Fountain of YOOF
[Video][Website]
[6.83]
Jonathan Bogart: That refrain — it would be too much to call it a chorus — is fantastic late-night-wasted stuff, an irresponsible junior cousin to its clear inspiration, Black Star’s “Respiration.” The rest of the track is entirely competent self-aggrandizement and loathsome label-pimping bolted onto that stoned philosophizing.
[6]
Anthony Easton: Nipsey Hussle is like my favourite hip-hop moniker in recent memory, I know want an entire Ego Trip produced remake of the Match Game, but since that won’t happen, I’ll review the track. It’s beautiful–almost claustrophobic,with the air forced out of it–no space between the verses, and the excellent trick is that as the narrative progressives, the forward and backwards elements of the story telling meet in the present, making it sound more and more paranoid, and by extension seem more and more hermetic.
[8]
Alfred Soto: The “lost in the instrumental” hook would make sense if the backing track were worth getting lost in, and it kinda is. But my ambivalence extends towards Nipsey’s rueful and poignant but not quite original rap.
[6]
Patrick St. Michel: All three rappers here deliver serviceable albeit unmemorable verses. Ross, who has proven on past singles like “Aston Martin Music” that he can sound great over these sort of introspective beats, chooses to rap about how many shoes he owns – it sounds great, but seems like a missed opportunity given the lovely production. Stalley and Nipsey Hussle come closer to nailing “Fountain Of Youth’s” wistful vibe…Stalley gets a good line about Len Bias in…but both lack Ross’ vocal draw.
[6]
Iain Mew: Stained glass, getting lost in the instrumental, sentimental. “Fountain of Youth” flags up its seriousness to the extent that it could easily get weighed down by it. It doesn’t because Nipsey and Stalley especially deliver it nimbly as well as with feeling, and because the production balances reverence with lightness in a way that makes getting lost in it a real and appealing prospect.
[8]
Brad Shoup: Nipsey drops a hook unlike any I can recall: three lines repeated, with gulfs of space on either side. He and Stalley are the ones letting the Micalizzi put the thumb to their scales; Rick references the title, but his victory lap is neverending.
[7]