Dj Khaled claims victory on 4th release.
By: Chris Wallace (Writer: Hip-Hop’s Forum)
Victory has finally made it to the shelves. After hearing “Fed Up” back in October and watching the “Road to Victory” (parts 1 through 20), the unveiling of DJ Khaled’s fourth LP was long awaited.
Maybe too long.
I know I don’t speak alone in saying that the process from beats to the final product has become dragged out with video teasers, leaks, “this artist is on the album, now he’s not” talk, etc.
But to the real reason we are here …
The intro is overdone by Khaled, Diddy, and Busta. He defines what Victory means when he should just let the music talk. Skip it unless you want to hear Diddy be hard and Busta yell about nothing.
The breather we had from T-Pain was nice but it’s the energetic hooks like on “All I Do Is Win” that we truly missed. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt after his Grammy performance.
Nas is outstanding no matter who he works with so there is no question that “Victory” is a standout track even if it shares the album’s title. Nas spits:
“Shareholders wanna invest in that Nas stock, it’s just
We be on that real shit, luxury four-wheel shit
Niggas actin’ thirst on some just-got-a-deal shit
Ha, for that victory we will kill shit
Get out the way, playboy, this is real shit”
Khaled should just let Nas speak on reaching the top instead of littering the song with ad libs.
Schife is raw and if he sounds familiar then you’ve heard Triple C’s Custom Cars & Cycles album. Jim Jones does his over a rough instrumental and it works.
Bun-B owns the mic and Soulja Boy sounds somewhat grown up on “Rockin All My Chains On”. Another great cut from Schife.
The album’s weak spot starts with “Killing Me”. On one hand Khaled does something different with Buju Banton, but the masses won’t appreciate it. On the other, “Bringing Real Rap Back” comes off flat and is a disappointing listen.
“On My Way” is entertaining but the Akon fill-in, Kevin Cossum, has to be tolerated for almost six minutes.
The talks of Kanye, Shyne, Akon and others being included would have filled in gaps in an otherwise solid album.
The Runners stand out again and there are less than a handful of tracks I’ve ever heard from them that don’t hit the brick wall but rather blast right through it.
The hype may have been lengthy but DJ Khaled lives up to it with an album that covers it all.
The album is predictable and I expected more … still, when you have this many big names working on and off each track, it’s hard to blow it.
Thanks Khaled. Now you can work with everyone else that didn’t make it this time.
hiphopforum
