Basically, that work-life balance thing got way worse, but hey, we’re back now…
[Video][Myspace]
[6.42]
Chuck Eddy: My 19-year-old kid Sherman played me this one on Thanksgiving; I’d already bought him [EDITED TO AVOID RUINING SHERMAN’S CHRISTMAS] for Christmas, but he doesn’t know that yet. Anyway, the colors in the title make me think of bees, or Stryper dressing like them, or Black Eyed Peas buzzing like them, except I like this better. Like it better than Gucci’s “Lemonade,” too, though I’m happy both rappers have taken yellow back from Coldplay. Frank Zappa’s snow is proud, and this might be my favorite car rap since “Ice Cream Paint Job” by Dorrough — feels good-natured in a similar way.
[8]
Jer Fairall: ‘Fraid to say I don’t actually know what it is, but thank you for assuming I’m hip.
[5]
Mallory O’Donnell: “Real rap” is both the funniest and most apt line here, and if you can figure that out, well, you’ll know everything. I hear DJ Quik, Too Short, French house, No Limit, garage, etc. But mostly I hear Pittsburgh, and that’s a good thing.
[7]
Zach Lyon: When writing a song about the city of Pittsburgh — a great town that doesn’t exactly get much hip-hop adulation outside of Dre occasionally wearing a Pirates hat in NWA videos — it might do you good to actually, you know, write something about it, outside of a moderately tedious chorus.
[4]
Jonathan Bogart: I wish him all the best in his attempt to cash in on some of that sweet NFL money.
[4]
Jonathan Bradley: I didn’t imagine Pittsburgh to be a city of pattering synth lines, champagne, and neon colors, but it is now; Khalifa’s song is the biggest song, rap or otherwise, dedicated to the town I can think of. Its steel heritage has been subsumed by pharmaceuticals for a while now anyway, so perhaps it’s not surprising its new anthem has more in common with slick nightlife than blue collar industry. “Black and Yellow” gleams like a candy painted whip, not iron alloy, but Khalifa delivers the kind of precision needed to produce the sort of song that rallies a metro area, and he’s assisted by some drums that thwack hard enough to overcome any lyrical boilerplate. Because if I have one complaint, it’s this: Khalifa, I’ve seen a Steelers game, and I know your hometown’s favored hue. I also know how much Ben Roethlisberger means to you guys. But couldn’t you dig a bit deeper into local trivia when putting your city on the national stage?
[8]
Martin Skidmore: It sounds a bit hurried for me, though I like his rapping on the rest of it, kind of sub-T.I. in its easy swing. Replace the rushed repetition of the title with YELLING and this would be a lot more effective, probably a Steelers anthem — producers Stargate should have spotted this, but they busy themselves instead with housey backing tones. Needed different producers, I think.
[7]
Al Shipley: Although they made their unlikely crossover to U.S. urban radio almost 5 years ago, rappers rarely touch a track by Norwegian production duo Stargate unless Ne-Yo needs a remix. So it was a little surprising to see a grass-obsessed grassroots rap star like Wiz link up with them for his big shot at a mainstream hit. And it works better than I would’ve expected, but it’s still a little stiff and hindered by his flat voice and utter lack of charisma or wit.
[4]
Pete Baran: “Black And Yellow” rides into town on its repeated call and response, and even though it doesn’t do anything all that exciting lyrically, it does sound very, very comfortable. Khalifa’s flow has always been excellent; even if he is rapping about wasps, bees or indeed David Seaman’s old England strip it doesn’t matter. He even lets rip his annoying laugh without spoiling the track. Lovely.
[9]
Renato Pagnani: The shiny, xylophone bounce gives Wiz a surprising amount of room to stretch out, and he sounds locked-in here. Even though the track doesn’t really suit the kind of floating, head-in-the-clouds swag that he’s developed over the last few years, this proves Wiz can do some major damage when he actually has a target in his sights.
[8]
Tyrone Palmer: Wiz, at his best, is an excellent pop rapper, and not many do pop better than Stargate (though they have a tendency to make the same song over and over again). “Black and Yellow”‘s production is somewhat atypical of their work, with an arpeggiated synth line reminiscent of a lot of southern rap beats. It doesn’t reach the heights of Kush & OJ or “Say Yeah”, and it certainly isn’t pushing any boundaries, but it’s a perfectly enjoyable introduction to Wiz.
[6]
John Seroff: Stargate’s production is pretty hit-and-miss for me, but they definitely lit a fire under Wiz for the Turr’ble Towel anthem “Black and Yellow”; dude sounds notably more awake and motivated than per usual. That doesn’t translate to elevating Khalifa’s performance to much more than just another “stacking big faces” track lyrically, but Wiz dances nicely enough over the high-polish musicbox melody to hold your attention.
[7]