The Roshua Review June 2016 | Page 19

Jerome Raheem Fortune

Rome Fortune

ALBUM

Lost At Sea

Birdman & Jacquees

Mixtape

Rome Fortune is a poet, and if you didn't know it before, his debut album makes it evident. Jerome Raheem Fortune is a under-hyped jewel from Fool's Gold Records and an excellent addition to Atlanta's discography. This is the most introspective that I've heard Rome be, and he made great music in the process. Production is synthed-out, and I love it. The airy and distant atmosphere created by the beats always has a driving pulse that makes the album low-key bump. The sound is incredibly unique-not candy, but not heavily ornamented either. It's a sound that carries the album and profoundly evokes emotion. The album's lyrics are vibrant. Rome Fortune focuses on things we've heard all of our lives. But instead of telling you to stop tripping, he poetically arranges a trippy anthem through the likes of "Heavy as Feathers." His lyrics are painfully honest and relatable, but that's what makes this album beautiful. You relate to the ambition, the doubt, the mistakes, the joy, and the sorrow, even when you don't want to. His delivery is what makes the album even more interesting. Auto-tuned crooning, animated flows, and undeniable awareness makes you feel how a debut album should make you feel, regardless of the flaws of a growing artist. Everything that Fortune has learned is sprinkled throughout his debut, yet he's still "tryna find the time to find [his] sanity." But aren't we all? RJ

I honestly thought that “Lost at Sea” would consist of more singing from Jacquees. And I must say, I would much rather hear him sing than rap any day. I feel like he tried to mimic Young Thug throughout the whole mixtape, especially on the song “Lost at Sea”. It sounds very similar to Thugger’s flow. So much so that it’s actually comical. The only difference is that you can actually understand what Jacquees is saying in comparison the Young Thug. It is definitely time for Birdman to stop trying to rap. At this point, it’s gotten super corny. He didn’t bring any significance to any of the tracks. It doesn’t seem like much effort went into making this mixtape. It was pretty boring and also short. I do think that Jacquees has a nice voice, and I liked the few songs where he showed his ability to sing. As far as his rapping, it was pretty unoriginal. I have to admit, the mixtape wasn’t totally trash. I just feel that it could have been better without Birdman floating around on the tracks and with a bit more uniqueness on Jacquees’ part. Birdman and Jacquees dont blend well and everything sounded forced. Other than that, it was okay, but there is room for improvement. AB

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