534

534

Category: (Music)

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Customer Reviews

534 - Finally getting there???

Reviewed by Ike, 2006-12-18

As someone who has followed Memphis Bleek's career, 534 was a welcome surprise. Simply put, the CD is better than you would think. While M.A.D.E. had a couple of decent songs, it was Bleek's first solo album in years and the rust showed. Jay compensated by throwing guest appearance after guest appearcance on the joint, making the LP seem both forced and cluttered. On 534, however, one begins to appreciate Bleek's potential.

As much as I love it, "Dear Summer" hurts Bleek's cause. Fans want to see Bleek out of Hov's shadow, and while the God-MC's retirement was a welcome sight for Bleek fans, Dear Summer directly negates that progression. "Infatuated" was an over-the-top pop song but when separated from the hook, the lyrics were quite solid. Bleek mimics Jay's style a little bit in Infatuated, but that's representative of the whole LP; the deeper you get in to the track list, the more we see the real Bleek and the less we see Jay's influence. I thought "Like That" and "Oh Baby" were club bangers, but both were representative of the songs artists put out to perpetuate rap's sorry state today.

"First, Last and Only," was when I thought, for the first time, we were on to something. The beat clearly sets the tone while Bleek and MOP spit bonafide BK heat. I thought this was one guest appearance that Bleek hit right on the nose; MOP was PERFECT for this track. "Alright," was my favorite track on the CD. Getting production from 9th Wonder and doing the song by HIMSELF, Bleek for the first time in his career, had me up out of my seat when I heard his delivery. You had a feeling that he really focused and I thought his rhymes were extremely crisp and well-written. I love the symbolism of the second-to-last track "All About Me," because as I said, we really begin see Bleek in his own light by the end of the CD. While 534 is not A classic in the least, Bleek fans have to be encouraged by the improvements since M.A.D.E. and should heavily anticipate his next solo LP. Well done, Memph Man; this was the surprise of 2005.

Another one from Bleek.

Reviewed by Pablo, 2006-11-19

Memphis Bleek is an emcee who is very consistent - too consistent for his own good. While Memphis has certainly never been a weak emcee, he's also never exactly reached any pinnacle of dopeness either. Poised as the heir to Jay-Z's throne has been a gift and a curse for Memphis; while his name is far more known to heads than if he was a struggling cat with no promotion, he's also been met with nearly impossible expectations. He will never be wack, but if you're comparing him to Hova, you've made a large mistake.

The first track of this album gets things off to a very flimsy start with the title-track. When Bleek mentions the term 'no homo,' you maybe expecting Cam'ron or Juelz Santana to pop up at any moment. The next interlude is almost a break from the borderline-wack intro; a somber, soulful simple taken from a folk singer, which leads into the album's largest highlight; Dear Summer. Unfortunately for Bleek, the best track on the album doesn't show a trace of him anywhere. Produced by Just Blaze, Jay-Z, the mentor of Bleek, kicks some smooth rhymes over the jazzy music Blaze provides, and although this track is butter, it's a shame that Bleek once again got overshadowed by Jigga.

Another thing, going back to the intro; Bleek often likes to utilize other rappers' catch-phrases, and even parts of their choruses. Throughout the album, he throws not-so-subtle references to songs by Juvenile, Notorious B.I.G., and even 50 Cent. It's really quite embarrassing to see Bleek even think about borrowing from 50.

There honestly are some bad spots on this album, such as the aforementioned title-track, Infatuated, The One, Oh Baby, and Hater Free. The good cuts are decent or better, and although this is a eight-to-five ratio, it's still enough to warrant this a purchase. In a world where bling-bling rappers rule the charts, Memphis Bleek is a fresh of breath air in the mainstream; however, he doesn't really set himself enough from the Dipset crowd to stand out any further.

Bleek has the potential to release a near-classic; he promises he will on his next release. I can only hope so, because even though I support Bleek, and would like to see him walk out of Jay-Z's shadow, he hasn't done anything to prove he ever will - let's just hope he does before he retire, or fades even further into obscurity.

Its not as bad as you think...

Reviewed by Jimmy Garcia, 2006-10-14

Honestly, when I got my hands on this the only reason I wanted to hear it was for Jay-Z. For the longest time I only listened to Dear Summer and just skipped over the rest. Recently, I patiently listened to the entire record and to my surprise it wasn't terrible at all. As a fan of Bleek, I feel like you should own this--for real. The material on this is everything you can expect from his best and then some. Is he well on his way of making people listen again? Record sells show this release wasn't helpfull in that. Give it another chance like I did, you might be surprised. Peace

534

Reviewed by Kunal Vaghela, 2006-05-23

It's been over a year since Jay's departure, which means more opportunities for other Roc-A-Fella artists to come through, mainly "Memphis Bleek". Due to the fact that "Memphis Bleek" has always been considered as Jay's sidekick. Even though this album doesn't break through as a bonified classic, the album is still a step-up from "Bleek's" other releases. Most notibly, his most impressive works, since ("The Understanding") LP. The leading single ("Like That"), produced by "Swizz Beatz" is a real club banger and is an obvious choice to help push the album for more exposure. ("Dear Summer") has Jay-Z on a solo-tip where he addresses his fans about his retirement - once again (will he ever retire?). Don't let this album throw you off, because "Memphis Bleek" certainly holds it on his own with cuts like ("Smoke The Pain Away") and ("Alright"), both produced by "9th Wonder". "Just Blaze" also shows up for the ever-emotional cut ("Straight Path"). This album really shows that "Bleek" has grown and his maturity has been displayed.

It's straight (but Dear Summer should've been a bonustrack)

Reviewed by D3strukchun, 2006-04-03

What's weird about this album is having another rapper (Jay-Z) rapping the second song of the album when Bleek himself isn't involved with the song at all, not producing not rapping not even in as a background vocalist... they definitly should have made Dear Summer a bonus track or sumthing becouse having it in a Memphis Bleek album makes no sense what so ever...

Besides that this album is straight... not the best rocafella release by a longshot by Bleek lazed it no doubt... I don't think I skipped a single track (except for a lovesong)... from 534 to the last song it's pretty much good all the way through...

Thumbs Up!