DRIFT
Maybe if I didn’t kill this song when the movie OST came out, I’d probably still enjoy it as much as I do the rest of the album. The remix is refreshing and should add bonus points bumping this down further but that wouldn’t be fair. I won’t count the remix in this list but it’d probably be 2-3 spots further down.
WORK THAT
Great opening. Great energy. Is it sad that I don’t know who Chris Brown is? I think he’s R&B, no? I don’t know. Pretty standard overall. I have nothing to say that makes it stand out but at least I have nothing to say about it sucking.
TERIYA-KING
Kanye’s part is pretty sick. I’m a casual Kanye listener; I’ve never bought an album but what I hear on the radio is pretty cool. I don’t listen to the radio much and it’s not overplayed for me. Oh hur hur. Good strong solid beat like a song of its title should have.
I still love H.E.R. (ALBUM MIX)
The only difference I can hear is during Kayne’s part: they don’t change the beat for him like they did on the single version. In the single version, he gets a bass-boosted kick while everything else gets turned down on the lower end of the spectrum. I think it sounds better everything equal.
ZOCK-ON!
Thanks, Groove Heroine. I think it’s a good collaboration between east and west hip-hop. Pharrell doesn’t get much in terms of lines but then again, the featuring means nothing other than they’re in it, regardless of how much activity they have (just looking back on Pharrell’s Can I Have It Like That feat. Gwen Stefani who said 6 words). Anyway, solid beat. Good use of percussion. Would sound good played by a drum line. Who really knows or cares what a “ZOCK” is… this is a good song according to my ears. :)
(CAN’T) “BAKE” THAT “FAPE”
ADROCK WUT. I miss the Beastie Boys. I totally fell off the Beastie Boys party van. I C WUT U DID THAR. I’m a big fan of puns and and FAPE is kinda like FAP … but in french. The verb to fap. Look it up. Also, fake bapes are fake. Don’t support the fake market. No one deserving is getting money. I digress. Solid beat, something blastable. Catchy hook.
いつも IT’S MORE
This song wins the award for 2nd most chartable song on this album. And by chart, I mean stepchart for ITG. Not that this ranking is of how chartable these songs are… I don’t know, maybe there’s some sort of correlation between songs I enjoy and songs I find to be chartable. Creatively chartable anyway. Super blastable. They even tell you to “Turn it up. Turn it turn it up.” There’s an interesting 8-bit-ish instrument kicking around in the background that would make for an interesting pattern to follow. I need to somehow turn up the volume for it. The beat is simple but everything about it is super catchy and I enjoy listening to it… repeatedly.
Which makes this album winner…
AFTER 5 (A.M.)
From the start, I saw the promise in this track. It had the beginnings of a trance track then it dropped the funky drum and busted out the teriyaki sauce. we’ve got a hit on our hands. This wins most chartable song because of its complexity and diversity for followable stepping patterns. It’s music to my ears and feet. It’s songs like these that make me look good. It’s fun from start to finish and doesn’t fail to make me bounce in my seat. It’s a good party song as well. Some good background music to have people bouncing. Also, lol cowbell.
Apparently, there’s a worldwide release going down February 3rd. I should pick this up. For serious. CHO SERIOUS.
