Kreayshawn: Somethin ‘Bout Kreay

    It feels almost impossible to give a numerical rating to Kreayshawn’s debut album, Somethin ‘Bout Kreay. None of the tracks feel like actual music, per se, but rather, an aimless jumble of erratic dance beats and what can only be described as atonal, school-girl chattering.

    Take “K234YSONIXZ,” easily the worst song on the album and the worst-spelled song in musical history. Copping the “Supersonic” sample used in “Fergalicious,” but none of the catchy wordplay, Kreayshawn rhymes “money” with “money,” “up” with “up” and, most remarkably, “over” and “lover.” The main hook consists of one line the rapper barely has the breath to utter: “All them haters ask me what I’m doing/ I just simply tell them, ‘Kreaysonic.” Whatever that means.

    Kreayshawn has a few decent collaborators in the mix, but all of them seem indifferent. Kid Cudi turns out one of his weird, mumbly rock performances on “Like It Or Love It,” barely accentuating any lines like he’s in the middle of exhaling blunt smoke (he probably was). Diplo both produces and attempts rapping on the surprisingly untwerkable “Twerkin!!!” — and even his low-key mutterings are more tolerable than Kreayshawn’s shrill chanting. She finds a more apt teammate on “Breakfast (Syrup)” with 2 Chainz, an artist with precisely the same goofy self-confidence and none of the skills to back it up.

    One might begin to wonder: Was “Gucci Gucci,” the Youtube hit that landed her this record deal, some perfect accident? Is Kreayshawn no different than William Hung or Rebecca Black — an “artist” no one could possibly listen to sincerely?

    The answer is beside the point.

    Like Lil B and other Bay Area MC’s before her, Kreayshawn is clearly not out to make timeless music — an admirable alternative to self-serious mainstream hip hop. Not to mention it’s kind of punk rock to hear someone so astonishingly bad, she couldn’t possibly give a fuck about it. (4/10)

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