*Sigh*

I’ve been putting this off for a long, long time but I guess eventually, something has to give. It always does. I guess I was just in denial. I didn’t want to admit to myself or anyone else that I…I…I can’t even bring myself to type it. But, assuming you can see the title (and can read) you’ve already put two and two together. Damn my inability to avoid betraying my intentions! So, here goes…

I actually like Flockaveli. Ouch. That literally hurt to type.

I don’t know what it is about this album that keeps drawing me back for another listen. By all means, I should hate this album, as I have many other, similar albums. Even now, taking the time to write something about it seems wrong when there are plenty of better albums to write about. But alas, here I am, writing about Flockaveli, my biggest guilty pleasure of 2010.

First off, you can’t listen to this album expecting quality lyricism. If you want lyrical depth and complexity, look elsewhere as neither Flocka himself nor any of his numerous guests have the chops to impress. Make no mistake; this is the same grown-men-playing-gangsta style of rap you’ve probably heard a million times before. But there’s something different about it, a tiny hint of self-awareness amongst the crime-laced lyrics that says to me “Yeah, I know this is silly too, but the people like it so there you go.”

So what made this album my guilty pleasure? The beats.

I love Hip-Hop and a big part of why that is is because sometimes, I just like to put on a song, lean back and feel the impact and rumble of a powerful bass line. This album has those in spades, due to the fact that the majority of the production comes from one guy, Lex Luger, a producer whose name comes from the identical stage name of the former professional wrestler. Beats produced by Lex Luger all have a familiar ring to them, a trademark set of tools and synthetic bass drums that give his instrumentals a similar cadence and a somewhat unique identifying quirk. And, for reasons I can’t even begin to explain, I like that. Perhaps it goes back to the sort of primal instincts loud, earth-shaking bass plays upon.

So, yeah. I like this album. It’s not the kind of album I would hold very highly in the pantheon of great rap albums but it’s something that I can’t say I dislike. And trust me, I wanted to. When I look at this album’s respectable 75 Metascore and compare that to albums I’m not ashamed to say I like, I immediately thought something was seriously wrong with the critics. Except that there wasn’t. I was just biased and I still am. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t think Waka Flocka was capable of making an album that could be so critically acclaimed due to my preconceived notions and latent pretensions and yet, here we are and he has. Color me surprised.