Addicted

Details, details, details: it’s all us gossip girls want. Joey be dropping quotables showing off his ghostwriting skills for VH1’s Best Week Ever but his best attribute besides rapping for days is his extremely personal anecdotes that he sprinkles within his bars (or all over them).

MM3 heads could take nights reciting and trading celeb punch lines, or favorite lines. I hope you caught the lines on Amy Winehouse, the song at Jay Z “Talk 2 Em” (“I wish these old motherfuckas would stop rapping”), Eagles coach Andy Reid, Da Brat, preacher Joe Olstein, Soulja Boy, Timbaland & Danja, Ransom, Tetris, Weezy*, Roc-a-feller/Def Jam and I could go on. What’s even better is Joey has so many that don’t hit right away and all of them seem to make sense. While on the first listen, I was annoyed of his Game-like name dropping but it’s just me being picky; it’s the only minor fault I could find.

He lets us know he takes a shower in two days a week; his brother getting shot; praying to God and getting laughed at; clutching razorblades; and getting attacked by Hurricane Chris all on the opening “Hiatus”. “Music is just what feeling sound like… while try to fit in when you stand out.”

His honesty notes continue “green screen niggas”, picking anonymity over being famous, arguing who made better tacos (side comment: who has taco parties?), he asks for his cum back, seeing his friends in the rear view, knowing he attracts drama, his mental having two different addresses (now T.I. couldn't come up with that?) and I could go on.

Not that it’s important but the feelings of the Ransom beef stay with me so when Ransom came on, I actually cupped my ears; I wanted no part in hearing this rapper—he’s dead to me (I still fast forward his verse too). Oh, and the skit "Foldgers Brother" is so on point it brings tears, "I told Joe I brush my teeth with Colgate, next thing I know he brush his teeth with Colgate."

So what songs hit? All of them. There’s very few bars that don’t jive, not one song that’s wack. Every song Joey gives you his all. Ditto for the beats—loved them. “Dear Diary”, naturally, is quintessential Joey and the chick wailing on the beat equals pure piff. "Warfare" is 3 minutes of Joey and Joell trading some riding music. "5th Gear" is still my shit after hearing it a few months ago. And "All of Me" is yet another long track that gives Joey room to let us into his world, "Maybe I'm exhausted, maybe I just lost it, maybe I should I pick up the pen and just force it."

I could have spent a page describing/writing lyrics to give my impression of MM3. Joey has passion and that’s missing from most everyone. I’ve listened to the tape easily a dozen times through in less than a week. He has like 100 bars for a three minute song; he doesn’t quit. On a few tracks his mic fades while Joey still raps, it’s like he’d rap all night. There’s hardly any filler. And he’s able to offer a comedic side, content, witty bars, and introspective notes all in the same song and on every song. Unbefuckinglievible. His lyrical prowess, in dealing with all of those sides and delivering on all of those points, is amazing; he still finds bars to showoff his MC. I hated writing this review because when MM3 is playing, I really just want to sit back and listen, so it’s like this is a crazy mixtape only after four songs. On a MM3 listening session you never feel like touching the dial. It feels like days have passed when the CD ends and you feel like wasting a few more days to listen to it again. For 80 plus minutes (yes, I had leave off a BH skit to fit it on a disc) MM3 is a whole tape full of Joey being Joey. That’s all we’ve ever asked for.