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This album was released on December 8th in 2015. It’s obviously a compilation album from J. Cole’s Dreamville label. The original Revenge Of The Dreamers project was a free mixtape that came out back in 2014. That’s how I was first introduced to Omen. I don’t really remember what I thought of that project. I know there were definitely some songs on there that I really liked tho. I’m gonna be honest; the main reason I’m checking this album out right now is because it’s only got 9 tracks—two of which I’ve already reviewed—and I have limited time. The internet’s down at my house, so I’m sittin’ in Barnes & Noble right now. I only have like 2 hours to work on this shit. Everything’s going according to plan so far tho. I guess I’m expecting to like a handful of tracks here, but I don’t think it’s gonna be great. I’m looking forward to it tho.

Track 1: Folgers Crystals (Performed by J. Cole) [Prod. J. Cole & Elite]

This beat’s pretty good. J. Cole’s goin’ in now. His flow’s pretty dope. “I swerve like a Thunderbird on a curb where the cops pursuing / I’m not just doing it / Niggas hate like if I make it ain’t a spot for you in it / Have to save the rap game ’cause I watched them ruin it.” The first verse was great. Oh. It just ended. That’s the whole song I guess. He sings a bit on the outro, but that’s pretty much it. There’s not much to say about this track. I wouldn’t say that this song didn’t have any effort put into it, but it’s clear that J. Cole wasn’t spending too much time on this track. It feels kinda like a quick freestyle. It’s just one dope verse over a good beat. It feels like something that would show up on a mixtape instead of an album. I enjoyed the song. It’s not amazing, but I fuck with it. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 2: Night Job (Performed by Bas) Feat. J. Cole [Prod. Cedric Brown, K-Quick & Ron Gilmore]

This song originally appeared on Bas’ Too High To Riot album. Well, I guess it technically appeared on this album first since this one came out earlier. I already reviewed it tho. That’s basically what I’m trying to tell y’all. This was my favorite song from that album, and it still is. The beat is dope af. Bas did his thing, but J. Cole really stole the show on this one. The last verse from Cole is great. I don’t really have anything to add. I stand by everything I said when I originally reviewed this track. It’s dope af. 5/5

Track 3: Backseat (Performed by Ari Lennox) Feat. Cozz [Prod. DJ Grumble]

I don’t think I’m gonna like this track that much. I don’t think Ari Lennox is bad, but her music just isn’t really for me. I’ll give it a chance tho. Maybe the verse from Cozz will make this easier for me to enjoy. This beat’s really smooth. Oh shit… I actually kinda like this. Ari Lennox sounds kinda like Erykah Badu to me. Is that a fair comparison? I don’t really listen to Erykah Badu that much, so I might be talkin’ outta my ass. Erykah Badu was the first person I thought of as soon as Ari Lennox started singing tho. This subject matter isn’t really doing much for me, but I can fuck with this sonically. She’s singing about having sex in the backseat of her car. So yeah, I don’t really care about what she’s saying. She sounds great tho. Cozz did his thing on his verse too. Some of his lyrics were a little vulgar, but it wasn’t too bad. I actually like this song. It’s really smooth. This is dope to me. 4/5

Track 4: Caged Bird (Performed by J. Cole) Feat. Omen [Prod. Meez]

This beat is really dope. Cole’s on the first verse. As you could probably tell from the title, this song is about the fucked up prison system. Cole’s verse was great. I love his aggression on the hook too. The hook is dope af. Damn. Omen killed his verse too. I liked Omen’s verse even more than J. Cole’s verse. Not only were his lyrics very poetic, but his delivery and rhyme scheme were on point. I actually really fuck with this song. This is definitely my favorite song on the album so far. I like this even more than Night Job. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 5: 48 Laws (Performed by Omen) Feat. Donnie Trumpet [Prod. Elite]

This should be good. I like Donnie Trumpet, and Omen’s album was great. This beat is really dope. The first verse was nice. The hook is very simplistic, but it works. Donnie Trumpet’s doing his thing in the background. Goddamn. He fuckin’ killed that second verse. “Paint my schools with Jesus Christ as white / Then lock my father up for life / Institutionalize my rights, then hide my plight from sight.” This song has a very simple structure, and Donnie Trumpet’s contributions weren’t that noticeable, but I still fuck with this shit. The beat was very good, and Omen’s verses were great. This is dope to me. 4/5

Track 6: Housewives (Performed by Bas) [Prod. Soundwavve & Ron Gilmore]

This song was on Too High To Riot too. I don’t really have anything to say. It’s just a good song. Nothing about this song is bad, but at the same time nothing really stands out that much. I like the song. Just read my original review of this track. My opinion hasn’t changed. It rarely does. So yeah. I still fuck with this song. This is dope. 4/5

Track 7: Tabs (Performed by Cozz) Feat. Bas [Prod. Meez]

I fuck with this hook. The beat’s dope. This first verse from Cozz really isn’t doing anything for me. I wasn’t really feelin’ his flow. It sounded like he was jammin’ too many words in each bar. The way he was rhymin’ kinda made it sound like he was drunk too. It just felt really sloppy. The hook gets old real quick too. The subject matter isn’t for me. Bas killed that last verse. I enjoyed Bas’ verse a lot more than Cozz’s. His verse was dope af. I don’t know if I’d come back to this song tho. I don’t think it’s bad at all, but it’s not good enough for me to wanna hear this shit again. It’s not for me. I don’t think it’s bad tho. I just wouldn’t listen to it again. If I did it would be for Bas’ verse. He killed that shit. The song is just alright to me tho. 3/5

Track 8: Still Slummin’ (Performed by Lute) [Prod. J Dilla]

This is my first introduction to Lute. I don’t know anything about him other than the fact that he’s from Charlotte, and that he’s obviously signed to Dreamville. This song is a remix of Dillatronic 35, which is from J Dilla’s posthumous album, Dillatronic. It’s starting now. This beat is obviously dope af. Lute’s singing the hook, and it’s smooth as fuck. He actually sounds really good. Damn. I just listened to the whole first verse. It was dope af. He told a quick story about himself going back to his hood after getting signed, and having a conversation with his homie. “‘Just promise you never change; I don’t care just how you do it / Fuck them niggas you ain’t gotta prove shit / And see this hood still the same, no matter what you doing / So for you I empty out a whole clip‘” I REALLY liked that first verse. That shit was dope af. Maybe I’m just dickriding ’cause he’s from Charlotte. I don’t dickride J. Cole tho, and he’s from Fayetteville. I think this is just better than I was expecting it to be. This was the perfect introduction to this guy. This is great. The second verse was dope af too. Wow. I’m shocked by how much I like this guy. This shit is dope af. I definitely fuck with this song. 5/5

Track 9: Grow (Performed by Cozz) Feat. Correy C [Prod. Meez]

This beat is dope af. Cozz is rapping his motherfuckin’ ass off right now. This kinda reminds me of Dollar & A Dream III by J. Cole for some reason. I don’t think it’s as good as that song, but it kinda gives off the same vibe. I coulda did without that hook from Correy C. There’s a ridiculous amount of autotune on it. It’s not bad enough to really hurt the song that much tho. The second verse from Cozz was great. I really fuck with this song. Again, I’m not in love with the hook from Correy C, but it’s not really bad enough for me to penalize the song. Everything else about this song is great to me. This is dope af. 5/5

Final Thoughts:

This album is actually a lot better than I thought it would be. I think Cole did a good job of showcasing his artists. I had no idea who Lute was before listening to this shit, but now I can’t wait to hear his debut album. Or mixtape. Whatever he releases next. I’m glad I got to hear more dope shit from Omen too. I even liked the song from Ari Lennox. I kinda wish Bas had some shit on here that I hadn’t already heard before, but I can’t really blame him for wanting to promote his album. I really don’t have any problems with this project. The production was very good throughout the whole project. There aren’t any bad songs on this album. I’m actually having trouble picking a favorite song. This album is great. I fuck with this project. It’s dope.

Favorite Song: Still Slummin’

Least Favorite Song: Tabs

Verdict:

86%

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