Styles
Gangster and a Gentleman
Interscope Records

Styles’ solo debut Gangster and A Gentlemen is okay at its best. There are some great songs on this album that really show off his wide array of talent. There are also some ugly and appalling songs that are awful. The gangster portion the album title fits his music perfectly. The gentlemen part does not. There is no sign of a gentleman on this album. Gunshots in the background of most of your songs and rapping about killing people do not constitute a gentleman. Styles’ intro also will not sell anyone on the gentlemen idea as he curses about fifteen times in thirty seconds. Forget the gentlemen part. A Gangster would be a perfect title for this album.

“Good Times” is a great song, the best one on this album. It has been receiving a lot of radio play for a reason. The rhymes are insane and the chorus clearly grabs your attention. Now for everyone who does not know, “Good Times” is the song with the chorus about getting high. If you want to hear the real version of “Good Times” you will have to go out and buy the CD. Due to the popularity of the song, Styles had to change the chorus from “I get high” to “I get by” so it would be radio friendly.

Many songs on this album talk about his life and his hard struggles on the streets of New York. Songs like “My Life” portrays his life vividly. “My Life” is an incredible song and the final track on the album. If there is one song on this album that discusses his struggles, this is it. The chorus is tight, smooth, and creative. The beat is sick and features some great rhymes.

Also check out his song “Black Magic” which features Angie Stone. This is another song that shows Styles’ struggles throughout his life. Angie Stone has a powerful voice and she really makes the chorus shine. This song also has a strong beat that you can play over and over again and still not get tired of listening to it.

Those were some other decent songs, but now onto the distasteful parts of the album. Many songs are either loaded with curses or have guns being fired in the background. One song that I found hard to listen to was “Get Paid” which features young children singing in the chorus. “Get Paid” has gangster written all over it. The chorus has kids singing and is followed by Styles cursing and talking about drugs. A terrible and distasteful skit is the next track on the album. It is unclear on what the intentions of the skit were, but it wasn’t good. The skit opens with noises sounding like a gun being shot.

There are also 24 tracks on the album, which is way too many for a person to listen to in one sitting. The album would be better if there were only 12 or 13 tracks on it. Many of the songs are repetitive which become boring to listen to. The skits on the album are not funny and they should have been taken out all together.

Another song that is downright terrible is “Soul Clap.” The beats and the rhymes do not work well with each other. Also if you listen closely in the chorus there is yet another reference to gun use. To express your views about guns in one song is one thing but to constantly do it, well it gets redundant after a while.

Overall, this album gets a B-. Styles has a lot of potential to be a great solo rapper. He just needs focus less on stupid skits and put more emphasis on what he is good at, rapping.