After reinforcing his claim to the Hip-Hop throne on the standard album version, Blaqbonez lets loose and indulges his favorite guilty pleasures.
On No Excuses, Blaq took no prisoners and delivered a rap album that was abrasively assertive, as they come without reneging on its mainstream appeal. It was one of the best albums of last year and while it’s not Blaq’s best, it is perhaps his most balanced—as it features all his propensities in almost equal proportions. Now with the deluxe version, Blaq can have a little fun after hustling kpa on the previous edition.
WORK IN THE MORNING has a rambunctious bounce that’s tailor made for a salsa dance floor with its licentious swings and hard hitting grooves. On it, Blaq laments about the fact that work is holding him prisoner from fully drowning himself in the comfort of his woman’s arms and the sinful pleasures of their intimacy.
Blaq is back outside on FINE SHYTE and is off his reservations, warning his brothers that their girls aren’t safe from his voodoo. He’s all about having a good time and expelling bad energy, to the point of evicting his love interest if need be. Indeed, the song is titled FINE SHYTE but you get the general sense of there being a layered metaphor of him being ‘the shyte.’ TML Vibez also puts in a tight shift on his verse, taking the sensual route and providing a thematic contrast with Blaq.
HUSTLE KPA isn’t your standard introspective cut. For one, it’s the grooviest and most dynamic record on the deluxe and is much more fun, than it is dense. Blaq frames his musings about success from a comical POV—reminding you of his past alter egos and how hilarious he can get with his cheeky one-liners. ARTSALGHUL is tapped on this track and deservedly so, as he’s been one of the most promising voices coming out of the underground. He follows Blaq’s lead and while he isn’t half as cheeky, he makes up for it with some stellar lines, like not missing his shot because he has FOMO.
There is a new verse added to the infamous, ACL track and while it does make sense to dimensionalize the biggest track further—in the wake of having to record a new version, at this point the beef has become quite tiresome. The novelty has worn off and the drama has esclated to petty antics online and offline, so there’s virtually nothing fresh and illuminating that could inject new life into it. The verse in itself is quite underwhelming and shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
No Excuses Deluxe benefits from being less dense thematically, because the original version had done the heavylifting. However, the three new tracks while good—do not match the peak that the best songs on the LP attain. It’s a nice extended play, but this version of the LP isnt necessarily better for it. It’s simply longer.
Final Verdict:
Sonic Cohesion: 1.5/2
Expansive Production: 1.5/2
Songwriting: 1.4/2
Delivery: 1.4/2
Optimal Track Sequencing: 1.5/2
Total: 7.3/10
