Alright, I have downloaded John Cena's album and have evaluated it song by song. Sometimes people give their reviews series a name, but I don't do this often enough for that. But I guess we can call it "5 Star Reviews: John Cena's Album".
Artist: John Cena and Tha Trademarc
Album: You Can't See Me
Track 1: The Time is Now
This is John Cena's new entrance music which he first used on SmackDown! shortly before Wrestlemania 21. It is actually one of the strongest tracks on the entire album. It's catchy, has a great flow, and carries a unique sound. The only real problem is that the same sound is basically playing for the whole song instead of only at certain parts. Unfortunately, John Cena does more chorus work than the actual rapping on this song. Another member of his group does most of the actual carrying as far the real body of the song is concerned. Over all it is worthy of being a hit single and may very well help to keep the album flying off of store shelves.
Track 2: Don't F**k With Us
For those of you who thought that this was going to be a bubble gum pop record, this song proves you wrong. In this track Cena shows more of his lyrical ability and keeps a good flow. The song is well structured and produced. The organization of sound, body lyrics, and the chorus is great. It sounds great and is another solid track on the record.
Track 3: Flow Easy (Featuring Bumpy Knuckles)
The track starts out with Bumpy Knuckles and then Esteric comes in, but Cena M.I.A. from the track until the 2:25 mark. Then he goes into a 25 second rap and Bumpy Knuckles takes over again from there. It's a good song but I don't see the logic in Cena being absent for the majority of the song.
Track 4: Right Now
Right Now is actually a pretty song but takes some time to get used to. It's one of those songs that encourages everyone to just chill out and spend time with your loved ones instead of being a thug. John Cena shows a more thoughtful side to himself. The weird part is the back up singing. The voice is in fast forward I guess so it sounds like a munchkin is singing. It's a possible future hit for Cena and gives more depth to the album. Definitely one of the more memorable tracks.
Track 5: Make it Loud
While this song has more swearing and seems a little more pumped up, the basic beat sounds like an Aaron Carter song. If you just listened to how it sounds it comes across as childish. It is probably one of the more catchy songs but it's not working for me.
Track 6: Just Another Day
The beat is pretty good and John Cena starts off with a new tone. Cena and someone else are mellow but keep a steady flow. It's not a very complicated sound scheme but it is nice to just kick back and listen to. The lyrics depict the troubles of living in poverty. Although I'm not too sure why Cena has this track on his record considering he didn't grow up broke and he's got a good deal going with WWE now. But the song does progress to depict his life currently. It makes fun of the new problems he has such "should I pick the shrimp of the steak?" or "the chain I wear leaves a green mark on my neck". Over all it's a pretty good song lyrically and if you listen closely it's an interesting story and gives a lot to think about.
Track 7: Summer Flings
This is the most explicit track on the album. It's about a guy and girl getting together basically. A female singer tells the female's part of the story but it's more of just a chorus. Unfortunately, Cena is absent again for most of the song.
Track 8: Keep Frontin' (featuring Bumpy Knuckles)
The mixing on this track is pretty good, especially in the beginning and for the chorus. John Cena doesn't come in until the first half of the song is over and then disappears soon after. It's an average song really, but not bad.
Track 9: We Didn't Want You to Know
Cena starts out rapping in a mellow tone and then someone else comes in to do the work. Then Cena takes over during the chorus. He ends up coming back later on in the song. Beginning to see the pattern? Cena just isn't present for most of his own album. Everyone else does most of the work. It should have been called Tha Trademarc and John Cena. And every song should have read "featuring John Cena". Decent song despite the obvious flaws.
Track 10: Bad Bad Man
Of course this is the hit of the album so far. It's a very catchy song and reminds me of something Eminem would've done. Cena puts in some good lyrical work but Bumpy Knuckles does the chorus work which makes the song what it is. Then Esoteric kicks in with another chunk of rapping which is pretty good (Esoteric is also white by the way and carries a lot of the album). After that ANOTHER rapper comes in and gives a pretty solid rap which leads back into another chorus. Now the song ends with Cena having only one small chunk of lyrical work. Yes, Cena's first big single barely involves him. Pretty good song though.
Track 11: Running Game:
This is unique track. The music kind of sounds like something you'd hear in an old Western movie. Cena finally puts in the majority of the rapping for this song. It's an average song pretty much but it holds its own and is catchy enough to get some radio play possibly.
Track 12: Beantown (ft. Esoteric)
Why it says "featuring Esoteric" is a mystery to me. He's is every damn song pretty much, as is Bumpy Knuckles. This song is one of my favorites on the record. It sounds sort of like a Kid Rock song. The song is basically about Boston and what people who live there do. It's got a great sound and could definitely be made into a music video. Also, the song is one of the more exciting tracks that puts you in a good, positive mood.
Track 13: This is How We Roll
The music sounds great on this one. Cena actually gets to carry more of a tune on this track. He raps but he also "kind of" sings during the chorus. It sounds good and shows Cena's dynamic style. This time Cena is present throughout the majority of the track. Basically the song's message is "this is who we are like it or not, now get out of our way" but it's not too intense actually. It's also lyrically clever. This is one of the ones that I don't skip.
Track 14: What Now
The track starts with a woman singing which is short but very nice. Then Esoteric kicks in with a nicely flowing rap. The music and the female's voice together sounds sort of exotic but works well with the guys' voices as well. It sounds mildly latin and is very layed back. It's probably one of the more unique songs on the record as far as the mixing of styles goes.
Track 15: Know the Rep
Bumpy Knuckles starts off with a face paced rap with an intimidating tone. The whole track continues this style. The music is pretty good and accompanies the fast pace of the rapping very well. The song isn't terrific but it's produced well and holds up as a decent rap song.
Track 16: Chain Gang is the Click
Not an amazing song but not horrible either. The music is good but the rapping is kind of stale and not very melodic. The chorus is sort of dull. This is an average rap track that doesn't make it to the radio. Nothing special about this one.
Track 17: If it All Ended Tomorrow:
The music is mostly piano, but not in classical form or anything like that. It's arranged to suit rap music very well and was probably done with a synthesizer anyways. The rapping suits the unique pace of the music pretty well. John Cena's part wasn't up to par how ever. He tells a good story and the lyrics aren't bad but the pace he uses isn't that good until around the beginning of the last minute of the song. I don't mind skipping over this song usually but it's catchy enough for most people to at least think it's decent.
Overall John Cena's album was both a pleasant surprise and a let down at the same time. I expected a corny, half-assed album from John Cena but it actually turned out to be not much different from anyone else's rap album. The tracks were mixed very well and everything was put together professionally. The let down was that Cena didn't do most of the rapping even though it was HIS album. Another let down was the mellow tone of the whole album. I expected to hear the intense John Cena that we see on SmackDown! every week. I think that his freestyles from 2003 were actually better than a lot of the lyrical work on the album. Despite the flaws though, the album was very solid and I actually think it's worth the money. When I first listened to it, I told people that Macho Man's album was better. But after listening a few more times it actually grew on me.. John Cena is no Tupac or anything but the album is no worse than the majority of albums out these days. Unfortunately, I don't think he has too many possibilities for hit singles. The possibly hits on the album are "Our Time is Now", "Right Now", "Beantown", and of course, "Bad Bad Man".
Overall rating: 7/10
-Mike Steele
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