The new record by the G.O.O.D.-Music-Crew has quite a few things in common with the TV-show »Breaking Bad«. Kanye West is and will remain the protagonist. He is our Walter White. And, like Walter does in season 5, Mr. West seems to be losing his grip on reality by and by. His megalomania is the motivation behind his whole work – because Kayne hasn’t much else to tell other than his exuberant lunacy. He still remains as entertaining as no other, but he’s been failing to deliver the exciting feeling of becoming the witness of a new vision for quite some time now. Instead, he takes contemporary hypes and puts them into fur coats and shoes by Margiela. While »Watch The Throne« used the leftovers of dubstep, it’s now trap-music that’s in the center. It sure bangs well enough and makes male body parts in the groin region swell – but it doesn’t surprise us anymore. What makes the record even harder to enjoy is the wagon load of party-poopers (a few Jesse Pinkmans, to use the »Breaking Bad«-metaphor again). Like CyHi Da Prince. I mean: Seriously? CyHi Da Prince? what does that guy want from me? Or John Legend, whose voice still doesn’t have any volume. Kid Cudi, who sounds like old bubblegum tastes. And then we have Common, who just sounds more authentic when he acts as the moralizer on top of a gospel-beat. What’s even more sad is that the first Hud-Mo-production for the big boys in the rap game was wasted on one of the lamest tracks on the whole record (»The Bliss«). But all is not lost, yet. Because those who can perform beats by Hit-Boy at his best (»Cold«, »Clique«) just like that, and those who can set Pusha-T on a song, who massacres his verses as naturally as other people brush their teeth in the morning, are still on the road of success without any real danger. It’s just complaining on a high level. »Cruel Summer« really does have skills. Only one skill is missing: to re-invent the game of rap, once again.
Cruel Summer
