I've been listening to it for a few days. First impressions were rather positive for me, but after repeat listens the entire album seems to bleed together. Many of the choruses are so similar in melody they could be switched with different songs. I dunno, maybe it's Allen's lack of vocal range that causes this. Plus it seems like half the album features electronic type beats, the other is like 60s pop harpsichord stuff mixed with more modern sounds.
It's like a 3/5 type album. Some good songs like The Fear, Fuck You, Kabul Shit and others; plus some songs that are just bad like cigarillo Hag and Back to the Start; many songs are alright
It's like a perfect mixture of commercial rap and solid hip hop. Blueprint indeed. Overrated? Sure. But anyone who denies its supreme influence on the following years is crazy
omg Crimewave is fuck awesome. I don't like the songs where the singer tries to imitate punk screaming or whatever. Haven't listened to it enough to give a definitive opinion
Some dude in my accounting class was having a discussion about which sophomore hip hop album was the most disappointing, which led me to wonder: which is more disappointing, It Was Written or One Day It'll All Make Sense? Sure ODIAMS is actually Common's third album but I include it in the discussion since it's his second album coming off a classic - and is pretty meh like many sophomore hip hop albums.
After listening to it again...it's pretty front loaded. The production isn't bad, Common's rhymes are still vicious at times (Making a Name for Ourselves omg...Cam and Canibus double team
), to an extent the jazzy production is back (Invocation), but like half the album is extremely average and tame. It's like the street wandering, 40 drinking intellect is there for a few songs...then the smooth, clean cut ladies man/Captain Save-A-Hoe jumps out of nowhere.
So imo It Was Written is better. Honestly I like IWW more everytime I hear it.
