Customer Reviews

Don't Quit Your Day Job

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We finally get the chance to hear a real album by Queens own Consequence, the same guy that was plastered all over A Tribe Called Quest's album Beats, Rhymes and Life featuring his cousin Q-Tip. Sure, he had a mixtape album back in 2004 called Take 'Em to the Cleaners that few even knew existed. But this was easily the best time for Consequence to come out with his album considering Kanye had to prove himself as a mega-producer, artist, and business man. Once the foundation was created and Kanye started up G.O.O.D. Music, everything was a go for Consequence (his momma named him Dexter Raymond Mills, Jr.) to release his first official album titled Don't Quit Your Day Job. Without question, the production on a majority of the album was on par, so it all really came down to Consequence to deliver on his rhymes. "Callin' Me" is an decent track, but doesn't come close to the overall sound of Don't Quit Your Day Job. "Job Song" focuses on Dexter's thoughts on doing something bigger and better with music once he gets through the whole 'getting by' phase in his life. "Don't Forget Em" is easygoing song, stressing the importance of embracing your past and remembering what got you where you are today. "Uptown" has a good bounce to it, the respectable "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" features mentor Kanye West, and the laid back "Feel This Way" features John Legend in rare form. "Disperse" is another standout cut that features Gangsta L Crisis (better known as GLC) and Really Doe, while "Who Knew My Luck Would Change" speaks to his thoughts that his career in music was bleak and nobody would ever check for him after all these years. There are some flaws on this album however like the strange "Night Night," the unconvincing hardness of "Uncle Raheim," and the over-the-top production on "Grammy Family" with DJ Khaled, Kanye West, and John Legend. Consequence still show his worth with Don't Quit Your Day Job, and that's what matters when it comes to longevity in the rap business.

I thought for sure Kanye West would give this the same time and hard work that he gave Common's BE. I was wrong.
The good the bad and the ugly has been out for 4 years already. Pay for the flight wasn't even on this CD. What a dissapointment! Grammy Family? Please! That was released last year already! Cons, do you think we are stupid? C'mon, man!

There are a few fillers here along with two re-released tracks, but all in all its a real GOOD, easy listen. People say Cons sounds like Kanye, but its actually the other way around, as Consequence is the artist who shaped and molded West into the rapper he is today.
Amazing production on this album, and it is a real solid major label debut for the veteran Queens rapper.

Let me just say that this isn't a 2 star album, but it isn't a 5 star album either. While I agree that some of the production lacks punch, a lot of it is decent. Kanye handles the lionshare and he sets 'Quence up with some okay beats, but a lot of them are repetitive. Another problem is that there's no charisma on this joint -- 'Quence sounds bored on a lot of the tracks. You can't put a bored artist on repetitive beats and that's pretty much what this album attempts to do. When he pumps up the adrenaline, he pumps out some goood songs. "Don't Forget 'Em", "Who Knew My Luck Would Change", "Job Song", "Grammy Family", and "The Good The Bad The Ugly" are all tracks worth hearing. The trick is staying put long enough to get to these songs. I'll give him this much, he can ride beats very well. No matter how they sound. A lot of rappers today seem to have trouble with that.

As far as flaws go, there are a few joints that fell under skip material for me -- "Pretty Little Sexy Mama", "Disperse" (I forget the sample used here, but Cru used it on "Just Another Case" much better), "Uncle Rahiem", "Callin' Me" and quite a few others. Like most have already mentioned, "Feel This Way" sounds more like a John Legend song featuring 'Quence and "Night Night" is mad corny. Another beef I have with this LP, and most albums that Kanye releases, are the excessive, uneccesary, and stupid skits. They're wack. Also, the album begins to unravel somewhere toward the middle of it. You will find most of the skip material there.

Don't Quit Your Day Job is a decent release. It's weighed down by the amount of skip material, but the good songs are really good. It's not the worst thing you've ever heard, but it won't blow you away either. I just expected more from someone that's been doing this for over 10 years. I have to recommend buying this one used.

Standout Tracks: Who Knew My Luck Would Change, Feel This Way feat. John Legend, Don't Forget 'Em, Job Song, The Good The Bad The Ugly feat. Kanye West, Grammy Family feat. DJ Khaled, Kanye West, & John Legend

I'll never doubt G.O.O.D. music again. Their vision is the best thing to happen to hip hop since NaS showed up. I was under the impression that this album wasn't going to be good, what with all the bad press and grumblings in the L.A. scene and music industry about it. (Sony apparently didn't like it at all and wouldn't put it out until Kanye insisted). For some reason, Kanye believed so much in this apparently lackluster emcee because he thought he saw something the rest of us didn't.

He was absolutely right.

I'll admit, I thought quence's album was going to be a bad move for good because he was being overshaddowed by Common and Kanye and even Fonzworth (fonzworth leaked more songs from his set and released more singles that were getting better press like "Since I Was Nine" and "Atown Streets"). Wrong! The only low point (which is a big low point) is the song Calling Me. It isn't that bad a song, it's just not singleworthy, and the label made it the single even after all the bad press the album/artist/label was getting. People are like "See! I knew it! Average at best!" But my boy knows all them cats pretty well, so I said "why not? I'll support." Best move I ever made. Album of the year so far hands down. Ye clearly is influenced by this guy's lyricism. Imagine Kanye's lyrical mentor over Kanye's beats. Gon ahead and think about that. That's what this album is. It is lyrically as good as either of Ye's albums AT LEAST, and it's better musically (because ye is even getting better as a producer/executive producer as we speak.) Bold statement, but it's just the truth: Kanye's lyrical mentor on vocals, and Kanye at his best on the tracks.

Amazing. I'd give it a 4.5 for the bad choice of single (Good/Bad/Ugly should have been the single. Rumor has it that it was supposed to be.)

A debut that was over a decade in the making. Now, admittedly, Consequence was never really in high-demand, so labeling this 'highly-anticipated' would be a bit far-fetched; however, being a dope emcee backed up by Kanye West, there were more than a few heads eagerly awaiting the release of Don't Quit Your Day Job. Unfortunately, most of those heads(including myself), will be a bit dissapointed with Consequence's debut here. It isn't that his rhymes aren't sharp, nor that the production isn't dope most of the times(it is lacking in certain spots, however); it's that most of these songs are just retreads. Or, perhaps more accurately, re-releases.

The only song that features 'Ye(well, only 'Ye) on this album is "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly." Honestly, one solo guest feature from 'Ye is dissapointing, but not enough to put a damper on the release; this IS supposed to be a Consequence album, so as long as that one song is dope, everything's cool, right? Well, it would be. But, this release has been circulating for well over FOUR YEARS. Before The College Dropout even dropped; that's a long-*** time, people. It isn't even one of those cuts that just HAS to be included, as it's average at best. If it was a bit more relevant, and less dated, it'd find a much better spot on this album; as it stands, it doesn't deserve a release on album that should be fresher than anything released thus far this year.

But that isn't the case. More tracks get the re-release treatment, most notably Grammy Family from DJ Khaled's mixtape of an album released last year. Now, granted, Grammy Family isn't nearly as out of place as the aforementioned track, but it also isn't as fresh as it should be. If the G.O.O.D. heads were going to keep Grammy Family for this album, why did they just HAVE to release it almost a year ago? It's a good song, don't get me wrong, but the marketing and promotion this album's gotten(or complete lack there of) is just mind-numbing.

The new songs are pretty dope, though; many highspots are found on the release, especially the first three tracks. After that, the album does dip further into mediocrity, with the previously released tracks, and songs that honestly just aren't polished enough for a major label release; some of them don't even sound mixed. Night, Night is pretty poor, Pretty Sexy Little Mama is about as creative as the title suggests, and John Legend drowns out Consequence on his own song, with his feature on Feel This Way. Disperse is good, with some nice guest appearances from fellow G.O.O.D. label-mates(who need a push) GLC and Really Doe, while Callin' Me is probably the hottest track on the album. Uncle Rahiem is definitely one of the better tracks on the album, and Who Knew My Luck Would Change is a great closer.

So, yes, there are many misteps in this album which are downright frustrating; Consequence is one of the most underrated emcees in the game right now, and deserved more than a thrown together debut after all his years in the industry. This is definitely worth checking out, don't get me wrong; Consequence is still an ill emcee, and the production, while not as brilliant as Kanye's solos or Common's BE, is still pretty damn good. This should please his fans, but one has to wonder just how great this album could've been; hopefully, we'll find out his sophomore year.

I'll date myself here by saying that I remember Consequence as a guest rapper on A Tribe Called Quest's "Beats, Rhymes & Life" way back in 1996. A Tribe Called Quest is/was one of my favorite groups ever, so I cut Consequence some slack back then. In 1996, I thought he was dull, slow, and boring back on that album.

So fast forward 11 years and he's now working with Kanye West. So I figured this is a good start. (And for the Kanye's pieces, his beats are great, as always). For the rhyming part though, Consequence is still dull, slow and boring in his delivery. He sounds almost identical to Kanye, but I can also hear a bit of Mase in there too.

Regardless, he does absolutely nothing to differentiate himself. To anyone who gave this is a 4- or 5-star review, I ask you seriously if you'll still be listening to this in 2008.

This album proves why mp3 players are great. You can download the couple good songs off this album, and not pay for the rest of the completely forgettable filler.

I think consequence gets a lot of bad marks from people because of his mush mouth flow. Once you get over that, you have to acknowledge that the guy is incredibly bold and honest rapper. Name another rapper who rhymes about working dead end jobs, living with his mom and his recently out of jail uncle. He is accused of being dull (I guess that's what happen when you don't rhyme about guns, hoes and clubs), but I would characterize it as thoughful and honest. Guess folks aren't use to that anymore in hip-hop.

i found this cd at a very good price it was delivered on time, just in time!

if you ever dreamt about rocking the mic, this album should be your testament, you should be able to laugh,ponder and agree with every track. with songs like "Don't Forget Em" and "Who Knew My Luck Would Change?" con proves its okay to be human sometimes and show that there is more to a man then just being aggressive. this album is well put together, how many albums you can find that the actual material,the cover and the title of the album are used to paint a consistent image?. this dude is ill he deserves more respect then 3 stars???