Hook 1: production. There was not one beat on this album that I disliked. Most of this album follows the usual mix-tape format of rapping over other peoples' beats, and attempting to do more justice to the beat than the original artist. Domo picked great beats to rap over in this sense, some by Kid Cudi, Dr. Dre, and Kanye West. Also, the original production was astounding. "Mission Statement" and "Shine", the first produced by Rakhi and the latter by Cardo, are my personal favorite beats on the mix-tape. I believe that if the little known Cardo continues to produce beats like "Shine", he will have a very bright future in the hip-hop game.
Hook 2: rhymes. Domo continuously shows off his ability to make interesting rhymes, whether they be about getting money, marijuana, or fame. He always finds something that rhymes, and ends up with a legitimate rap album. He uses many similes but does not "abuse" them, so his watch does not end up like the sun, the stars, and the arctic regions. I am glad that his watch is not a celestial body because if it were, he would spend more time talking about that, and less time entertaining listeners like me with references to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Hook 3: humor. The last song on Under The Influence, Smokemon, is a parody of the Pokemon theme song on which Domo replaces everything Pokemon with everything weed. The "L-Boy Interlude" features a man endorsing Domo Genesis and Under the Influence, who ends up crying and threatening listeners to "feel him" for being a crack head. I smile every time I hear either of those songs. During Tyler, The Creator's verse on "Whole City Behind Us", somebody (probably domo) is growling and spazzing out in the background. When Tyler says his history is "too personal", the person in the background growls louder and louder and yells, "BITCH!" That made me laugh out loud.
Downside 1: length. I enjoyed all 35 minutes of Under The Influence, but I would have preferred more.
Downside 2: sophistication. Earlier I wrote that Domo talks about weed, money, and fame. I did not mention that he also talks about Odd Future and their haters. Besides those four topics, he raps about nothing in particular. The only subject that cannot pertain to every rapper is Odd Future, but he is in Odd Future, so being in his crew only added a few more minutes to his mix-tape. The most sophisticated song on the mix-tape, the only one that involves thoughts besides, "I am high," and feelings besides feeling high, is the shortest rap song on the album. The only song shorter is "Smokemon".
Overall Score: 7.5/10
Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?0ga6mf7mmfvhlfx
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