Personal motto: “I was born to write my a*s off!”
INTRODUCTION:
The term “balogun” literally means “lord (Bale) of war” (Ogun), thus the “warlord” affixation. It was used by the Yoruba people of Nigeria in the olden days as a title for their generals. Interestingly enough, that has become my metaphor for life, as well as symbolizing my Nigerian heritage.
So here I am: Entertainment writer for The Washington Post Express (one of my two gigs), University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) alum and Georgetown University graduate student, part-time fine artist and musician, bookworm and avid student of history…and hip-hop head.
Although I grew up listening to all kinds of music—from classic rock and Motown’s pop-n-B to reggae and Afrobeat (and even maintain that eclecticism, to a lesser degree, in my album collection)—there’s no question that hip-hop is the centre of my musical universe.
Here at my Epinions corner, you can get the reviews of many of the latest rap albums, as well as releases from the past years. From the underground to the mainstream, from the old school to the new school, from the East Coast through the Midwest and the Dirty South to the West Coast—you name it. From a chronological, historical, geographical and artistic perspective, I intend to make this section an ideal place for the average rap music fan or casual listener to rely on for top-quality album reviews to make informed purchasing decisions, as well as learn a little more about rap music and hip-hop culture in general. Additionally, you might get the occasional non-rap album review as well, whenever I feel like it.
REVIEW RATING:
To understand how I rate reviews is to understand my style of writing them. Noting in the past that my one big weakness as a writer is splurging (reading some of my older reviews/articles makes me wince), I now like to keep the word count of my album reviews at around 500-2,000 words (In fact, the maximum word limit is pushing it). So on one hand, I can get in my sense of narrative and infusion of historical aspects while recognizing when it’s too much; and on the other hand, veer away from a paper-thin piece that helps virtually no one in learning about the subject.
While I’m no rating Nazi, and I do understand that this is no professional journalism site, the basic standards of writing still apply, so I look out for construction of paragraphs, grammatical and spelling mistakes, omission or misuse of punctuation marks, etc. If I rate your review anything less than a “Very Helpful” (VH)—which is the highest rating one can give around here, save for Advisors, who can award a “Most Helpful” (MH)—I will explain why, unless someone who rated similarly has given the same explanation I would have given, and I have nothing to add to it. Regardless, if you feel you need to hear from me, please shoot me an e-mail (Please don’t do so by commenting on one of my reviews, or “revenge rate” me. That is extremely tacky).
Additionally, do not expect an automatic “VH” from me just because you did a track-by-track review, or wrote a novel on an album that could have done with a few concise paragraphs. Although I love quantity, I also happen to love quality as well, and there has to be a balance between the two.
ALBUM RATING:
Music is largely subjective, dominated by individual taste or bias, and denying that fact is prime folly. So on one hand, to totally give in to such partial urges is the bane of discernment and fairness. One the other hand, to totally extricate one's personal preferences when writing reviews is to assume the role of a detached professional: cold and dispassionate. Thus, I choose the middle ground. Although I have my favorite artists and albums just like anyone else, and you may tell by my writing, there are still certain music standards that are established as less of a manifestation of raw personal feelings or rating rigidity than as a fair method to gauge overall album quality. To this end, every factor is taken into account. The songs as they use its two major components (lyrics and beats), the skits, the track sequencing, the period of album release, etc. Everything is evaluated to make the fairest decision possible in rating an album.
5 Stars:- Outstanding. Of course no album is perfect, but the shortcomings should be so insignificant that it does not seriously affect its overall quality. This rating is given to the very best rap records - albums of the absolute highest established and enduring quality. Such records are pinnacles of the rap genre (and/or beyond) and a definite must-have. If you haven’t gotten such a record, get it now!
4 Stars:- Near-perfect or remarkable. Close, but no cigar. There is a significant blemish or two—or a number of shortcomings—that prevents the album from being the excellent piece of work it could have been. Still, such a record is better than average and strongly recommended.
3 Stars:- Average. Middle-of-the-road records are given this rating. The good points outnumber the bad ones, but only barely. It depends: I might recommend it or not based on a number of factors.
2 Stars:- Below average or mediocre. Such albums either suffer from too many flaws for it to mix amongst the slew of merely “okay” ones, or are simply terrible albums that are prevented from sinking to the lowest rating possible due to a few redeeming factors. These albums are best left alone.
1 Star:- Wack. Such albums are totally useless. There are no redeemable qualities whatsoever. It is a total waste of the artist's time (and ours). The album has to be that bad for me to curse it with this rating. Avoid such albums at all cost—or you can get them for a good laugh. (I know I have!)
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Boogie Down Productions
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