Review Summary: I don't chase bitches, bitches chase me.
Devin the Dude is not a rapper I frequently listen to, mostly because his laid back style is reminiscent of way too many other rappers that I already have loads of songs from on my playlists. I don't discriminate against his music simply because of that, and I'm always 100% willing to check out any new work the man puts out, because he is a fine lyricist, one of the few rappers whose rhymes sometimes make me laugh out loud. 2008's
Landing Gear does not disappoint in any way. The lyrics are related to the beats like brother and sister, but apparently this is an incestuous family because Devin's words and beats make love with one another. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEBAV-thFLI
That is a link to Devin's track
Me, You from this album. Listen to it while your reading this. Do you hear that? It's innovation in hip-hop. Devin is a Mic Controller if there ever was one. His songs on
Landing Gear are the kind of laid back that makes the listener feel like they just woke up on a sunny Sunday morning, still a little drunk from last night laying next to a beautiful girl (or boy if you swing that way) after the deepest sleep they've had in weeks. Yeah, it is that good. But it's also that bad - Devin is most definitely an inventor when it comes to the world of hip-hop, but he stays within the same hemisphere when he's doing all this discovery in rap. His lyrics can kill most beats if the situation came to it, but they retain the same laid back feel that I fear Devin the Dude will never graduate from. Most of his fans do not want that, but judging by his voice and flow, if Devin tried something that wasn't a reefer anthem I think he'd do a great job and out rap most popular rappers in the game today.
But there are certainly exceptions to the slow, careful songs on LG. There's
Your Kinda Love, a speedy bass line and high pitched guitar notes accompanied by rapping that keeps up with the beat as if the rappers were just another instrument. Not astonishing, but after nine tracks of basically the same concept it is a miraculous break. I don't want to sound as though I'm bashing the album too hard, because it doesn't deserve that - I'm sure any slightest fan of hip-hop music can find a few songs on
Landing Gear they don't mind bumping in the car on the way to work at
least.
The highlights on LG include the chillest
I Need A Song, a track so laid back and lyrically inclined I wouldn't be surprised that if there was a heaven, this song would get played a lot at the heavenly bar. Then there's the duet with Snoop Dogg, the 8th track
I Don't Chase Em. The song is about how Devin and Snoop apparently do not chase the bitches always flocking them from all sides, they chase the
rappers. Ain't that a bitch? Not really, because it spawned a fine song featuring one of Snoop's greatest guest verses all year.
Highway is also a contender for best track on the album - the bass line is insane, someone who knows Devin rather closely must have written it for him because if not he wrote it himself. The definition of flow is
Highway. If you want to hear a class - A chorus alongside some dope ass rapping, listen to this song.
Then there's
Me, You which I showed you before and it's all downhill from there.
Landing Gear is not too far away from Devin's past efforts, but if anything, it's a vast improvement on his lyrical style and the beats ain't nothin' to *** wit. Make sure you hear this stuff, Devin the Dude is more underrated than your mom in bed.
