Gino’s Music Corner: Taylor Allderdice – Wiz Khalifa

Now before we get started, I’d like to say that I was once a HUGE Wiz Khalifa fan. Long before many of you probably heard of him. Long before “Black & Yellow” dropped. Long before Kush & Orange Juice. Even before Burn After Rolling (my favorite mixtape by him). Allll the way back to the Prince of the City days. That being said, as of late, he’s left me SMHing until my face is numb. His sugarplum fairy, label-induced pop album Rolling Papers made me want to bomb an orphanage. And I still don’t understand why he tied the knot with Amber Rose. But that’s neither here nor there, as long as that doesn’t influence his music in a fruity way. Let’s get right into it.

GHOST NOTE: This is Wiz’s last chance to win me back as a fan. Please Wiz, don’t let me down.

1. “Amber Ice” Before even listening to it, the title on this song makes me want to delete this whole tape off my iTunes library and never even listen to it. C’mon son… you gotta drop Amber’s name ALREADY!? But since I promised everyone I’d write this review, I’ll listen. Here we go. Oh sh*t he’s rapping over “Job” by Curren$y! He better kill this track. This hook is kind of tight. And so far so good, he’s going in. Okay he’s really going in. This is some real music, this sounds like the OLD WIZ. This track is making me excited [pause] to listen to the rest of it. Why did he call it “Amber Ice” though? Whatever, dope song. Curren$y would be proud. Next track.

2. “California” He released this song a while ago, this is like the “single” off the mixtape, if you will. I like it. Not crazy about the beat, it kinda sounds like some Rolling Papers garbage pumped with testosterone, not Cardo’s finest work. I heavy fucks with the hook though. Like heavy. And the second verse is really real.

3. “Mia Wallace” I like this beat, but something about this shit doesn’t sound right. I dunno, I don’t really like this that much to be honest. This song’s like 2 and a half minutes long and I still didn’t make it all the way through without skipping it. If I had to sum this song up, it would be “ehhhh…” so yeah next track.

4. “Guilty Conscience” This shit bangs. I’m not sure who Sparky Banks is, but this joint goes hard. So props to him on the beat. Hook is cold, got my head on Parkinson’s mode. Okay!!! My name is Gino the Ghost, and I approve of this song. Yo also, LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW AT THE END. He talks about Rolling Papers and how he admits he would “have done it different” and that he was just “experimenting”. Basically, what he meant was, “Ay my bad for that weak shit, lemme make it up to y’all and never do that weak shit again.”

GHOST NOTE: So far the mixtape is pretty solid, I’m just not sure what identity he’s trying to hold with it. The vibe/feel is kind of all over the place right now. But it’s only been four songs so let’s continue.

5. “Mary 3x” This is a smokers anthem, not that most of his songs aren’t. But this bridge is soulful, just kind of gay. Wiz is getting his singing on. The hook is “All I need is Mary, Mary, Mary, I ain’t fucking with no other drugs.” Which is real. I respect that. The message is pretty much like “just smoke weed, don’t mess with that other crazy shit like coke and all that.” He did take a shot at blunts though, which I DO NOT fucks with. Like okay man, you ONLY smoke joints, that’s cool, we get it, but leave blunts alone. That’s a real man’s weapon of choice. Anyway, this song gets boring after like 2 minutes, so moving on.

6. “O.N.I.F.C.” Woah check out this crazy acronym. This beat is powerful. It doesn’t really bang, it’s not like anything I can really describe other than “powerful”. It’s kinda weird, but cool. The cowbell is a nice touch too. Cardo & Sledgren on the beat. This song is just kinda… like… I don’t know. Weird. I’m not really sure how to describe it lol you just gotta listen to this shit for yourself. He did do this like “wizard, hizzurt (hurt), blizzard, shizzirt (shirt), wizzork (work)” rhyme scheme thing that bugs the shit outta me. But that’s just my preference as a rapper. I don’t know. This is weird. Not really good weird.

7. “Nameless (Feat. Chevy Woods)” We got our first feature on the tape. Chevy Woods, who is Wiz’s right-hand Taylor, starts the song off. And he really did his thing on this. Also, this beat is raw as an empty condom box (Prod. by Dope Couture). Then Wiz comes in and rips this bitch too. This might be my favorite song on the tape so far. This track is dope as a hell.

8. “Never Been (Part II) (Feat. Amber Rose & Rick Ross)” Okay okay okay okay okay. Okay. Now before we get into this song, the expectations are through the roof. The original “Never Been” would be Track 1 on the “Wiz Khalifa Greatest Hits” album if he dropped one right now. Now I see Rick Ross is featured (UGHH!) ……..and also I see Amber Rose is featured (Ugh….) But let’s get into it. OKAY! The beat is hard, it’s like a spin-off the original beat. Wiz sounds like old Wiz on the first verse again, this is excellent so far. I’m just dreading Amber Rose’s voice. I know its coming. I’m just withholding hope that it’s a joke. OH GOD EWWWWWWW here it is. She sounds like Kreayshawn if she were to ever sing (God forbid). This shit like ruined the song. Man what the hell. Well here come’s Rozay. “I’m in my grand daddy smoking on that grand daddy”. Cold. Rick Ross going in! M-m-m-ma–ma-man I just wish Amber Rose just wasn’t on this. Man dammit. DAMMIT. Still a dope song though. But DAMMIT.

9. “The Cruise” This joint sounds fruity. I don’t know who’s singing but he’s bugging the hell outta me. Wait……. is this….. Wiz….? Man I’m changing this. Eff that. WARNING to my hip hop heads: DO NOT listen to this. This makes me want to never take a cruise, if this is what “the cruise” is like. Terrible song.

10. “Rowland (Feat. Smoke DZA)” I’ve got much respect for Smoke DZA. Y’all definitely need to stop hitting the damn snooze button on this dude and just wake up already. But this is a tight smoking song. I’m assuming the title “Rowland” is a homonym for “rolling”, which is creative. I love when artists do little shit like that. Here comes DZA with his “RIIIIIIGHT” intro which I think is dope. He’s spitting, per usual. Listen to this shit. Good song.

GHOST NOTE: These interview questions he’s doing at the end of the songs are annoying. There’s some real shit/truth in some of them, but most of them are dumb. Not a fan of it.

11. “My Favorite Song (Feat. Juicy J)” Awww sheeiiiiit here comes Juicy J! If you don’t know about Juicy J, first thing you need to do is listen to 3-6 Mafia. Second thing you need to do splash some ice-cold water in your face. Third thing you need to do is understand that this man is the biggest clown in the game. He’s hilarious, and though not the most lyrical, he does his thing and goes hard on every track. Basic summary of “My Favorite Song”: its a solid spending money, smoking weed song. The beats tight. Juicy J comes in and does his thing. He’s barely in it though, just a quick 8 bar verse. Solid song, but definitely not my favorite song (see what I did there?)

12. “T.A.P. (Feat. Juicy J)” Another Juicy J track, and this has got me banging my head not even 4 seconds in. My homie Spaceghostpurp from the A$AP movement made this bitch and it is not a joke. I repeat: THIS BEAT IS NOT A JOKE. IT IS A MOTHAF#*&!N’ PROBLEM. This is the hardest joint I’ve heard from Wiz in a while. This shit makes me want to roundhouse kick a cop in the face, smoke a blunt over his body, then ash on his badge or something. Holy hell this song is hard man. Whew. Wiz Khalifa goes in, then Juicy J REALLY goes in. This is the best song on this mixtape. This song alone is gonna change the mixtape’s Ghost Grade. Wiz did burp at the very end though… not sure why he did that.

GHOST NOTE: ^ HOLY SH!T.

13. “The Code (Feat. Juicy J, Lola Monroe, & Chevy Woods)” For anybody that says all Lex Luger beats sound the same, listen to this then try to utter that foolishness. Then re-evaluate yourself, because Luger is THAT dude. Very talented with a diverse skill set. Juicy J is on this joint too to complete the Juicy J Hat Trick. I’ve never heard of Lola Monroe, and I’m not crazy about female rappers, but she’s kinda flowing. Chevy Woods goes in too, he’s impressed me this tape. This song is also cold. I wish the whole mixtape sounded like these last two tracks.

14. “The Grinder” Wiz flows on this bitch. There’s no hook, which is kinda tight. Dope song. The ending is cool too. For the smokers.

15. “Brainstorm” Beat is crazy, nice work Cardo. This song is baby-bottom smooth. The beat, the hook, the verses, all that. Another smoker joint (pun intended). I heavy fucks with this song.

16. “Number 16” Cool title bro. This song is cool, because basically he’s saying “you don’t like the music I’m making? Either get accustomed to it or stop listening then.” Problem is, A lot of people will just stop listening. But I’m kinda sorta fucking with it, this track’s like a decently attractive girl when I’m really drunk. But the more I’m listening to it, the more drunk I’d have to be, to fucks with her. Figuratively.

17. “Blindfolds (Feat. Juicy J)” This trippy mane. Whoever Harry Fraud is, he went in on this beat. He should change his name though. But this is a cool exit-piece to the mixtape. Hook is nice. This song is cool. That’s how I’d describe it. It’s cool. Juicy J came in clowning, even on this smooth beat. But it’s dope because thats Juicy J. So yeah, that’s the end of the mixtape.

Final Thoughts: I’m not really sure how I feel about this. This mixtape was literally all over the place. Not that it was bad, but it didn’t really have any particular identity to it. To compare it to weed: Some songs on here were the kush, some were reggies, some were mids, and some had Amber Rose on them. That T.A.P. song still got my hands trembling and shit. That’s definitely the highlight of the mixtape. Man. But overall, this mixtape was pretty solid. I’m not giving up on Wiz…. yet. He hasn’t got me back on the Taylor Train [pause] yet though, I’ll be staying neutral until his next project.

GHOST GRADE: 76.3% (C)

HAVE YOU LISTENED TO Taylor Allderice? IF SO WHAT’D YOU THINK OF IT? WHAT CURRENT OR UPCOMING PROJECT SHOULD I REVIEW NEXT? Let me know below!

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