Today's current climate has many rap listeners (casual and hardcore) clamoring for music that has substance and leaves you with a feeling of eating a good meal. Much of the music that is coming out today is very much the equivalent of going to a 5 star restaurant drinking ONE glass of water eating A SINGLE appetizer PAYING for the FULL MEAL then LEAVING without even eating the Main Entree. Madness I tell you...but I digress. With that being said the projects that are worth your time and ears are few and far in between but you definitely know it when you hear it.... Enter The World OF Ray Ban Dan...
Ray-Ban Dan is the alter-ego of the famed up and coming artist known as Danny Ocean. There is a distinct difference between the two. Danny Ocean is more or less the smoother persona and would rather kick back and converse with you about his music whereas Ray Ban is much more brash in that approach. Oft-putting by some but respected by others who understand the nuances and the distinction.
The project opens with the all too brief "Add It Up"....But the jewel in this opener is that even in its brevity the message is still conveyed and carried out thoughtfully. It sets the tone of the entire mixtape and it lets the listener in on who Ray-Ban Dan is what he is about.
Add it Up jumps directly into "Ray Ban Dan" which is another take on the introduction of who he is as an separate entity from Danny Ocean. He's more uninhibited lyrically than Danny and definitely takes more risks and liberties with song structure (i.e. length..pacing..verses..flows)
"OG Bobby Johnson Freestyle" is self explanatory. The beat is lifted from the song of the same name. If you heard the original you can see how his verse could easily fit into a Posse Cut or Regional "Where You From" remix....It works to great effect.
"We Made It Freestyle" is another Freestyle using the "We Made It" track made oh so famous by Drake and Soulja Boy. Although Dan uses the same flow as Drake...the lyrics are delivered in a way that makes you forget about what Drake was even talking about which is extremely hard to do. When you "Jack Beats" the listener always has a conceived notion of how the song should sound and the rapper has to go that much harder lyrically...Its a sink or swim situation and luckily Ray-Ban Dan doesn't flinch.
"Hella Flow ft Will EZ" lifts "Hella Hoes" from A$AP Mob. This freestyle works to me because surprisingly the original song isn't as huge as I thought it would be (that's just one of my gripes). So if you never heard that song then this version will sound fresh as Ray and EZ effortlessly "flow" over the beat.
"Who Do You Love Freestyle" lifts The "Mustard On The Beat Hoe" track of the same name. Now considering the fact that I think that Y.G. CANNOT rap..anybody else on this beat would be a vast improvement. The brilliant part about this is the fact if you actually listen to lyrics Dan is really putting his own personal spin on how you're supposed to execute on this track..you'll actually love this freestyle.
"Common Sense" slows things down a tad and forces the listener to again LISTEN to the lyrics not just skim through it. He has some pretty poignant things to say. The "Camera" beat has that effect on you though. It is a very interesting take on this song whereas Drake was talking about Strippers and party girls looking good only on camera...Dan's version utilizes real life...real world applications.
"RandomThoughts" keeps with the real world aesthetic and is even more poignant than the previous track. It shows you the other side of the this "Rap Life" and how its not all glamorous like others may portray it. There are REAL people behind these bars and...Reality Rap at its finest..my favorite track thus far.
"Crabs In The Bucket Pt. 2" takes you further into the reality rap...but on the darker side if things...Lightly touching on certain aspects of the urban jungle that many of us call home..Unfortunately you can't have the good without the bad in this life and I'm glad Dan decided not to be to "HARD" for himself and glorify the negative aspects but merely let you know this is what is going on in "Anyhood, USA"..well done.
"Pain" has Dan evoking the spirit of TUPAC SHAKUR not 2PAC (Trust me there is BIG difference). There are so many Reality Rap quotables in this song I wont kill this review by quoting them all but I will tell you...do yourself a favor and put this on repeat and zone out all day...Thank Me Later.
"The Rain Is Gone" is the project's last song officially and its closes things out properly. His lone verse could have easily fit into the original song..which as I listen to the project in its entirety I see that much of that was the central theme and he was merely having fun and rhyming over his favorite beats of that moment..Nothing but respect for that.
***Bonus Tracks***
"Sanctuary" is a cold ass song...in every aspect..The beat..cold...The verses...Cold...and I mean that in the best possible way... Ray Ban Dan...Cmor Millz and Staxx Getta all get off on this track...its very reminiscent of early Dip Set in its execution and delivery... I don't even consider this a bonus track...It feels like track 7 on somebody's LP...seriously.
"Beautiful Thing" is another soul stirring track and gets to the point of reality and what this life is about. I can see why this song is not included in the the original presentation of Ray Ban Dan. Had it been included it would have been a identity crisis of sort..This is clearly Danny Ocean on this song.
Actually that wouldn't be a bad idea "Danny Ocean VS Ray-Ban Dan"....***nudges Dan*** Think about it.
"Off My Shit" brings things back to the Ray Ban Dan side of things...more aggressive...For those in the know (me lol) this is one of the songs that was supposed to be on the "Risky Business" project with him and Staxx Getta...if THIS was any indication of what was on the horizon...we all lost out on something crazy...I hope it sees the light of day eventually.
"Swagg Out" is the final song off of this project...The Closer closer...Its one of those dirty jersey party bangers. Dan teams with Staxx and Millz once more and you could visualize all three of them rocking on stage together getting the crowd hype..that is if the crowd wasn't so busy hating.
In ending "Ray Ban Dan" is a traditional Mixtape most of the songs are labeled "freestyles" as to not offend the industry (its rules to this lol) and to be politically correct they are used for "Promotional Use Only". This project works because the goal was well thought out and executed precisely. The goal was to introduce Ray-Ban Dan to those who may not be familiar with the music and the literal separation of him and Danny Ocean...The alter ego as I mentioned before is a very important tool to an artist. Most times an artist's original persona doesn't allow for them to make different sounding music out of fear of alienating the core fan base. With the advent of the Alter-ego however... one could essentially be free of many of those restrictions and be more at ease with creating a wider range of music for all to enjoy.
