Philaflava.com ::

New album was officially released today


You can listen to the full thing here: http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/04/albu ... -never-die

Really dope on first listen.

Thoughts? Who brought it the most? The beat is some pop tune from last year, right? I can't place it but I heard that loop before.

Used to be a pretty big fan of RA but have fallen off over the last few years, basically just due to him not putting out any new music. I haven't read much about this album but I'm definelty gonna check it out.

I was surprised he included Brother Ali on that song with Masta Ace. Heard interviews a while back with him talking about getting the Ace feature and figured he'd just make the song the two of them.

dont like at all , beats are poor - i listen only for lyrics but im not gonna spin this album ever again.

it would be better if he put out night of blood apes remastered.

i like rugged man but this album got some really horrible beats and hooks i can't fuck with at all, maybe 2 or 3 songs i liked

illuminati_guy wrote:i like rugged man but this album got some really horrible beats and hooks i can't fuck with at all, maybe 2 or 3 songs i liked

die rugged man die is better

hellriser wrote:
die rugged man die is better

obv

yeah its like he is trying to expand his base in the worst way on this album.

There's a decent EP's worth of material in there. Absolutely no self-imposed quality control though. That "Dangerous Three" song is a wartime atrocity.

I like that song with Talib Kweli a lot

and that verse R.A. spit on the song with Tech N9ne is really

I can agree that the sing songy hooks are a bit odd for R.A. to have on his songs given his stand-out voice and delivery. Media Midgets, Still Get Through The Day, and Make You Famous are solid joints.

i think its a great album for the most part you just have to be in the mood for his rap rapidity raps

i understand the criticisim with the beats, i def like rugged man on rugged beats more, with that said some of these beats do add a cartoony kinda vibe to his cartoony kind of raps

^^^well, he's always had that feel to his flow. its raw as fuck but yet there's some weird comedic value to it. that's why i can't fault him on the lyrics at all, he's being what he's always been, IMO.

i see he's fallen into that "i'm white, so i better rap fast" trend.
i can understand Rittz. He can actually spit his fast verses at a live show without a hypeman.
Not sure if Rugged Man can pull that off.

I guess I'm in the minority. The 2nd half of this album is an abortion!!! The first half is far superior. Its the most schizophrenic album I think I've heard in awhile cause the 2nd half is completely different than the first. It was almost like intentional sabotage which would make sense cause that's what R.A has done with his whole rap career so you cant say he is being fake.

LOL

sleazy_j wrote:i see he's fallen into that "i'm white, so i better rap fast" trend.
i can understand Rittz. He can actually spit his fast verses at a live show without a hypeman.
Not sure if Rugged Man can pull that off.

no

he has always done this fast shit , for quite some time

Neuro wrote:

sleazy_j wrote:i see he's fallen into that "i'm white, so i better rap fast" trend.
i can understand Rittz. He can actually spit his fast verses at a live show without a hypeman.
Not sure if Rugged Man can pull that off.

no

he has always done this fast shit , for quite some time

yes true

and he CAN pull it off live. R.A. shows are always fucking awesome hip hop, but he can go "middle of little Italy/ diddley diggity" with the run-on flow a bit too much at times. Still, he's a monster fucking MC that is to be ed to, cause he certainly is the last of a dying breed

people dont realize it but he really has been in the rap game forever and invented the style he uses that many mc's try to do now

Respect.

I think this album is pretty dope. It loses a bit of steam towards the end, but the first half is really good. "Definition Of A Rap Flow" is crazy.

Mindbender Futurama wrote:

Neuro wrote:

sleazy_j wrote:i see he's fallen into that "i'm white, so i better rap fast" trend.
i can understand Rittz. He can actually spit his fast verses at a live show without a hypeman.
Not sure if Rugged Man can pull that off.

no

he has always done this fast shit , for quite some time

yes true

always? got any examples from his old stuff? i don't remember him constantly doing the fast rap thing. from what i recall, it seems like he started doing it more after his last album. around the time he did the song with Jedi Mind about his dad. Granted it's been a while but i don't recall 90s rugged man rapping like this. it's almost as if he feels like he has to do it on every song now

The beat selection on here is questionable, the hooks are downright atrocious, but overall R.A. made a really good account of himself and is still rapping his ass off. That's all I really wanted to hear in a R.A. album anyways. Hopefully he'll go a little lighter on the features next time and figure out how to record songs in less than a decade.

Yeah, the fast rap/Das EFX shit is a relatively recent thing for R.A. It's just that he's done it on almost every fucking song since Uncommon Valour, so it just seems like he's been doing it forever. If memory serves, he didn't even do it much (if at all) on Die, Rugged Man, Die.

yeah exactly. after uncommon valor and give it up it's like he decided he had to rap like that on every track. which is a shame. it works well occasionally but when he does it on every damn song it feels forced and gimmicky.

the new album could be cut down to be a decent EP but overall i'm not feelin it

also, IMHO Till My Heart Stops is better than anything else he's released

Ever heard "Stanley Kubrick?"



Not really fast rap.

i knew i wasn't full of shit about that fast rap thing. he wasn't doing that as dibbs or for smithhaven mall.

I don't know, like others said, some really good tracks and some really shit ones, I prefer his last album over this one.

Echo Leader wrote:Ever heard "Stanley Kubrick?"



Not really fast rap.

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