Young Mindz
The Milky Blaze
Properly Puffin’ Productions
Street: 10.31
Young Mindz = Swollen Members + Snoop Dogg + Dr. Dre
With The Milky Blaze, Young Mindz aren’t saying anything that wasn’t said 15 years ago. The opening track, “Young Mindz,” features monotonous letter-for-letter chanting of the group name, lyrics about hyping the crowd, dissing other rappers and the usual self-promoting themes. While self-promotion has always and probably always will be a major theme in hip hop, the great artists of our time use this theme in an artistic way to the point that it forces the listener to think about what they’re saying. Young Mindz simply come out and say, “Everywhere we go, people know who we are.” Funny, when I’m at home or at work, everyone knows who I am, too. As for the flow, the beats are well crafted, “My Hip-Hop” being a prime example with its lyrics being an exception to the general lack of substance. “Not 4 Sale” is reminiscent of College Dropout-era Kanye West and is another hit off the album. Young Mindz will please some listeners, but probably only for the first two or three listens.