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Thread started 10/05/21 7:42pm

26ten

Newpower Soul

I am going to be experiencing this album again and will he playing it as much as I can. A cursory listen makes me remember how much I love Freaks On This Side and how clever and cool it is - and trippy. This, Come On, and Wasted Kisses are likely the Peaks of the album, but overall it's an album that at once could be way better if he didn't base so much of it around these sort of (dated now) catch phrases but is hysterically underrated.

How do you all feel about this record? Is it one you listen to much compared to the rest of his work?
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Reply #1 posted 10/05/21 8:04pm

LoveGalore

26ten said:

I am going to be experiencing this album again and will he playing it as much as I can. A cursory listen makes me remember how much I love Freaks On This Side and how clever and cool it is - and trippy.


Girl bye
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Reply #2 posted 10/05/21 9:36pm

donnadiavolo

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It's a cool record, and I'm sick of switching from Spotify to Tidal 4 it lol. I love The One & mm those goddamn STRINGS. So expressionistic.

We are the flowers growin' in God's garden
And that is why he spreads the shit around
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Reply #3 posted 10/05/21 9:44pm

26ten

donnadiavolo said:

It's a cool record, and I'm sick of switching from Spotify to Tidal 4 it lol. I love The One & mm those goddamn STRINGS. So expressionistic.



Haha I can get that. I've been lucky with Amazon music as it appears to have everything officially released. Anything not in their music app has a corresponding YT video that plays the same either way so it's real nice.

I remember going crazy and tracking down physical copies of everything down. Strange to be enjoying these through streaming now. Still swear by buying stuff but so convenient.

Also - The One is a track I like but it's one that I haven't gotten as into compared to the twisted and atonal funk that lies in the album, even if it's musically all solid.
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Reply #4 posted 10/06/21 2:38am

databank

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It's spelled Newpower Soul. New Power Soul is a track on Exodus.

A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/
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Reply #5 posted 10/06/21 3:09am

langebleu

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moderator

^ Yep - I'll edit the title of the thread

ALT+PLS+RTN: Pure as a pane of ice. It's a gift.
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Reply #6 posted 10/06/21 3:25am

Vannormal

databank said:

It's spelled Newpower Soul. New Power Soul is a track on Exodus.

-

Was about to mention that too.

-

I like the Chaka Kahn collab. ''Push It Up'' too.

...with that hunting vocal were they sing together.

Love that beat.

I remember that summer, it was on repeat on my iPod.

-

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves. And wiser people so full of doubts" (Bertrand Russell 1872-1972)
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Reply #7 posted 10/06/21 4:06am

OperatingTheta
n

I appreciate NewPower Soul and return to it often. It's a highly enjoyable listening experience for me, much more so than some of Prince's 80s material,though they may have been considered greater statements as albums.

The production is also much fuller than Emancipation and much of Rave and is the best Kirk offered in my opinion.
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Reply #8 posted 10/06/21 5:22am

26ten

databank said:

It's spelled Newpower Soul. New Power Soul is a track on Exodus.



Tell that to my phone's autocorrect haha it hasn't been prepared for all the Prince-speak haha
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Reply #9 posted 10/06/21 12:20pm

TrivialPursuit

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Newpower Soul is the first full on plastic production album from him.

The songs are good in their base form. But the dried out, flat production zaps them of any life from them.


If they'd played those songs, especially stuff like "Mad Sex," "Freaks On This Side," "Until U're In My Arms Again," "Push It Up," live and have that "live studio mix" (See "Somebody's Somebody") feel, they'd have been fantastic. The best parts of Diamonds and Pearls and prince was that they were band records. Same goes for something like Exodus, the previous New Power Generation album. Despite Tony M. on the former two, those three albums felt real. They had grit, texture, a cohesive smoothness, layered yet raw. It was one of the best moves (sans Tony M.) Prince could've made at that point his career.

NewPower Soul is the polar opposite. It's flat, dry, uninspired.

I don't believe, for me, that Kat Dyson was that great of a guitar player. Kirk Johnson's drum programming sounds like it was on a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model IV. Better talents like Mike Scott, Marva King, Chaka Khan, Morris Hayes and even Larry Graham (solely as a bass player) feel muted by the production and lesser players.

It seems that new power soul was an acrylic genre he wanted to create. Meh. I literally scoffed and LOL'd when he told Melanie B that NewPower Soul was the most hype record he'd ever made. Uhhh, RIGHT. Out'cho mind.

I can listen to it, but it feels disappointing. I often get halfway thru it and think, "I'm wasting my time."

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #10 posted 10/06/21 12:36pm

Germanegro

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Loving it still, wholeheartedly. love2 heart Freaks on this side! razz woot!

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Reply #11 posted 10/06/21 4:02pm

KoolEaze

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It´s an album that I don´t listen to very often because of its dry and sterile sounding production and the poor songwriting on songs like Push It Up and I Like Funky Music but half of the album consists of some decent to really good songs. I like The One, Wasted Kisses and Come On a lot, and as far as I remember Come On was also the last great maxi single he put some effort into, with some nice remixes.

[Edited 10/6/21 16:49pm]

" I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?"
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Reply #12 posted 10/06/21 4:06pm

KoolEaze

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26ten said:

I am going to be experiencing this album again and will he playing it as much as I can. A cursory listen makes me remember how much I love Freaks On This Side and how clever and cool it is - and trippy. This, Come On, and Wasted Kisses are likely the Peaks of the album, but overall it's an album that at once could be way better if he didn't base so much of it around these sort of (dated now) catch phrases but is hysterically underrated. How do you all feel about this record? Is it one you listen to much compared to the rest of his work?

Out of sheer curiousity.....what exactly do you find clever and cool about that song?

.

I mean, I do like it and prefer it over stuff like Push It Up or I Like Funky Music but I don´t see why you´d consider it clever or cool.

" I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?"
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Reply #13 posted 10/06/21 5:46pm

GustavoRibas

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Some cool songs, but could have been better with a different production. I cant help it, but those 98-2001 years in Prince music were the ones that I really wasnt as happy as the other eras.

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Reply #14 posted 10/07/21 12:35am

Sydney

I always liked this record. I understand people's negativity towards the production but I actually like the songs - Come On, The One, Shoo-Bed-Ooh and in particular Wasted Kisses. I also like the photos of Prince on the cover and inner sleeve.
[Edited 10/7/21 0:36am]
[Edited 10/7/21 0:36am]
[Edited 10/7/21 0:37am]
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Reply #15 posted 10/07/21 6:25pm

26ten

KoolEaze said:



26ten said:


I am going to be experiencing this album again and will he playing it as much as I can. A cursory listen makes me remember how much I love Freaks On This Side and how clever and cool it is - and trippy. This, Come On, and Wasted Kisses are likely the Peaks of the album, but overall it's an album that at once could be way better if he didn't base so much of it around these sort of (dated now) catch phrases but is hysterically underrated. How do you all feel about this record? Is it one you listen to much compared to the rest of his work?

Out of sheer curiousity.....what exactly do you find clever and cool about that song?


.


I mean, I do like it and prefer it over stuff like Push It Up or I Like Funky Music but I don´t see why you´d consider it clever or cool.



I mean musically. Will elaborate in a second here.
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Reply #16 posted 10/07/21 6:35pm

26ten

KoolEaze said:



26ten said:


I am going to be experiencing this album again and will he playing it as much as I can. A cursory listen makes me remember how much I love Freaks On This Side and how clever and cool it is - and trippy. This, Come On, and Wasted Kisses are likely the Peaks of the album, but overall it's an album that at once could be way better if he didn't base so much of it around these sort of (dated now) catch phrases but is hysterically underrated. How do you all feel about this record? Is it one you listen to much compared to the rest of his work?

Out of sheer curiousity.....what exactly do you find clever and cool about that song?


.


I mean, I do like it and prefer it over stuff like Push It Up or I Like Funky Music but I don´t see why you´d consider it clever or cool.



Compositionally the song is insane. I don't know if you are a musician so I'll just sort of describe what I hear:

So it starts with the crowd chanting. Already I see a stadium full of people chanting - texturally to hear that, your first response is to mentally see it. It's a really interesting sound musically and it's sort of sharp and fuzzy at the same time. The crowd is on beat and pretty well synchronized. Then they get used as a metronome and the drums and bass hit in at once - but we still hear their echoing voices (now with reverb, which adds a real cool psychedelic feel).

Then suddenly these ultimate P funk horns enter with a jolt and are joined by this real dark sounding organ. When the horns drop out the organ continues and Prince's voice enters, but there is an slight atonal effect on his voice that throughout the song gets increasingly dissonant until by the end it sounds like two wacked out voices that are pulling themselves apart.

All throughout the bass and drums keep the beat, and the chants are put back in and then removed back and forth.

Texturally it's one of his most incredible tracks, and it's the equal of any of his 80's work in my opinion. It would have worked well on SOTT for instance.
[Edited 10/7/21 19:23pm]
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Reply #17 posted 10/07/21 6:48pm

Farfunknugin

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26ten said:

KoolEaze said:



26ten said:


I am going to be experiencing this album again and will he playing it as much as I can. A cursory listen makes me remember how much I love Freaks On This Side and how clever and cool it is - and trippy. This, Come On, and Wasted Kisses are likely the Peaks of the album, but overall it's an album that at once could be way better if he didn't base so much of it around these sort of (dated now) catch phrases but is hysterically underrated. How do you all feel about this record? Is it one you listen to much compared to the rest of his work?

Out of sheer curiousity.....what exactly do you find clever and cool about that song?


.


I mean, I do like it and prefer it over stuff like Push It Up or I Like Funky Music but I don´t see why you´d consider it clever or cool.



Compositionally the song is insane. I don't know if you are a musician so I'll just sort of describe what I hear:

So it starts with the crowd chanting. Already I see a stadium full of people chanting - textuarally to hear that your first response is to mentally see it. They're on beat and pretty well synchronized. Then they get used as a metronomeand the drums and bass hit - but we still hear their echoing voices now with reverb. Then these ultimate P funk horns enter and are joined by this dark organ sounding. When the horns drop out the organ continues and Prince's voice enters, but there is an atonal effect on his voice that throughout the song gets increasingly dissonant until its two wacked out voices pulling themselves apart. All throughout the bass and drums keep the beat, and the chants are put back in and then removed.


I remember him doing a call & response in Oakland with the left & right side of the crowd chanting it, I think this was before the release . I thought it was a cool in concert moment, who knew it’d one of the best tracks in the album.
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Reply #18 posted 10/07/21 7:18pm

26ten

Farfunknugin said:

26ten said:
Compositionally the song is insane. I don't know if you are a musician so I'll just sort of describe what I hear: So it starts with the crowd chanting. Already I see a stadium full of people chanting - textuarally to hear that your first response is to mentally see it. They're on beat and pretty well synchronized. Then they get used as a metronomeand the drums and bass hit - but we still hear their echoing voices now with reverb. Then these ultimate P funk horns enter and are joined by this dark organ sounding. When the horns drop out the organ continues and Prince's voice enters, but there is an atonal effect on his voice that throughout the song gets increasingly dissonant until its two wacked out voices pulling themselves apart. All throughout the bass and drums keep the beat, and the chants are put back in and then removed.
I remember him doing a call & response in Oakland with the left & right side of the crowd chanting it, I think this was before the release . I thought it was a cool in concert moment, who knew it’d one of the best tracks in the album.


Right?! Oh jesus I'd love to have been able to go to a show of his. That will surely be a top 5 biggest regret of my life.

I will be obsessing over this disc a lot I think for the next few days. I am very happy to be revisiting it. I bought it on a whim years ago and post 80's P didn't really catch on with me right away (the lack of those Linn drums just hits different I think).

It occurred to me today that Freaks is real similar to Lemoncrush with the vocal effect. Another seriously underrated track no less.

[Edited 10/7/21 19:25pm]

[Edited 10/7/21 19:36pm]

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Reply #19 posted 10/07/21 11:57pm

KoolEaze

avatar

26ten said:

KoolEaze said:

Out of sheer curiousity.....what exactly do you find clever and cool about that song?

.

I mean, I do like it and prefer it over stuff like Push It Up or I Like Funky Music but I don´t see why you´d consider it clever or cool.

Compositionally the song is insane. I don't know if you are a musician so I'll just sort of describe what I hear: So it starts with the crowd chanting. Already I see a stadium full of people chanting - texturally to hear that, your first response is to mentally see it. It's a really interesting sound musically and it's sort of sharp and fuzzy at the same time. The crowd is on beat and pretty well synchronized. Then they get used as a metronome and the drums and bass hit in at once - but we still hear their echoing voices (now with reverb, which adds a real cool psychedelic feel). Then suddenly these ultimate P funk horns enter with a jolt and are joined by this real dark sounding organ. When the horns drop out the organ continues and Prince's voice enters, but there is an slight atonal effect on his voice that throughout the song gets increasingly dissonant until by the end it sounds like two wacked out voices that are pulling themselves apart. All throughout the bass and drums keep the beat, and the chants are put back in and then removed back and forth. Texturally it's one of his most incredible tracks, and it's the equal of any of his 80's work in my opinion. It would have worked well on SOTT for instance. [Edited 10/7/21 19:23pm]

Ah, ok, I see. Thanks for the in-depth explanation.

I like the song but I never really thought about such details.

To me it always sounded rather simple in the music and lyrics department but now I see your point.

Then again, I am not a musician.

" I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?"
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Reply #20 posted 10/08/21 11:40am

lurker316

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This album isn't a favorite, but I don't mind it.

I'm probably in the minority, but my favorite song on it is the title track, Newpower Soul. I also like Mad Sex, Push It Up, and Shoo-Bed-Ooh.

Come On has a good groove, but it doesn't really go anywhere. Also, I like some of the remixes of Come On more than the album version.

I want to like Freaks On This Side and (I like) Funky Music, but the crowd chants ruin those songs for me. I don't like that they sound like a large, distant crowd in an arena-setting. If they sounded more like a small, close-up group -- like his band or voices at party -- I'd probably like the chants better. I have the same objection for the crowd chant in Rock n Roll Is Alive (And it Lives in Minneapolis).


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Reply #21 posted 10/08/21 11:42am

lurker316

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TrivialPursuit said:

If they'd played those songs, especially stuff like "Mad Sex," "Freaks On This Side," "Until U're In My Arms Again," "Push It Up," live and have that "live studio mix" (See "Somebody's Somebody") feel, they'd have been fantastic. The best parts of Diamonds and Pearls and prince was that they were band records. Same goes for something like Exodus, the previous New Power Generation album. Despite Tony M. on the former two, those three albums felt real. They had grit, texture, a cohesive smoothness, layered yet raw. It was one of the best moves (sans Tony M.) Prince could've made at that point his career.

NewPower Soul is the polar opposite. It's flat, dry, uninspired.


I see what you're saying and mostly agree, but I think this argument is more true for Emancipation than Newpower Soul.



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Reply #22 posted 10/08/21 12:15pm

TrivialPursuit

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lurker316 said:

I see what you're saying and mostly agree, but I think this argument is more true for Emancipation than Newpower Soul.


I would double down and say it's definitely true for both. "Somebody's Somebody" in studio mix is a prime example for Emancipation.

And some of that flattened sound made it into the Jam of the Year Tour because, whether he or anyone admits it or not, they were playing with backing tracks. Kat Dyson can lipsync all day, but she doesn't sound like Rosie freakin' Gaines (she even did that on the VH1 concert during that song). Same with the drums on some songs, it was a loop often times, not all Kirk playing.

Fair to say both records could've given things like Exodus or The Gold Experience (both mostly band records) a run for their money, had he just used the band.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #23 posted 10/08/21 12:29pm

coldcoffeeandc
ocacola

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OperatingThetan said:

I appreciate NewPower Soul and return to it often. It's a highly enjoyable listening experience for me, much more so than some of Prince's 80s material,though they may have been considered greater statements as albums.

The production is also much fuller than Emancipation and much of Rave and is the best Kirk offered in my opinion.


Agree with all of this
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Reply #24 posted 10/08/21 12:33pm

coldcoffeeandc
ocacola

avatar

26ten said:

KoolEaze said:



26ten said:


I am going to be experiencing this album again and will he playing it as much as I can. A cursory listen makes me remember how much I love Freaks On This Side and how clever and cool it is - and trippy. This, Come On, and Wasted Kisses are likely the Peaks of the album, but overall it's an album that at once could be way better if he didn't base so much of it around these sort of (dated now) catch phrases but is hysterically underrated. How do you all feel about this record? Is it one you listen to much compared to the rest of his work?

Out of sheer curiousity.....what exactly do you find clever and cool about that song?


.


I mean, I do like it and prefer it over stuff like Push It Up or I Like Funky Music but I don´t see why you´d consider it clever or cool.



Compositionally the song is insane. I don't know if you are a musician so I'll just sort of describe what I hear:

So it starts with the crowd chanting. Already I see a stadium full of people chanting - texturally to hear that, your first response is to mentally see it. It's a really interesting sound musically and it's sort of sharp and fuzzy at the same time. The crowd is on beat and pretty well synchronized. Then they get used as a metronome and the drums and bass hit in at once - but we still hear their echoing voices (now with reverb, which adds a real cool psychedelic feel).

Then suddenly these ultimate P funk horns enter with a jolt and are joined by this real dark sounding organ. When the horns drop out the organ continues and Prince's voice enters, but there is an slight atonal effect on his voice that throughout the song gets increasingly dissonant until by the end it sounds like two wacked out voices that are pulling themselves apart.

All throughout the bass and drums keep the beat, and the chants are put back in and then removed back and forth.

Texturally it's one of his most incredible tracks, and it's the equal of any of his 80's work in my opinion. It would have worked well on SOTT for instance.
[Edited 10/7/21 19:23pm]


Now thats one of the best song descriptions I've ever heard, I don't like the track that much but this is incredible
[Edited 10/8/21 12:33pm]
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Reply #25 posted 10/08/21 12:48pm

Poplife88

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lurker316 said:


This album isn't a favorite, but I don't mind it.

I'm probably in the minority, but my favorite song on it is the title track, Newpower Soul. I also like Mad Sex, Push It Up, and Shoo-Bed-Ooh.

Come On has a good groove, but it doesn't really go anywhere. Also, I like some of the remixes of Come On more than the album version.

I want to like Freaks On This Side and (I like) Funky Music, but the crowd chants ruin those songs for me. I don't like that they sound like a large, distant crowd in an arena-setting. If they sounded more like a small, close-up group -- like his band or voices at party -- I'd probably like the chants better. I have the same objection for the crowd chant in Rock n Roll Is Alive (And it Lives in Minneapolis).


I was not a fan of this album when it was released, but it has grown on me, and I now think its a decent album. My fave track is the title track as well.

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Reply #26 posted 10/08/21 12:50pm

KoolEaze

avatar

coldcoffeeandcocacola said:

26ten said:
Compositionally the song is insane. I don't know if you are a musician so I'll just sort of describe what I hear: So it starts with the crowd chanting. Already I see a stadium full of people chanting - texturally to hear that, your first response is to mentally see it. It's a really interesting sound musically and it's sort of sharp and fuzzy at the same time. The crowd is on beat and pretty well synchronized. Then they get used as a metronome and the drums and bass hit in at once - but we still hear their echoing voices (now with reverb, which adds a real cool psychedelic feel). Then suddenly these ultimate P funk horns enter with a jolt and are joined by this real dark sounding organ. When the horns drop out the organ continues and Prince's voice enters, but there is an slight atonal effect on his voice that throughout the song gets increasingly dissonant until by the end it sounds like two wacked out voices that are pulling themselves apart. All throughout the bass and drums keep the beat, and the chants are put back in and then removed back and forth. Texturally it's one of his most incredible tracks, and it's the equal of any of his 80's work in my opinion. It would have worked well on SOTT for instance. [Edited 10/7/21 19:23pm]
Now thats one of the best song descriptions I've ever heard, I don't like the track that much but this is incredible [Edited 10/8/21 12:33pm]

I am listening to it right now with a new appreciation for that song. I´ve always liked it but 26ten helped me appreciate it even more. lol Blasting it on headphones as I´m typing this.

I wish he had played this live more often instead of Play That Funky Music or other cover songs.

It has so many moments that are perfect for solos...the drums, the organ, bass.

" I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?"
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Reply #27 posted 10/08/21 1:36pm

vainandy

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One of his worst albums ever. A shitty shit hop mess. The only track I can halfway get into is "When You Love Somebody".

Andy is a four letter word.
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Reply #28 posted 10/08/21 1:42pm

26ten

vainandy said:

One of his worst albums ever. A shitty shit hop mess. The only track I can halfway get into is "When You Love Somebody".



There is basically no rapping on it at all haha
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Reply #29 posted 10/08/21 1:48pm

vainandy

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26ten said:

vainandy said:

One of his worst albums ever. A shitty shit hop mess. The only track I can halfway get into is "When You Love Somebody".

There is basically no rapping on it at all haha

I'm not referring to rapping. I'm referring to the Fisher Price sound of the music and the attitude.

Andy is a four letter word.
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