Kreayshawn’s “Somethin Bout Kreay”
is she going away yet?
by Sarah Mantione
The internet sensation, Kreayshawn (Natassia Zolot), has finally released her debut album, “Somethin Bout Kreay,” on Sept. 18 this year after the sixteen-month lapse from the time her "Gucci Gucci" single was posted on YouTube in 2011. It is a hip-hop album influenced by her eclectic musical tastes and several songs are a nod to the free-style rap that she grew up idolizing.
The wait for most fans has meant a loss of interest and sales are particularly disappointing. With only about 3,900 albums sold in the first week, it seems unlikely Columbia will be willing to sign another contract with the 23 year old. Her current rank on the U.S. chart is #112. Not the expected outcome for a woman who garnered over 38 million views on her first music video release.
The album has a decent level of youthful energy and is obviously meant to be taken at face value without too much thought going into the deeper meaning of the work, which you will find barely exists. At first listen, it’s catchy and amusing, but repeated plays begins to reveal the holes in the album and soon goes from entertaining to annoying.
This is a link to the entire album stream.
The single first being promoted off of the album is "Go Hard" (track 11). The “lalala” part of the chorus gets old almost immediately. I actually woke up from a nightmare this week where that part of the song just kept repeating in my brain because I’ve listened to it so many times for this review. However, that is not the worst song on the album.
"Left Ey3" (track five) just sounds horrible. It’s like someone using awful outdated Casio keyboard samples in the background while Kreayshawn does her best to sound tough. It references numerous infamous women (Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, Amy Winehouse, Lorena Bobbit, etc...) to make the correlation that Kreay, too, is capable of that calibre of insanity when crossed. A good way to explain the impression you get from that song is a chihuahua comparing itself to rottweilers and pit bulls. At the end of the song, it is still a chihuahua that can be bested by an upside down laundry basket.
Tracks 13, "luV haus," and two, "Chook Chook" I just found really boring.
"Blase Blase" (track one) is impossible to hear without immediately thinking of LMFAO’s "Get Crazy" because it samples the same repetitive scale throughout and instead of “Get Crazy,” Kreayshawn’s version says “Hey ladies!”
"Like it or Love it" featuring Kid Cudi (track six) is apparently punk-inspired but ends up sounding like something that should have been on the "Drumline" soundtrack*.
2 Chainz ruins the tenth track, "Breakfast," for me. “Me and Kreay (dead air), all I gotta say.” No kidding. If rhyming is how someone earns their living, they should at least be half-decent at it. He should do himself a favour and expand that vocabulary.
BFF is the eighth track and the corniest song I never expected to hear on this album. It sounds like something you would hear on the Disney Channel. The lyrics “we could even go to the movies, ride around and smoke a couple of doobies” probably won’t let that happen though. The 12-and-under crowd usually have parents that strongly frown on casual pot use while riding.
V-nasty is featured on the fourth track, "Summertime." It is all right until her verse begins, where she raps about girls in short shorts and neighbourhood barbecues, because she just sounds so aggressive and angry. If that is her rapping about the good times in her life, I don’t want to hear her rap about the negatives. Her voice is grating on the nerves enough in this song.
"Gucci Gucci" is the third track on the album and I am surprised to actually find it here because it was released over a year ago. I guess Columbia was hoping to bank on its former popularity. It’s a decent song to play while washing dishes.
My personal favourites are "Twerkin" (nine) and "The Ruler" (12). They both made me wish for the coordination and grace to dance without looking like an idiot. I found them really fun songs to study to because they keep you awake and "The Ruler" has a free-style sound similar to Tone Loc’s "Funky Cold Medina." They also have lower annoyance properties than some of the other songs. Well, there is a part in "Twerkin" that has a guy yelling “Hello, goodbye, whut, whut, whut, what’s up guys” that got stuck in my head on repeat for a day.
These songs aren’t deep enough to wet your ankles so look elsewhere for enlightenment or soulful meaning. There are countless marijuana/drug references typical to other albums of the genre but no “n” word, so there’s that. A few songs have a late 1980s free-style vibe while others have a grade school hip-hop dance routine sound. It’s meant to be amusing and frivolous. Enjoy it at that level and listen to it in moderation to avoid becoming absolutely annoyed with it. I rate the album two out of five.
I will hold off judgement about her future career because Kreayshawn has only just turned 23. I barely knew what I wanted for dinner, let alone what kind of album I would make if I was given the same chance at her age. Besides, as Blink-182 stipulates “nobody likes you when you’re 23,” maybe things will improve for her next year. She also has a background in directing, so she has options. I do wish her luck and hope she focuses on the music more than her internet persona if she makes a sophomore album.
BK: y'all should listen to Uffie instead.
I love "Gucci Gucci." ...
ReplyDeleteshe used to work at an IKEA btw.