0-2... 0-3

T.I. struck out, then Jeezy and now Luda. The ATL is suffering from overachieving. All their supposed top flight rappers are not delivering anymore. Texas fell off. LA and Memphis acts barely bubbled. I never felt any FLA cats. The South is, er, been over.

Besides "No Matter What", the few leaked tracks from T.I.'s Paper Trail have been making me look the other way. Ignoring his decline is the best way I can deal with this reality. I've felt like this album was going to be questionable considering his case. Can he go on wax talking wreck less like he used to? So this was the true test then, is T.I. more than a thug? Not so far. If "Whatever You Like" and "Like I Do" are the aftermaths of T.I. running a foul, I will not be a part of him anymore. There's something about rappers making techno/rap jams with Dream and club records that riles me up. Especially when they used to be better than that.

Jeezy is still around. After hearing "Crazy World", I'm clearly not feeling his Recession era. This whole recession issue has been going on for 7-8 years since the dot-com bust, the Bush era and 9/11. So it took this long for Jeezy to get on this subject? Not buying his sincerity or his sudden consciousness. Plus the beat eats ass and is something circa Southern Rap 2005. That Prime Minister tape got 4 tracks spun around my way--it was that stank! His "Put On" lyrics were fairly weak. Couple that with the vocoder and a random Ye verse and the song is barely tolerable. But listening to Jeezy's raps is harder than ever. His skills are lacking. You'd a thunk he'd stepped up his game over a few years but no. And his flow is the same, same, same!!!

Why should I even bother with Luda? I've felt like he's had the talent to deliver a classic all these years but he quickly took the Top 40 route and has become regular (been regular for like 5 years plus too). "What Them Girls" is worse than "Money Maker". Really Luda, this is the best poppy sounding shit you could come up with. NOTE: Chris Brown does not necessarily make a Rap song better with a hook. The Preview was okay, like, I could get through it. "Wish You Would" is not as good a surprise collabo as it should have been. Liked T.I.'s verse better than Luda's but that's not saying much either. Theatre of the Mind will have worthy 3 tracks like every other Luda album. What's different!?!