Review: Cody B. Ware- Welcome Home (2011)

Band: Cody B. Ware

Release: Welcome Home

Genre: Rap/Hip-Hop

Label: Independently Released

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/codybware

Tracklist:

1. Welcome Home

2. #33 Forever

3. Eyes Closed (Everything Is Alright)

4. Trix [Feat. Natty Monstaaa & Prince SAMO]

5. Breaking Night

6. Gangsta Party [Feat. Ninjasonik & Bad Rabbits]

7. Ladybug

8. Fear My Name [Feat. Irepress]

9. What I Came Home For [Feat. Jeff Donna]

10. Run To The Sun [Feat. Dua Boakye & Jesse Korman]

Review: 9.4/10

This is an album that has very clear strengths and one key weakness and Cody B. Ware’s latest album Welcome Home. First I shall list the strengths. First off is his very impressive vocal delivery between catchy choruses and rapping. On the opening track “Welcome Home,” there is a drum and female vocal intro saying “Welcome Home” over and over, then Cody comes in with a beat matching rap over a synth filled beat. There is a little bit of subtle piano, but as evidenced throughout the CD he uses a lot of synth compared to the radio friendly sounds you hear these days.

Perhaps the one and only weakness on every song except “#33 Forever” is that his verses are way too short. Although he spits out an awesome rap on the single, it’s overall length is still a little short. I think this would have caught on to people much more if it was extended to a four to five minute long song. I would definitely suggest re-recording and extending this song on a future release as the beat and his vocal style has a huge club potential.

“Trix” has a catchy and minimal beat that uses a different style of bass instead of going with the usual bass sound. Again, I love his perfect blend of rap, hip-hop and synth sounds that all blend perfectly together. His delivery is unrelenting and doesn’t sound the least bit lacking in any way at all, other than the length of it of course. From a short verse, chorus, then another very short verse by Natty Monstaaa just doesn’t give this song justice.

Other than the single “#33 Forever,” the song “Breaking Night” is the other shining song on the album. It has a very catchy chorus line (I’m breaking night/ I’m breaking night/ until I see the sun/ I won’t stop having fun), an infectious verse beat that the ladies can grind with and a chorus beat to really boost the energy of people dancing too.

This album is a stand out among other hip-hop albums of 2011, it doesn’t hit a top 10 for me because of the verses just being too short. It has awesome and original beats that, alone, make this album definitely apart from the rest. His rapping style is also really good and I can see him spitting among the greats in the future.