Philadelphia indie rap group Chiddy Bang, which consists of rapper Chiddy and his sole beatsmith Xaphoon Jones, invite listeners to get hype over “Breakfast,” its first LP after a slew of critically acclaimed mixtapes and Chiddy’s nine-hour freestyle session. Regardless of previous efforts, the last peg in a band’s assumed climb to fame receives the most scrutiny. In that case, having breakfast may be a bit difficult if the table lacks two of its legs.
Corny metaphor aside, this album neatly boils down to a formulaic yet commendable collection of beats aimlessly slathered by Chiddy’s lousy rhymes. The vibe coming off of the album as a whole is a delicious smorgasbord of college-era nonchalance and unbridled coolness, whereas the lyrics and delivery in turn suggest a plain bowl of redundancy and wannabe posturing.
Chiddy Bang’s dilemma has befallen many fledgling hip hop acts, and will not be the last. Xaphoon Jones exists in a long line of beatmakers unjustly picking up the slack for uninspired rappers. At least his booming and triumphant production carries the album; “Does She Love Me?” sounds like a Graduation-era Kanye West beat, with the chipmunk vocal and zooming synth over funky drums, and the chosen single “Ray Charles” makes good use of a piano roll and an exuberant chorus, and feels like a solid interpolation of that Motown vibe.
As for Chiddy’s contribution to “Ray Charles”? Well, he certainly tries his least: “See us and say, ‘Whattup?’ like how the fuck is he talkin’/He don’t even trip, like how the fuck is he walkin.” He raps like a person who just learned how to rap, as implied by his forced use of ebonics and his dependence on weed as a topic: “And that’s quite amazing if they ask me/Shit, does somebody have a L that they could pass me?”
At the end of the day, “Ray Charles” and the rest of this album are about nothing. And the one song that miraculously stays on topic, “Baby Roulette,” just happens to be a “Gold Digger” imitation. Now, these guys clearly had a good “college-indie” concept in mind when forming the group, and that has blossomed quite well in the production department. However, Chiddy’s aspiration of becoming another rich stoned rapper instead of writing from the heart throws that conceit out the window. Hard to enjoy “Breakfast” when expecting a plate of steak and eggs but ending up with soggy cereal.
Mannnnnn I agree with everything written in the review.
Chiddy Bangs 2009 release ‘The Swelly Express’ had a point, it demanded respect as it should featuring Black Thought ‘Of the legendary roots on ‘Slow Down’, Chilly Bang spitting lyrics such as:
‘3:30 I am dismissing, any competition, cause I gotta eat.
You show me a rapper, that’s someone I gotta beat.
And most people red shirt, cause they can not compete’, a strong statement to make with no evidence.
‘The Swelly Express’ album had me hooked and i wanted to hear more. chiddy were new to me and I loved how Xaphoon worked the beat and accompanying tune, I became a fan excited for a new album.
yet all and all very disappointed by this album, ‘Ray charles’ single was a joke, saving graces ‘Run it back’ & ‘Talking to Myself’ but on an album of constant struggling to connect with any of the songs it was very quickly replaced on my iphone library. Sadly they have fallen from promising to mediocre rap.
you were right about all of it. it’s so hard to listen to chiddy bang because chiddy is so bad. Xaphoon needs to start working with other artists
I don’t understand how you can completely dismiss this album as another college rap, mediocre swaggy LP. I love the beats on here. Xaphoon definitely did a great job on the samples, and even on his original producing. It feels like a rollercoaster ride of bouncy, animated, original music. That’s what I like about it. It’s well put together, and not just a bunch of loose beats strung around.
Also, even though I do agree that Chiddy’s lyrics on “Ray Charles” could have been better, he wasn’t awful on the album. Lines like:
“And I’m a brainiac and this is swanky rap
Michael Sembello this Chiddy fellow’s a maniac”
and
“But she might just be a devil in a new dress
I got ’em hatin’, waitin’ what I’mma do next
Chicks let me slam ’em like wrestlers I can suplex”
were some of the gems that were spread throughout this music project. I do think that sometimes Chiddy refers to weed too much, and he comes off as weak as well, but there still are some great lines on here. Don’t dismiss the bad lines from one song and let that control ur whole opinion. To those who have read this review, please check out the album. Trust me it’s worth it. It might seem wack, but it’s actually pretty damn good.
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These reviews are strictly opinion. When I review, I take into account what the artist tries to do with their project, my gut feelings about it, and the fact that my word may result in others buying music, and money’s hard to come by nowadays. DEHH’s motto is no politics, no BS.
You don’t have to agree with me. In fact, if you write a review and link it here, I’d be glad to see your point of view.
you guys are crazy , this shit was dope as fuck the rhymes were dope as fuck too c’mon man what are you guys sayin Chiddy is a Real MC you cant find too many of those Today , you guys are crazy man Chiddy bang is what’s good in hip hop Nowadayz unlike that fuckin waka flocka , gucci mane , Soulja boy shit and you guys fail to see that. This Review is perfect proof that hip hop is dying down fo real man. SAD.