5.85 was the score I gave Android Anthony's last album Piccolo's Meditation Technique. It's been almost a year since then and the site I wrote that review for is no longer around, thankfully. In that year I've managed to write reviews that are better than being simply "I like this song" or "I dislike this song," and created Blerds Online. In that year Android Anthony has release a slew of tracks to prove he's above that 5.85. He's also managed to rack up guest appearances on several other albums. A lot can change in a year. So without further ranting, let's dive into $hinobi God.
One thing that's remained the same is that Anthony is still great at picking instrumentals to flow over. Not only that, I counted 10 different individuals who had a hand in creating instrumentals for the album. This gives it the benefit tat every track doesn't sound the same. Often times people will get beats from multiple producers only for them all to sound the same and make zero positive contributions to the album that isn't the case here.
Overall production on Shinobi God is good all around and even if I didn't like a track lyrically I probably enjoyed the instrumental. While Misa wasn't my favorite track on the album the instrumental made it bearable, that's the case with a few of the tracks. The one instrumental that I really disliked was the instrumental from the Shinobi Society Cypher. That one was simple repetitive and didn't offer anything exciting.
When I reviewed Piccolo's Meditation Technique I said the biggest problem is Anthony would whisper on tracks like he was afraid of the microphone and lacked confidence. Not anymore, that lack of confidence is gone. The other big problem from PMT was Anthony's flow, or lack of. But even that's improved. There's no distinguishing flow to set him apart from everyone else but there's a flow now. No more simply speaking nicely to the beat. The best flows come on either slow tracks or fast tracks. Just something about intermediate tracks where he'll lose the beat at times. Usually he manages to catch the beat again before the end of the track.
Lyrically there haven't been any great leaps and bounds but that's okay because there hasn't been any regression either. Anthony is still average, dropping a really good bar here and there then dropping a head scratcher a few bars later. Hooks and bridges are also a lackluster spot. Some being too long an others being too short.
I can't say there was a cohesive theme to the album. While there isn't a necessity that every album have a cohesive theme it is necessary that it's arranged to transition easily from one track to the next. That's the problem with Shinobi God. An example is that Okamiden, Nocturnal and Indigo are all fast tracks that would play nicely back to back. The problem is that Mellow and Monotone breaks it up with a slow song right in the middle. It's like being in a mosh pit then Prince starts playing Purple Rain.
The refreshing thing Anthony did with PMT was the lack of features. It allowed you to get a feel for Android Anthony as an individual and not a group. $hinobi God has 8 guest features between the 14 standard tracks, which may seem like a lot but it's usually multiple people featured on a sing tracks so the number looks higher than it actually is. The features on the album is hit or miss. Some of the features like Cloud come in and stick to the topic and you end up with a nice collaboration. Then there are guest who come in and throw you for a loop with random bars like "blast 'em with burbs." Guest can make a good track great or a good track bad. It's all about how they approach the track.
The best tracks on the album were Indigo featuring Trey Skies, Marshall Lee featuring Sugg Savage and Mellow and Monotone featuring Mac Tutmose. All three of these tracks managed to force Android Anthony out of his comfort zone and they were nice tracks.
The Score
You can check out Android Anthony on Soundcloud and Twitter
Follow @AndroidXAnthony
You can check me out on the CP Time Podcast and Twitter
Follow @OriginalKingD
One thing that's remained the same is that Anthony is still great at picking instrumentals to flow over. Not only that, I counted 10 different individuals who had a hand in creating instrumentals for the album. This gives it the benefit tat every track doesn't sound the same. Often times people will get beats from multiple producers only for them all to sound the same and make zero positive contributions to the album that isn't the case here.Overall production on Shinobi God is good all around and even if I didn't like a track lyrically I probably enjoyed the instrumental. While Misa wasn't my favorite track on the album the instrumental made it bearable, that's the case with a few of the tracks. The one instrumental that I really disliked was the instrumental from the Shinobi Society Cypher. That one was simple repetitive and didn't offer anything exciting.
When I reviewed Piccolo's Meditation Technique I said the biggest problem is Anthony would whisper on tracks like he was afraid of the microphone and lacked confidence. Not anymore, that lack of confidence is gone. The other big problem from PMT was Anthony's flow, or lack of. But even that's improved. There's no distinguishing flow to set him apart from everyone else but there's a flow now. No more simply speaking nicely to the beat. The best flows come on either slow tracks or fast tracks. Just something about intermediate tracks where he'll lose the beat at times. Usually he manages to catch the beat again before the end of the track.
Lyrically there haven't been any great leaps and bounds but that's okay because there hasn't been any regression either. Anthony is still average, dropping a really good bar here and there then dropping a head scratcher a few bars later. Hooks and bridges are also a lackluster spot. Some being too long an others being too short.
I can't say there was a cohesive theme to the album. While there isn't a necessity that every album have a cohesive theme it is necessary that it's arranged to transition easily from one track to the next. That's the problem with Shinobi God. An example is that Okamiden, Nocturnal and Indigo are all fast tracks that would play nicely back to back. The problem is that Mellow and Monotone breaks it up with a slow song right in the middle. It's like being in a mosh pit then Prince starts playing Purple Rain.
The refreshing thing Anthony did with PMT was the lack of features. It allowed you to get a feel for Android Anthony as an individual and not a group. $hinobi God has 8 guest features between the 14 standard tracks, which may seem like a lot but it's usually multiple people featured on a sing tracks so the number looks higher than it actually is. The features on the album is hit or miss. Some of the features like Cloud come in and stick to the topic and you end up with a nice collaboration. Then there are guest who come in and throw you for a loop with random bars like "blast 'em with burbs." Guest can make a good track great or a good track bad. It's all about how they approach the track.
The best tracks on the album were Indigo featuring Trey Skies, Marshall Lee featuring Sugg Savage and Mellow and Monotone featuring Mac Tutmose. All three of these tracks managed to force Android Anthony out of his comfort zone and they were nice tracks.
The Score
- Lyricism- 6
- Flow- 5
- Production-9
- Theme- 6
- Replayability- 6
- Individuality- 8
You can check out Android Anthony on Soundcloud and Twitter
Follow @AndroidXAnthony
You can check me out on the CP Time Podcast and Twitter
Follow @OriginalKingD
