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*Official* Lost and Found Review Post


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Thanks for the reviews Tim!

Lol, now to rip them apart... :grin:

On the fourth song of the album, “Mr. Nice Guy,” Smith sings,“Sometimes y’all mistake nice for soft.” It is hard to recall a worse song recorded in the past few years than this song. The beat is choppier than Lake Michigan during a storm. The aggressive, grunting tones of the background vocals churn the stomach.
I can get a list together of songs released this month that are worse...

“It’s like a circus with a bunch of cliques / with a bunch of clowns / I’d probably rap circles around.”

If you're gonna quote, quote accurately... bunch of clowns/ with a bunch of cliques... Sloppy journalism...

Big Willie, let’s go easy now. I know there’s some commercial garbage being pumped down the sewer of the hip-hop industry right now. Lil’ John, Nelly and the whole scene of do-anything-for-the-dollar artists are leaving a bad taste in the mouth of traditional hip-hop fans. But, Willie, your face is now synonymous with these men. You make $20 million per major motion picture. You battled an army of computer-generated robots in a recent film. And, Mr. Smith, I know your movies aren’t that great. But can’t you keep your trash to the big screen?
Lol... sounds like Will didn't sign an autograph for someone a while back... This person just doesn't like Will Smith... it's not just about his music... sad really...

Then I saw the cover, with Smith leaning against a street sign wearing a big red lettermen’s jacket with big red shoes and an oversized, white Phillies hat cocked to the left. Things were not looking good for Will.

That cover is one of the tightest covers out in quite a while... real talk.

Overall, everyone is entitled to their own opinions...

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:clap3: :clap3: Bravo Bravo Max :clap2: :clap2: That was cool. It doesn't really matter what sum of these cats think. Will Smith in the Billboard Top 200 is #4.

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Nashville Rage

After becoming the first rapper to ever win a Grammy, Will Smith stepped mostly away from the music biz, turning his attention to his acting career in which he’s seen success in both television and film (his title role in Ali got him an Oscar nod).

But now Smith’s back on the music scene, with his fourth major-label album since 1997 (his first for Interscope, after a long tenure on Columbia). This latest musical offering, Lost & Found, aims to prove that Smith’s still a relevant factor in the rap game.

The album opens strong with Here He Comes, which borrows from the old Spider-Man theme. From there, Smith does what he does best on records: party. Solid jams like Party Starter and the infectious single Switch set the tone for what is actually a better-than-decent album.

On some cuts, Smith deviates from his friendly image to vent some of his frustrations. The song Mr. Niceguy shows Smith responding to some of the rappers who have taken shots at him over the years, and Ms. Holy Roller is a personal message to his ex-wife, Sheree Zampino, who has recently gotten religion.

Overall, this is one of Smith’s best musical works in a while. Over the years, he has proven his worth as an all-around entertainer, but this album proves that he still has what it takes to rock the mike.

— CRISIS

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:ditto: Yeah a good review, but sadly I notice that a lot of writers don't pay much attention to his whole album. Cause if they did I think they would have heard that. :slap:

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Actually, I'm not too sure it isn't his ex-wife that he's talking about. Again, like in Loretta, I doubt that Will would use the person's real name, and there are many lyrics in Ms. Holy Roller that point to the person being his ex-wife. It's all speculation, but I think Will is too classy to put his wife on blast like that, and avoids that by not mentioning her real name or her real relation to him.

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Will Smith - Lost and Found

(Universal)

They don't make stars like Will Smith every day.

And he doesn't make albums as good as this one very often, but on Lost and Found Smith nails it.

Since he launched his career in the late 1980s, Smith has landed two multi-platinum records, starred on a hit television comedy series and become one of Hollywood's most popular leading men.

Thankfully, the other facets of his career don't seep into the mix on this CD.

If he was caught posing on the inside cover promoting a new movie that would have been the end of his musical cred.

Instead, Smith's got plenty of up-to-date beats from hot producers like Timbaland, Jazzy Jeff and O.Banga.

He's got strong cameo spots from the likes of Snoop Dogg, Mary J Blige and Nicole Scherzinger (The Pussycat Dolls) balanced nicely with his own self-deprecating humour. With lead single Switch already a smash hit across the globe there's plenty more where that came from.

This could be Smith's biggest seller since he proclaimed that parents just don't understand

http://attitude.themercury.news.com.au/cds.htm

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Big Willy is back in his original groove

The Fresh Prince proves that fame and fortune haven't buried his roots

April 19, 2005

By LORRIE IRBY / The Dallas Morning News

All snickering and eye-rolling aside, many of today's rappers have probably used Will Smith's career as a model for their own success.

After all, as part of Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Big Willy from Philly earned the first Grammy for hip-hop. Later, he became the first rapper to be nominated for an Oscar, for Ali. And he was dropping party joints, a hit sitcom and blockbuster films in-between.

The wholesome image hasn't exactly amped his street credibility, but his fourth solo CD, Lost and Found, proves that Big Willy can still say something worth hearing on the mike. Thanks to his verbal dexterity, Lost ... has some cuts that can even get the most hardcore of haters nodding along.

Will Smith

Grade: B-

Lost and Found

(Interscope) in stores now

He tells galloping gossiping jock Wendy Williams to step off "before I buy your radio station and send you home" in "Mr. Niceguy," a humorous dig at all of the high-profile folks using him for target practice.

"Ms. Holly Roller" chastises a hypocritical acquaintance using her newfound religion as a weapon, and the title track speaks to his indignation at the lack of respect he's received in hip-hop as of late: "I'm real with it, and I ain't claimin' to reign, but when y'all talk about rap y'all gon' start saying my name."

The celebrity cameos even work: Snoop Dogg on the club-ready "Pump Ya Brakes" and Mary J. Blige's croon underlining the genuine pain and rage he channels in "Why," in which he tries to explain atrocities such as 9-11, racism and hatred to his innocent son and actually uses the f-word in the bridge (bleeped out, of course; Big Willy's for the kids).

Even with those heavyweights, some tracks are so rudimentary that even Mr. Smith's charm and wit can't save them. For example, the opening track is pure cornball; he brags on himself to the tune of "Spider Man (Theme)," for goodness' sake. And "Loretta," about an obsessed fan who takes her celebrity crush too far, borrows too heavily from Eminem's "Stan" to have any real impact. But don't count Big Willy out; like the heavyweight champ he portrayed on-screen, Lost And Found proves that he still packs plenty of punch.

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From Entertainment Weekly, it's a very good review!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lost and Found

Will Smith

Reviewed by Tom Sinclair

'LOST' BOY Smith pokes fun of himself on Found

''I never write verses with curses'' — or choruses, either — raps Will Smith on Lost and Found, pointing up one reason why some hardcore hip-hoppers hate on him. But realizing that living large is the best revenge, Big Willie doesn't waste too much time apologizing for his lack of crudeness. Whether recasting the Spider-Man theme as a rap tune (''Here He Comes''), poking fun at his own squeaky-clean image (''Mr. Niceguy''), or relating the tragic tale of a Fresh Prince-obsessed stalker (''Loretta''), Smith delivers a CD packed with the sort of undeniable pleasures only the most churlish thug could deny. Go ahead — get your jig on. Grade: B+

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