G-Eazy - These Things Happen (2014)

Nachoman13 · 07-08-2014, 11:30 AM

G-Eazy - These Things Happen
2014 (RED Distribution)

Tracklist

These Things Happen
Far Alone (Ft. E-40 & Jay Ant)
I Mean It (Ft. Big Remo)
Interlude
Opportunity Cost
Almost Famous
Lotta That (Ft. A$AP Ferg & Danny Seth)
Factory Girl
Downtown Love (Ft. John Michael Rouchell)
Complete
Let's Get Lost (Ft. Devon Baldwin)
Shoot Me Down (Ft. Anthony Stewart)
Been On
Remember You (Ft. Blackbear)
Tumblr Girls (Ft. Christoph Andersson)
Just Believe

Best Track: Opportunity Cost
Worst Track: Shoot Me Down
Most Club Friendly: I Mean It

Expectations
Having heard previous singles by G-Eazy, but never a full project, I expected a relaxed album with some chilled hip hop
portraying good music but probably nothing great. The main draw being tracks featuring E-40 & A$AP Ferg as big name
features that could transform the album into a more serious G-Eazy album.

1) These Things Happen
From the very first track I saw the G-Eazy I had heard as he bought the smooth Blackbear beat that I expected to see
throughout the album. The usual mainstream rap lyrics about partying; whilst factoring into the song; did not control it,
as a glimpse of G-Eazy's come up is shown through his reminiscing of 'being in his jeep and riding through the city'.

2) Far Alone
Continuing with the chilled atmosphere of the album, Jay Ant's production is utilised with the contrast between the verses
and the hooks creating an introspective feel of both G-Eazy & E-40's lives. This is helped by the powerful bass of the chorus
with verse lyrics such as 'Momma worked three jobs on the weekends/Used to help her wash the walls at Mare island/In
Vallejo naval houses/Havin' a roof over my head was my allowance'.

3) I Mean It
The heavy Remo production primarily took me by surprise as G-Eazy goes hard on this track, whilst spitting some funny
lyrics that whilst vulgar and unwitty, do invoke a slight chuckle. However this song strongly hints toward his line '"I just
wanna stay broke forever"/Yeah that's that **** no one ever said', portraying this more as a big hit for money, than just a
fun track.

5) Opportunity Cost
After a short interlude G-Eazy goes into straight spitting in almost three minutes of pure lyrics, making the choice to forgo a
hook and instead discuss the philosophical cost of fame. The self inflection helps the empathy of the audience towards him
allowing further connection to him emotionally, which is again furthered by his Mother's call as an end skit.

6) Almost Famous
I feel this song would have been better as a transition track between I Mean It and Opportunity Cost as it provides a lighter
flow on a still heavy beat. It also talks about the party lifestyle, whilst questioning how long his success could last whilst
humbly recognising he is not yet the King of the hill in the rap game. The contradictory tone to the lyrical content and beat
helps to make this song intriguing and an enjoyable listen, even if you do not want to focus on the words.

7) Lotta That
This song provided a lot of interest from me, as the star power of A$AP Ferg made it interesting even before listening to the
song. From the start I felt the beat and lyrical content made it more fitting to be placed with I Mean It in the album. However
G-Eazy was simply average on this track, with his flow being consistent, but overshadowed by the beat. Meanwhile Ferg
found a home on this song, and whilst not spitting his biggest fire, did spit some nice puns as always. Most surprising to me
though was fellow Brit Danny Seth, who destroyed the Christoph Andersson beat with his apt flow that had an 'I don't care'
attitude to fit the beat.

9) Downtown Love
To kick off the second half G-Eazy picked an interesting, and contrasting track that featured a light hook yet much darker
verses to help retain interest. The track leads down more of a story telling path that is helped not just lyrically but sonically
through the breakdown of the beat and final minute and a half of the track in which the story being told by the lyrics could
just as easily be told by the beat.

10) Complete
The return to pure chilled hip hop is well presented through this Christoph Andersson beat that matches the regular G-Eazy
flow well as if the beat is taylor made for him. The return to talking about his come up really plays on the connection created
by this point between his listeners and himself. This makes his story more interesting and enticing to the audience, enhancing
this track for me to make it just that little bit more than good.

11) Let's Get Lost
Continuing with another chilled Christoph Andersson beat, G-Eazy this time makes a song for the ladies that is smooth but still
enjoyable to anyone. The Devon Baldwin hook provides a nice touch that helps to polish off this song, making it still more
female friendly. In the mean time it remains enjoyable to men through Kanye West references like 'Let's get lost tonight/You
can be supreme Kate Moss tonight'.

12) Shoot Me Down
The beat; produced by G-Eazy; was my primary concern on this track as it drowned out his verses a bit, showing he has yet to
perfect his layering. However this issue may have been purely down to the lack of strong lyrics to hold the song up. In my
opinion this takes the cake as the worst track on the album for being just flat.

13) Been On
A nice closing track for the album as it falls in the last quarter of songs. It simply informs the listener that anyone of a similar
sound is simply a copy of G-Eazy, and no copy could do it better than the original from the hair down to the kicks. It provides a
relaxing tune whilst he also displays his womanising ways that he is well known for to create a solid track.

14) Remember You
Another decent track about women that at this point in the album is simply same old G-Eazy that can be expected on every album,
with no standout lyrics this decent track simply blurs into obscurity with it's empty hook that doesn't even encourage a mild
eargasm unless you love simple acoustic guitar.

15) Tumblr Girls
The pretty Christoph Andersson beats continue to come, even at the end of the album, as G-Eazy provides a light hearted song
about break ups and the kind of girls that have 'Pretty faces love status, she acts as if she's the baddest'. However they are best
shown as Tumblr gold diggers as G-Eazy claims 'Man I swear she's just like tons of girls, she expects the free drinks/And I'm
successful she thinks, always comes around when weed stinks', relatable as anyone with any money has experienced one of
these girls.

16) Just Believe
To put it simply it is a standard outro song about the gain of self belief, telling every listener what they want, which is that all
you have to do to achieve your dreams is 'Just believe'. A standard track found on any pop artist's album, making this more
commercially relatable for many people as even the most cynical of us have dreams.

Final Thoughts
Overall I thought this was a thoroughly enjoying project that provides a watered down version of hip hop that appeals to a variety
of listeners. It contains everything you expect from a high performing album, including relatable commercial songs and turnt up
club tracks. My only issue with this album is that the track order is not quite right sonically, making it sound more like a compilation
than an album.

Rating: 8/10

07-08-2014, 11:30 AM	#1 (permalink)
Nachoman13 Groupie Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: London, UK Posts: 30	G-Eazy - These Things Happen (2014) G-Eazy - These Things Happen 2014 (RED Distribution) Tracklist These Things Happen Far Alone (Ft. E-40 & Jay Ant) I Mean It (Ft. Big Remo) Interlude Opportunity Cost Almost Famous Lotta That (Ft. A$AP Ferg & Danny Seth) Factory Girl Downtown Love (Ft. John Michael Rouchell) Complete Let's Get Lost (Ft. Devon Baldwin) Shoot Me Down (Ft. Anthony Stewart) Been On Remember You (Ft. Blackbear) Tumblr Girls (Ft. Christoph Andersson) Just Believe Best Track: Opportunity Cost Worst Track: Shoot Me Down Most Club Friendly: I Mean It Expectations Having heard previous singles by G-Eazy, but never a full project, I expected a relaxed album with some chilled hip hop portraying good music but probably nothing great. The main draw being tracks featuring E-40 & A$AP Ferg as big name features that could transform the album into a more serious G-Eazy album. 1) These Things Happen From the very first track I saw the G-Eazy I had heard as he bought the smooth Blackbear beat that I expected to see throughout the album. The usual mainstream rap lyrics about partying; whilst factoring into the song; did not control it, as a glimpse of G-Eazy's come up is shown through his reminiscing of 'being in his jeep and riding through the city'. 2) Far Alone Continuing with the chilled atmosphere of the album, Jay Ant's production is utilised with the contrast between the verses and the hooks creating an introspective feel of both G-Eazy & E-40's lives. This is helped by the powerful bass of the chorus with verse lyrics such as 'Momma worked three jobs on the weekends/Used to help her wash the walls at Mare island/In Vallejo naval houses/Havin' a roof over my head was my allowance'. 3) I Mean It The heavy Remo production primarily took me by surprise as G-Eazy goes hard on this track, whilst spitting some funny lyrics that whilst vulgar and unwitty, do invoke a slight chuckle. However this song strongly hints toward his line '"I just wanna stay broke forever"/Yeah that's that ** no one ever said', portraying this more as a big hit for money, than just a fun track. 5) Opportunity Cost After a short interlude G-Eazy goes into straight spitting in almost three minutes of pure lyrics, making the choice to forgo a hook and instead discuss the philosophical cost of fame. The self inflection helps the empathy of the audience towards him allowing further connection to him emotionally, which is again furthered by his Mother's call as an end skit. 6) Almost Famous I feel this song would have been better as a transition track between I Mean It and Opportunity Cost as it provides a lighter flow on a still heavy beat. It also talks about the party lifestyle, whilst questioning how long his success could last whilst humbly recognising he is not yet the King of the hill in the rap game. The contradictory tone to the lyrical content and beat helps to make this song intriguing and an enjoyable listen, even if you do not want to focus on the words. 7) Lotta That This song provided a lot of interest from me, as the star power of A$AP Ferg made it interesting even before listening to the song. From the start I felt the beat and lyrical content made it more fitting to be placed with I Mean It in the album. However G-Eazy was simply average on this track, with his flow being consistent, but overshadowed by the beat. Meanwhile Ferg found a home on this song, and whilst not spitting his biggest fire, did spit some nice puns as always. Most surprising to me though was fellow Brit Danny Seth, who destroyed the Christoph Andersson beat with his apt flow that had an 'I don't care' attitude to fit the beat. 9) Downtown Love To kick off the second half G-Eazy picked an interesting, and contrasting track that featured a light hook yet much darker verses to help retain interest. The track leads down more of a story telling path that is helped not just lyrically but sonically through the breakdown of the beat and final minute and a half of the track in which the story being told by the lyrics could just as easily be told by the beat. 10) Complete The return to pure chilled hip hop is well presented through this Christoph Andersson beat that matches the regular G-Eazy flow well as if the beat is taylor made for him. The return to talking about his come up really plays on the connection created by this point between his listeners and himself. This makes his story more interesting and enticing to the audience, enhancing this track for me to make it just that little bit more than good. 11) Let's Get Lost Continuing with another chilled Christoph Andersson beat, G-Eazy this time makes a song for the ladies that is smooth but still enjoyable to anyone. The Devon Baldwin hook provides a nice touch that helps to polish off this song, making it still more female friendly. In the mean time it remains enjoyable to men through Kanye West references like 'Let's get lost tonight/You can be supreme Kate Moss tonight'. 12) Shoot Me Down The beat; produced by G-Eazy; was my primary concern on this track as it drowned out his verses a bit, showing he has yet to perfect his layering. However this issue may have been purely down to the lack of strong lyrics to hold the song up. In my opinion this takes the cake as the worst track on the album for being just flat. 13) Been On A nice closing track for the album as it falls in the last quarter of songs. It simply informs the listener that anyone of a similar sound is simply a copy of G-Eazy, and no copy could do it better than the original from the hair down to the kicks. It provides a relaxing tune whilst he also displays his womanising ways that he is well known for to create a solid track. 14) Remember You Another decent track about women that at this point in the album is simply same old G-Eazy that can be expected on every album, with no standout lyrics this decent track simply blurs into obscurity with it's empty hook that doesn't even encourage a mild eargasm unless you love simple acoustic guitar. 15) Tumblr Girls** The pretty Christoph Andersson beats continue to come, even at the end of the album, as G-Eazy provides a light hearted song about break ups and the kind of girls that have 'Pretty faces love status, she acts as if she's the baddest'. However they are best shown as Tumblr gold diggers as G-Eazy claims 'Man I swear she's just like tons of girls, she expects the free drinks/And I'm successful she thinks, always comes around when weed stinks', relatable as anyone with any money has experienced one of these girls. 16) Just Believe To put it simply it is a standard outro song about the gain of self belief, telling every listener what they want, which is that all you have to do to achieve your dreams is 'Just believe'. A standard track found on any pop artist's album, making this more commercially relatable for many people as even the most cynical of us have dreams. Final Thoughts Overall I thought this was a thoroughly enjoying project that provides a watered down version of hip hop that appeals to a variety of listeners. It contains everything you expect from a high performing album, including relatable commercial songs and turnt up club tracks. My only issue with this album is that the track order is not quite right sonically, making it sound more like a compilation than an album. Rating: 8/10 Last edited by Nachoman13; 07-13-2014 at 09:22 AM.