Usually the goal of a creative individual is to progress artistically, making
something more interesting than you did on your last project, and even if the
public doesn't perceive your end goal your personal satisfaction from the artistic
effort makes it worthwhile. I say "usually" because I've had a hard time perceiving
that artistic progress from Michael Ray Stevenson b/k/a Tyga. At first it felt like
he got a break in the music business because
of his family relations, but there was still a spark of talent in his music
to suggest he could become something greater. The closest we got to him achieving
that potential was on "Careless World," and
since then he's actually been regressing
BACKWARD artistically. He's now less interesting than when he first started.
He raps constantly about how much money he has and how much sex he gets in a
seemingly uninspired monotone flow. You could call it "progress" in a sense though,
because each album has become progressively
harder to listen to from start to finish.
We're not off to a good start on "Bitch I'm the S--t 2" when the first thing I select
immediately makes me think of Ma$e and leaves me concluding that Mason Betha had more
personality and flow, when I used to think HE was monotone and boring. You can't
help it though when "Move to L.A." jacks the exact same sample as Betha's "What You
Want" single featuring Total - Curtis Mayfield's "Right on for the Darkness." I'm
seriously dumbfounded that I'm one song into this album and Tyga has been shown up by
Ma$e of all f--king people. I'm not sure how to take that other than to think he and
I would have both been better off if this song hadn't been included.
Right now I'm not high on Crakwav as a producer, but given he's got the majority of
the production credits on "BITS2" he's got plenty more chances to impress me. "Bel Air"
with Quavo started out sounding like a parody of Roger Troutman though, and immediately
turned into that AutoTune mumble rap that's so hard to listen to. I had to hit skip
immediately and move on. Amazingly the next song "Run It Back" featuring Young Thug
was even WORSE. We're no longer waiting for Tyga to devolve from album to album -
he's doing it right before our eyes in the middle of one release. I'm going to cite some
"lyrics" here if you can even call what Tyga is saying on this track "lyrical" and let
you be the judge.
"We at the rich suites, like it's Peachtree
We gon' run it up like floor seats
Nigga got game, I'm like Gucci Mane
She a keeper mane, she go both ways
Make her fall in love, f--k, smoke a blunt
Now when we drunk, wake that p---y up
Too high to sleep, wetting all the sheets
That's a kitty call, just unplug the phone
Gucci bag call, Gucci bag cash
Reaching for my phone, let me record that ass"
"Let me record that ass." I'm not sure whether #facepalm or #headdesk is
more appropriate but both of them express my feelings right now, and Crakwav continues to
show me little to nothing as a producer. "Playboy" may be the first thing he got right
but that's because he loops a simple three note melody over a bassline and doesn't try
to get any cuter than throwing drums on and off it. I wish I could say Tarentino was a
fresh change of pace, but it's hard to tell because Tyga sounds like he's trying to rap
the whole song like Kanye West's "Mercy" and it just gets on my last nerve. Even a cameo
by Vince Staples can't save this one.
Speaking of Kanye he produces and raps on "Feel Me" and it winds up being one of the
album's lone highlights, even if it comes off like a lesser imitation of ScHoolboy Q's
"THat Part." That's the problem with "BITS2" though - nearly everything Tyga does winds
up sounding like a less impressive version of a style and sound somebody else did better.
Imitation is supposed to be the sincerest form of flattery but now it winds up as something
else altogether and the ideal word for it is LAZY. Even the better songs like
"Gone Too Far" sound like Tyga parodying himself on his crossover hit "Racks." Sampling
from Trick Daddy's "Nann" for a song of the same name just makes me wish I was listening to
Trick Daddy instead. Having Pusha T cameo on "Ski on the Slope" just makes me wish I was
listening to Pusha T instead. Tyga intentionally or unintentionally undercuts himself at
every turn and at 53 minutes I've finally reached a critical mass where I no longer have
the desire to listen to him any more -- which probably means this will be his best selling
album to date. The same thing happened when I got fed up with the Black Eyed Peas.
Music Vibes: 3 of 10
Lyric Vibes: 3 of 10TOTAL Vibes: 3 of 10
![[Bitch I'm the S--t 2]](../coverart/tyga-Bitch2.jpg)
Usually the goal of a creative individual is to progress artistically, making
something more interesting than you did on your last project, and even if the
public doesn't perceive your end goal your personal satisfaction from the artistic
effort makes it worthwhile. I say "usually" because I've had a hard time perceiving
that artistic progress from Michael Ray Stevenson b/k/a Tyga. At first it felt like
he got a break in the music business because
of his family relations, but there was still a spark of talent in his music
to suggest he could become something greater. The closest we got to him achieving
that potential was on "Careless World," and
since then he's actually been regressing
BACKWARD artistically. He's now less interesting than when he first started.
He raps constantly about how much money he has and how much sex he gets in a
seemingly uninspired monotone flow. You could call it "progress" in a sense though,
because each album has become progressively
harder to listen to from start to finish.