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This album was released on August 25th. Honestly, I’ve never been the biggest fan of Action. I think I mentioned this in my review of Mr. Wonderful. I don’t think he’s a bad rapper, but he rarely stands out to me. I don’t really get excited whenever I see new music or a feature from him. I usually like his music, but it never really blows me away. I wasn’t really feelin’ Mr. Wonderful like that when I originally reviewed it. This album in particular is the third installment in his Blue Chips series. The first two Blue Chips projects were both mixtapes. They were both produced completely by Party Supplies, but I don’t think that’s the case for this one. I’m not really sure if this is gonna be good. I really haven’t seen anyone talking about it. It doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page. I haven’t heard any of the singles, so I’m going into this completely blind.

Track 1: Wolfpack (Prod. Party Supplies)

Um… Okay, so this track opens up with an audio clip of Action & his mom talking to each other. His mom is super high, and Action thinks it’s hilarious. It’s not really clear what drug she’s on. I’m gonna assume it’s some super potent marijuana or maybe LSD or some shit. I don’t know. Anyway, the actual song is starting now. Oh boy. Okay. I think I’m gonna like this. This beat is fucking fantastic. This is the kinda shit I like hearing Action rhyme over. It’s a really cartoonish sounding beat. It sounds like it could be the background music for one of those old black and white cartoons like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit or Bosko the Doughboy. The first verse was nice. This is almost like a parody of the luxurious braggadocio that’s prominent in Rick Ross’ music. He’s bragging about his lavish lifestyle, but it’s absurdly over the top.

Too much lobster on the plane; the plane won’t stay up / Bitch, I’m butt naked, laid up.

The second verse was cool. I love the ad-libs and sound effects. There’s no hook, which is probably for the best. The final verse was really dope. The song just ended. This is a really good song. It’s like listening to a cartoon. If he makes a music video for this song, I’m gonna be pissed if it’s not animated. This is dope af.

Track 2: La Luna (Prod. The Alchemist)

Hmm… This is really fucking cool, but… I think this is just a skit. It’s not recorded in a studio. It sounds like a voice memo. At the beginning of the track Action’s homie called a taxi service, and got put on hold. So this track is Action rapping over the music being played through the phone while he’s waiting. It’s a cool idea; I just wish it was recorded like a legitimate song. The verse itself is really fucking dope tho.

Came out the pussy wearing Timbs.

That’s amazing. Oh fuckin’ shit. Okay. It switches to a studio quality recording for the second verse. Woow. This is actually really fucking cool. The way he referenced the change in quality at the beginning of the second verse was awesome.

Your shit lack quality / I’m sittin’ right behind my chick makin’ pottery / My first joint was like an odyssey / The second joint straight raw like the shaman’s feet.

I’m already enjoying this album a lot more than I thought I would. This was a really creative idea for a song. I kinda wish the quality improvement occurred earlier on, but I still really liked this track. It’s dope.

Track 3: The Chairman’s Intent (Prod. Harry Fraud)

Goddamn. Harry Fraud put his ASS in this song. The production is fantastic. According to Action Bronson, this song is around four years old. The first verse was cool. Man… The strings that come in during the break between the first and second verses sound so fucking good. Ugh… Yikes. This hook is pretty fuckin’ bad. His singing is painful. Obviously it’s not meant to be taken seriously, but that doesn’t make it any more tolerable for me. It doesn’t completely ruin the song, but it definitely affected it negatively for me. The final verse was fine… Hmm… You know what? I don’t think I like this song… It’s not really bad, but the only thing that really impressed me that much was the production, and I feel like my initial excitement was kinda bullshit honestly. The more I listen to this the less I like the production. I mean, I still think it’s a good beat, but I’m not really sure what I was talking about when this track first started. So yeah. This is a decent song, but I personally won’t be coming back to it.

Track 4: Hot Pepper Feat. Jah Tiger & Meyhem Lauren (Prod. Knxwledge)

This beat is really dope. The first verse from Action was cool. I mean, it’s just a typical Action Bronson verse. He doesn’t really do anything on this song that he hasn’t done before. If you’re familiar with him you know what this shit is gonna sound like. That could be said for almost all of his music tho. His flow is nothing special as always. I like this hook from Jah Tiger a lot. It kinda reminds me of the old Calypso music my mom is obsessed with. Or maybe I’m thinking of something else. I don’t know. I get Caribbean genres mixed up a lot. Anyway, this is easily my favorite song on the album so far. The more I listen to the hook the more I like it, and Meyhem killed the second verse.

Take a look at my life ’cause I’m historical / You the type to compliment a Rolly at the urinal.

I’ve always really liked Meyhem Lauren. I still gotta check out that mixtape he dropped last year. Or maybe it was 2015. I can’t remember. But yeah. He killed it. In fact, he was spitting so hard that his verse ran into the hook. He had to cut himself off because he was interfering with Jah Tiger’s vocals. I feel bad saying this, but Action is my least favorite aspect of this song. Not that he was bad. He just didn’t really stand out as much as anything else. I love the hook, and the beat is great too. Meyhem killed it. Action’s verse was sufficient. That’s honestly to be expected tho. I don’t think I’ve ever actually been blown away by a verse from Action Bronson. His feature on Acid Rap was pretty great actually. Aside from that tho, he usually doesn’t really stand out. I like this song a lot tho. I actually love it. This shit is dope af to me.

Track 5: Bonzai (Prod. Harry Fraud)

This beat is real nice. It’s chill as hell. The way the production comes in is so fuckin’ smooth. Damn. Okay… It’s gonna be hard to choose a favorite track. This beat is perfect for Action. He sounds so good on this shit. He uh… He killed this. Of course he would come through with a song like this right after I kinda slandered his rapping abilities. I think this is a perfect song for Action tho.

I’m layin’ in the bed naked / My chick said I look like Kevin Bacon / I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not, but I’ll take it / Three dice in my hand, I might as well shake it.

I really like the way this track is structured too. It’s technically just one 32 bar verse, but the way the production loops makes it sound like two separate 16s. It has a really simplistic structure, but I think that’s part of why it works so well. This shit is dope af to me.

Track 6: Let It Rain (Prod. Party Supplies)

This album is pretty fuckin’ good so far. It’s already far better than Mr. Wonderful. This beat isn’t bad. I could’ve done without the moaning sounds at the beginning tho. The first verse was fine. There’s not really a hook. He just says “I must’ve been a junky in my past life” a couple times, and then starts rapping again. The song just ended. Eeeehhhhhhh. It’s not really bad, but I’m never gonna listen to this again. Nothing about this track stands out to me at all. The production was kinda cool, but Action didn’t do anything that interesting with it. I would’ve preferred to hear a more entertaining lyricist spit over this. None of the verses were bad. They just didn’t do anything for me. The saxophone solo at the end was nice, but it’s not enough for me to wanna come back to this shit. It’s an okay song.

Track 7: My Right Lung (Prod. Party Supplies)

The way the previous track transitions into this one is really nice. This beat is dope af. The first verse was cool. Man, this beat is REALLY fucking good. It’s really jazzy. I just listened to the entire song. I enjoyed it, but it could’ve used a lot more work. There are only two verses on this track, and they’re both 8 bars. It’s more of the same. The only real difference that makes this track stand out is the stellar production. I’d love to hear someone like MF DOOM over this.

I ain’t like my chain so I threw it on a midget / I don’t like the terms of the deal, do better on the digits / My Colombian princess’ll come and hit you with the scissors / In the neck ’til it look like Twizzlers.

That last line was actually really fuckin’ hard. Action says a lot of random shit, and it’s funny sometimes. It just lacks substance. It gets old after a while. I like this song tho. Obviously it’s not one of my favorites, but I definitely enjoyed it. This shit is dope.

Track 8: TANK Feat. Big Body Bes (Prod. The Alchemist)

Oh thank God. I was starting to worry that Bes wouldn’t make an appearance on this project. This beat is real nice. I just listened to Action’s entire verse. I’m starting to get bored. It’s not a bad verse at all—it’s actually pretty cool—but I’m just tired of hearing the same flow and delivery. You could put every bar on this entire album together and it would just sound like one long ass verse. Action never really veers too far outside of his own lane. He plays it safe, which in some ways is better than being too ambitious and going for something you can’t pull off, but it gets old after a while. The outro from Bes was cool. I don’t know, man… I liked the production. Action just isn’t really interesting me at all. It’s more of the same. Again, it’s not bad, but it doesn’t have any replay value for me personally.

Track 9: Let Me Breathe (Prod. Harry Fraud)

Oh shit. This beat is dope af. It’s really different from the sound Action usually rhymes over. This sounds like it could be played in a club. Songs from Action that can be played at parties like this are really rare. Well… Hmm… I actually don’t think this could be played in a club. The tempo’s a little low for that. If it was a faster paced track I could definitely see some girls shaking their flat asses to this shit. Yup. Action seems to agree with me.

If I could just make a dance that goes with this song, then I’ma be on / Basic bitches gon’ dance to it / Basic bitches everywhere gon’ dance to it.

The first verse was dope. The hook is really simplistic, but it sounds perfect over this bouncy percussion. The second verse was fine. I’d say the one thing that kinda holds this back is Action’s flow. It sounds like this was originally a more uptempo song, but Harry Fraud had to slow it down just so Action could stay on beat. He’s always kinda sounded like he’s running out of breath to me whenever he raps. However, everything else about the song is cool. I mean, I personally don’t have much interest in how girl’s bounce up and down and break Action’s dick off, but it’s not something that adversely affects my overall enjoyment of the track. This is dope to me.

Track 10: 9-24-7000 Feat. Rick Ross (Prod. Harry Fraud)

This beat is real smooth. The track opened up with some guy talking about free will or some shit like that. I don’t know. It kinda sounded like Bes. Maybe it was him. Action did his thing on this track. A lot of these songs follow the same exact formula. This is another track that sees Action just spitting a deluge of miscellaneous non sequiturs. There’s no hook. Rick Ross comes in after about two minutes. He sounds really good over this smooth production. The way he ended his verse was actually really fuckin’ dope.

Residents is divided amongst the feds and children / Let him keep totin’ drugs if he willin’ to plead guilty / The star state witness, they’ll hit you up for that selfie / Dro can only help me; Backwood and I’m healthy / I’m the label owner, I’m the only one can shelf me.

I like this song. Again, I’m still not super impressed, but I think it’s an enjoyable track. This is dope to me.

Track 11: The Choreographer (Prod. Daringer)

This beat is actually really cool. I like Action’s flow on this hook a lot too. Ok, I can already tell this is a major highlight of the album. The beat is great, and Action’s delivery is able to match the energy of the production. The first verse was dope. There’s not really a particular aspect of this song that really stands out and pushes it over the top. It just all comes together in a really nice way. The production is really enjoyable, and this song actually has a more conventional structure than any of the other tracks. The way the second verse started was really cool. I don’t have any problems with this track. This is dope af.

Track 12: Chop Chop Chop (Prod. Daringer)

The intro to this track made me really uncomfortable. It’s just the sound of Action smoking weed, but at first I thought it was the sound of him eating some pussy. He’s whispering and saying, “mmmm. Damn you taste good.” That doesn’t matter tho. The song’s actually starting now. This beat is pretty nice. The hook’s fine. His lethargic delivery kinda makes it seem like he’s falling off the beat. It’s not too bad tho. The first verse was cool. Oh. There’s only one verse. Eehhhhh… Nah. I’m not gonna listen to this shit again. The only thing that really stood out in a really good way was the production, and even that wasn’t that great. This is average.

Track 13: Durag Vs. Headband Feat. Big Body Bes (Prod. Knxwledge)

This track’s actually been out since last year, but I haven’t heard it yet. Oh… Oh fucking shit. Yes. I fucking love this production. It’s just a really simplistic, dusty breakbeat with a strange bass pattern. Action’s killin’ this first verse. He sounds great over this beat.

Ever since I came out / I been handin’ pain out / Fold a wire hanger through your nose; take your brain out.

I can already tell this is probably gonna be my favorite track on the album. He’s not even really doing anything differently on this track. The only reason I’m enjoying it so much more is because the quality of the production & Action’s bars is just a lot higher than it was on pretty much every other track. Woah… Hahaha. Big Body Bes actually did the hook. That’s awesome. Hmm… They should really just do a whole album together. He should be the hype man, just contributing a few words of ignorance in between verses and shit. The second verse was dope. Yeah. I have no problems with this track. Well… The ad-libs where they were mocking jihadi terrorists seemed a little offensive… It doesn’t bother me that much personally tho. This shit is dope af.

Final Thoughts:

This is a good album. I definitely don’t think it’s gonna blow anyone away, and if you’ve never been a fan of Action Bronson, this won’t do anything to change that. It’s really just more of the same. It’s exactly what you’d expect to hear from Action. I definitely think it’s a step up from Mr. Wonderful—mostly because Action doesn’t try to sing on this project. If you’re a fan of Action, you should be satisfied with this one. It’d be understandable if you’re a little disappointed tho because some people might be ready for Action to do something a little different. It’s exactly what I thought it’d be. It’s 13 tracks of Action saying nothing over smooth beats. I wouldn’t say anyone who decides to skip this project is missing out, but I’m glad I checked it out because there are some good songs on here. I didn’t even really think any of the songs were actually bad. There were songs that didn’t really impress me that much, but none of them were actually wack. It’s a solid album.

Favorite Song: Durag Vs. Headband

Least Favorite Song: Chop Chop Chop

Verdict:

B

Watch the videos below for more thoughts on this album