Rap Radar Podcast: Twenty88

Written By: @BdotTM April 12, 2016 @ 10:11 AM EDT
0/0

Love Jones

Hip hop has a new dynamic duo. After years of collaborating, Big Sean and Jhene Aiko bottle their magic on their acclaimed debut, Twenty88. Released exclusively on TIDAL, the project explores the highs and lows of relationships and requited love. Journeying to Los Angeles, the tandem speak on the album, K-Ci & JoJo, Diane Warren, Bryson Tiller, Lionel Richie, solo work, and lots more!

pics: goldenhourphoto

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24 Comments
  1. THE WORLD FAMOUS DOPEMAN!! says:

    JHENE NEEDS A DIFFERENT MC TO COLLABORATE ON THIS ALBUM!! LITTLE SEAN’S LYRICS HAVE NO SUBSTANCE AND HIS VOICE IS ANNOYING!!

    FUCK YOUR OPINION!!

    1. Principal Skinner says:

      you “need” to figure out your own path in life and stop gossiping about people who are already rich and famous! dumbass

      1. THE WORLD FAMOUS DOPEMAN!! says:

        WOW YOU ARE SUCH A DICKRIDER IT’S NOT EVEN FUNNY!! GET OF MY FUCKIN’ COMMENTS SON!!

        FUCK YOUR OPINION!!

    2. Sonic says:

      Your profile is cute!

      1. THE WORLD FAMOUS DOPEMAN!! says:

        TROLL HARDER MOFO!!

        FUCK YOUR OPINION!!

    3. DaMoro says:

      What’s wrong with you kid !?
      You gotta chill your life and stop using capital letters xD

  2. Sonic says:

    The world might be coming to an end but at least we get to hear D-city playboy Big Sean and multicultural L.A. melody-sifter Jhené Aiko play out their erotic psychosexual fantasies via song and rap, before it’s all over. Thanks to Getting Out Our Dreams, Artium Recordings and Def Jam, the two lime-lit r&b and rap stars have been able to express their feelings and convey their thoughts on love over stuttering, mechanically moving music in Twenty88, and through the retail services of Tidal, iTunes and Google Play mainly were they originally able to deliver their product. Its online availability has since been expanded to include Spotify and Amazon, but initially, those former three sources were the few spots where the EP was available. How’s that for exclusive hoity-toity VIP access? This emotions-soaked short-play, released on Friday, April 1st, no doubt has style and artistic vocal offerings not to mention nippy, quietly romantic hip-hop music integrity though it should be said that there is more they could have explored within the topic of love here.

    Some will say with some credence in all honesty that Twenty88 is in fact a decent study of relationships and intimacy affairs, and they are right to an extent; however, isn’t there more to love than sex and feelings as Jhené and Sean would have us think here? From the maturity there must be before even having a chance at a lasting consummated bond to the work that must be put in, the self-sacrifice endured and the non-coital rewards that come with the territory, the range of topics and areas not fully covered in Twenty88 is pretty wide, but f all that, right? The artists, producers and managers just want us to pay the streaming and/or downloading fee for the album so they can get paid and go have the fun outside of work that may or may not involve a special someone in their own lives, right? Well maybe not entirely, but it is largely true that this is a product for commerce more than a tool for personal enrichment. Facts.

    Our two protagonists meet up, or meet back up it seems, in “Déjà Vu,” where we get to hear about hooking back up from a high celebrity’s perspective – Jhené’s come-off from a fling with a pro ball player according to Sean reads like a page from the diary of a young narrow-minded haughty snob more than a real everyday person – and “Selfish” gets into little couple’s quarrels and squabbles as we could have expected, just a very foreseeable happening but still necessary terrain for an album of this kind. “On The Way” acts as the preparation and pregame for sex, “Push” actually delivers the recorded sex and “2 Minute Warning” delivers more sex.

    Sean and Aiko then get a little creative in “Talk Show” where they go at it again and trade barbs and bars, sounding just like they’re on an actual talk show, complete with a host and sounds from an audience. It’s definitely a little corny, but Sean delivers some fine rap lyricism so it’s not a total waste. “Memories Faded” again loans itself to agreements and differences, coming together and moving away, all the little pulls and pushes of falling in and out of love in a murky soup of mixed amorous topics made all the less concrete with Jhené’s watery vocals. That is the best you’ll get from a cursory listen, but mostly it is a dedication to remembering a past union. Lastly and coincidentally so, “London Bridges” has our two subjects really thinking about calling it quits, untying the knot, though we never seem to get a decisive answer from either side at the end. It also probably doesn’t help that kids are in the mix there.

    In an album that is brought to us from two relative youngsters not even in their thirties at this point, they surely profess to know more about love than in reality they do. Maybe if Big Sean and Jhené actually do hook up, possibly get married and have kids can this Twenty88 moniker and tag grow into a meaningful combo duo of music and messages about love, but now it seems like little more than a sappy industry fling for the arts. It would have been nice to hear them really get down and dirty and discuss why they think a lot of relationships out there are broken, but the EP mainly just chases after the soft, oozy sentiments of love, settling and maybe dealing with the negative consequences after they arise, never mind why they come up. See the issue? And if the verbals don’t make any fresh new statements, the production certainly doesn’t. It’s top notch technologically yet the greatest job it does is transition everything along. Kudos to Sean for some nice new rap work, and Jhené sounds very sweet too, but from more than one perspective, like from those who aren’t or have never been in a relationship, Twenty88 is weak sauce.

    1. Principal Skinner says:

      the fuck is this copy and paste bullshit? seek counseling.

  3. Yepac Shakur says:

    I’m sorry, but these podcast be so boring. I only made it thru Biggs and Nore’s interview

  4. Sonic says:

    Fuck Jhene! I’m trying to slide in Big Sean’s DMs. That boy is fine af.

  5. Jhene aiko ranks high on my no pull out list

    1. Brittany Maier says:

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    2. George Lawson says:

      Facts Her, Tinashe and Karrueche is the big 3 of the no pull out list

      1. The Wackness Vs Dope says:

        1. beyonce
        2. rihanna
        3. Jhene Aiko

  6. el jim chapo guzman says:

    the album is ass.

  7. Sina Mailer Daemon Djavadkhani says:

    I just hit up the 15 minute video they did for that album, super dope! Yall should include content with these interview posts too 🙂

    1. Sina Mailer Daemon Djavadkhani says:

      Nice new photo / photo style / photographer ps!

  8. Disqus says:

    Great Pod Cast

  9. yorapper says:

    I found this one unlistenable, mostly because Big Sean and Jhene are just boring but I think y’all could have asked more entertaining questions to liven it up.

    1. Brian B.Dot™ Miller says:

      Gotcha

      1. Iamstillmusic says:

        Dude you guys don’t understand that these podcasts won’t set you apart, real JOURNALISM will. You guys are the only major hip hop website who don’t post real articles, only links to songs with a small description and podcasts. Either you are going to do videos with the podcasts or y’all have to write real journalism like all the other sites or you’ll slowly lose your fanbase. Genuinely trying to help

  10. greg kruxx says:

    This interview compared to podcasts like drink champs or juan ep and combat was weak

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