NoYork!
by Blu
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
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  1. beflygelt
    May 24, 2015
    9
    Favorites: Doin' Nothin, Above Crenshaw, Ronald Morgan

    One of the most ambitious rap records of the 2010's!! Blu has already proved his rapping abilities with his 2007, Exile-supported album "Below The Heavens", meanwhile praised as an underground classic. The masses loved the record for the soul-y beats by Exile and Blu's personal and confident rapping. For this record Blu connected    Favorites: Doin' Nothin, Above Crenshaw, Ronald Morgan

    One of the most ambitious rap records of the 2010's!! Blu has already proved his rapping abilities with his 2007, Exile-supported album "Below The Heavens", meanwhile praised as an underground classic. The masses loved the record for the soul-y beats by Exile and Blu's personal and confident rapping.

    For this record Blu connected with the LA club The Low End Theory, home of the most forward thinking hip-hop artists of our time: Madlib, Flying Lotus, Samiyam, Daedelus, Knxledge, all of which are listed as producers of this record. The album is an experiment, since Blu is one of the first rappers since Doom to use such heavy-textured beats. But if you ask me, it worked. The beats end up being quite bass-heavy and glitchy and are defined through the overwhelming usage of retro-videogame-like synthesizers. Blu stays confident and doesn't get drowned by the incredibly loud soundscape, also he chooses some great rappers as features, above all the way-to-underrated Edan (every fan of Madvillain should check out his album "Beauty & The Beat"!!), but also U-God of the Wu-Tang Clan and a bunch of more underground names, noteworthy multiple female ones.

    The album is an experiment and the result is difficult, but great. This album is not perfect. Everyone will have his own difficulties with it, that's for sure. For me the one or the other hook takes in too much space in a song (e.g. Spring Winter Summer Fall) and is too soft. You could say this softness is the anti-pol to the at times nearly disturbing beats on the other hand :)

    Conclusion: As a fan of the production line-up plus the rappers on this record this is indeed one of my favorite hip-hop releases of the recent years. I can only hope more rappers are going to realize the beauty in a Flying Lotus or Madlib beat. (I am low-key badly hoping for a Kendrick Lamar x Flying Lotus record)    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. RapReviews.com
    Apr 26, 2013
    60
    York is an interesting and often times bizarre album.
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  2. PopMatters
    Mar 27, 2013
    90
    There are a few moments that don’t feel too far removed from regular west coast tropes (“A Bove Crenshaw”, the opening/closing duo “Doin’ Nothin’ / Doin’ Somethin’”, and “Ronal Morgan”), but most of your time spent with NoYork! will be a decidedly original experience.
    Read full review
  3. AllMusic
    Mar 27, 2013
    60
    Listeners willing to pull out a shovel and dig through the layers are bound to find something new each time they listen, but for most newbies, a simpler album would be a better starting point.
    Read full review
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