Artist: Amanda Blank
Album: I Love You
Record Label: Downtown Records
Rating: 1
In past years, Pennsylvanian rapper Amanda Blank has collaborated with artists such as M.I.A., Spank Rock, Santigold (previously known as Santogold), Ghostface Killah and Aaron LaCrate. However, her latest hip-hop album I Love You, released on Aug. 4, has proven that she has lost most, if not all, of the talent that allowed her to rub musical shoulders with the previously mentioned musicians.
Throughout the record, Blank monotonously and repetitively raps about cliché “you can’t touch this” dance floor seduction drama over a bed of plain and unimaginative beats, similar to the kind that are automatically programmed into a keyboard before purchase.
All throughout “Make-Up,” Blank strings together a series of nouns, sentence fragments and unintonated questions. “Blush, eyeliner/ Hush, see what you made me do/ Bass, mascara, erase/ I wanna look good for you/ Comb, hair/ Don’t care, I always comb my hair/ Make up, make up/ Pink, blue, purple/ I wanna make it good for you.” It may be argued that “Make-Up” is a good techno club track, however on a regular listening basis and under no alcoholic influence, this track is just plain awkward.
As if this particular combination of a white female rapper (whose vocal tone is equivalent to that of a monotonous Lil Kim) and trite lyrics weren’t strange enough, Blank’s seventh track takes listeners on a boring car ride through grade-school love. About halfway through the song, Blank abruptly realizes that she needs love and repeats, “I need love,” for the remainder of the track’s duration. Smoothing in a sample of Santigold’s “I’m a Lady,” from her self-titled record, Blank yet again succeeds in making a meaningless song.
Just as quickly as she snapped out of her hard-line rap trance, she snapped back in. “Might Like You Better” is a basic guideline of how to get into Blank’s pants. Lyrics continue to befuddle listeners. “I might like you better/ if we slept together […] Ride, no lie, just get inside me/ Like you better if you just ride me/ Grind me, try me, watch me finish/ I like you better if you get up in it […] Let’s go, I moan like a cat in heat.” Enticing as those lyrics are, “Might Like You Better” may be one of the tracks featuring more of Blank‘s vocal range (thanks to auto tune) and dynamic rhythm and beats.
The record features a number of well-known artists, such as Santigold, Lykke Li, Spank Rock and Chuck Inglish, but they aren’t even able to save the disaster they helped create.
However, to be fair, there are a few danceable tunes on I Love You. Do what you will with the rest.
Give these tracks a listen: “Make-Up,” “Might Like You Better“
For fans of: M.I.A., Lil Kim
– Simone Wahng
