Who needs a chorus? We do it Tyrannosaurus…
G.O.O.D. Friday is back, and this time Kanye brings his supergroup instead of random guests. Child Rebel Soldier was first conceived over a year ago, and consists of Kanye, Pharrell and Lupe Fiasco. We’ve seen these type of outfits before. They normally make a few songs together loosely under their proposed name, but get sidetracked or discouraged when trying to overcome label issues. If this song is any indication, there is enough chemistry to warrant the hassle.
As of this writing, the production credits are unknown. But the frenetic, video-game styled arrangements will lean you to finger the Neptunes or Pharrell himself as the culprit. There are no hard drums, giving a perfect sandbox beat for an emcee to be a creative in their bars.
Pharrell plays lead. Skateboard P has never been lauded for his rhymes, and normally his best verses come with slower, more plodding arrangements (see Snoop’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot”). Here, he’ll spawn discussion of whether Pusha T or Malice helped him out, because he does a very serviceable rending of the Clipse’s flow. It’s possible it’s just due to their years of working together, but the spot-on rhyme construction is very noticeable (” You talk street shit/It should like sweet shit!/Straight liqiourish/You niggas sound ticklish’ “). It’s good swagger talk though, and displays good contrast with the approach of his other two band mates.
Not surprisingly, Lupe Fiasco delivers the most lyrical verse out of the trio. One complaint you can never have about Lupe is his skill level. The Chicago lyricist effortlessly constructs verses that’ll switch the rhyme patterns between beginning, middle and end words. This prevents any monotony and keeps your ears from getting used to any one sort of pattern. In doing that Fiasco’s obvious goal comes to fruition; you pay more attention to the actual lyrics than the flow. Note the few subliminals at Atlantic Records as well.
Carrera, raised in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle era
Water bearer, tell the truth, I dare ya
You’ll lie, so eat this whole bottle of these jalapeno peppers
The terror made in America, too live
Fuck the property, or give me my props properly
High off life, this high-technology, DeVry,
Not rap Muhammad Ali, more like rapology
My policy’s not to be dishonestly deprived
So gimme that, gimme that, keep God, where my city at?
I’m like steak and fries, but never dyed
They wanna Ghostface Wallabee me
But they will post-haste follow me into the afterlife
That means you going right after I’ve
But I’m the hero, sorta like Jack Sparrow
So some way, somehow, I have survived
Ha, ha, surprise!
Who is he that we see coming over the tides?
In a speedboat, boatload of pride
Fall of Rome dress-shirted and the mastermind tie
He’s what happens when rappin’ and avante-garde fashion collide
OMG, it’s the C from the CRS
LOLing at you haters, tell your BFFs like
Kanye gets the coveted last position. He doesn’t black out like the “Power Remix,” but more than holds his own as the beat adds brass instruments to the mix. Kanye wouldn’t be Kanye without shit-talking, and he takes a little jab at fans who still question his merits as an emcee (“Brand new Ferrari I got to make the donuts/CRS is like a Hip-Hop Christmas bonus/Niggas hating on the Internet/I couldn’t tell/I was too busy rapping/Good as hell/I was too busy flying/Parasail!”). You can tell ‘Ye is having fun here, and rightly so considering he’s working with close friends.
No chorus, just Child Rebel Soldier showing off their rapping skills and delivering a fun track. Once Kanye finishes up the inevitable big tour and accolades from his upcoming album, coming next with the CRS album doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
CHILD REBEL SOLDIER “DON’T STOP”
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 