Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

First off, before I get to anything else, I want to tell you a few things: TJ Lavin is a professional BMX rider. You may have seen him winning gold at the X Games. You may have seen him hosting several Real World/Road Rules challenges. And, more importantly of course, you may have heard that he raps.

With his debut album Lavs: The First Set serving as the diving board into his pool of memories, Lavin displays a surprising versatility in being the disc’s writer, producer, co-sound engineer, and even executive producer (meaning he’s his own boss). His ability to remain grounded throughout the entire project – from everything to the album cover to the lyrics and beats – proves just how focused and serious he was about the entire process. And seeing as how his financial situation seems like it would allow for him to be able to bankroll the album, it’s commendable to see that he invested so much of himself into a project of this magnitude – cause trust me, putting together a full album is no joke.

Keeping in mind that we’re here to talk about the quality of music though, and not the behind the scenes work, I’m sorry to say but I’m a little disappointed. The main reason being is that artistically the album presents nothing new to me, and as an artist, that has to be your main priority: to show the world something they’ve never seen before. I wouldn’t be so disappointed in Lavin if, let’s say, he were a mechanic, but keep in mind that he’s a professional BMX rider, a career that demands a high level of artistry and originality to ever even be recognized, and to be honest, I feel like he’s simply content with being able to rap and make beats just like everybody else. And guess what, when you do that, you end up sounding just like everybody else.

Case in point: Don’t Think I Forgot, the third song on the album. Have you ever heard those free beats you can download online? The one’s that seem like stale versions of mainstream beats. And have you ever heard Eminem’s Still Don’t Give a Fuck from his Slim Shady LP? Ok, now picture a song like Em’s but with one of those internet beats and lyrics that make Everlast sound like Eminem compared to Lavs:

 

“And all the dudes at school

That thought they was cool,

Enough said man (pronounced mayne)…

You thought you was cool”

 

Now, don’t get me wrong the result is actually not that bad, but it’s highly probable that it won’t merit more than one or two listens from the average listener, and that’s where it is that bad. And saying “my momma always said kill ‘em with love” in the chorus with the same rugged-type flow as the rest of the chorus seems kind of like an oxymoron, and, no disrespect to Mrs. Lavin, but kind of lame too.

This trend of average/below average songs persists throughout the entire album, and even when Lavin seems to try to push the envelope with a quote from Kanye on the chorus of Gotta Be A Star, he doesn’t come through lyrically quite like any above average rapper should:

 

“I love a Kanye, Red, Common, and Jay atmosphere

Ain’t scared to say shit

What he’s gotta say?

You can’t rap, catch you up on TV

That’s what they saying to me

Well I don’t give a fuck, I do it for free

I put a needle on a record, push record, loop it up

And make an easy ass beat for them kids in the cut

So they can rap to they friends

So they can rap on they bands

Before you know it, they rappin’ for fans”

 

Again, it’s not that the song is horrible, cause it does have a good message and at least finally explains why it is that a pro-BMX rider decided to rap, it’s just more of the fact that I can’t imagine this being anyone’s favorite song. And shouldn’t that be your goal with every song you release?

Now I know I keep telling you about the bad stuff, but as with almost every music album ever released, there are at least some songs worth listening to. And no, Sexy is definitely not one of them:

“I know you love it, and you know

That I know you love it

So keep it sexy girl

Cause you’re a sexy girl”

 

Are you serious TJ? Would you really go up to a girl and say “so keep it sexy girl, cause you’re a sexy girl”? Well I wouldn’t, but that’s just me.

My bad, I just wanted to get how I felt about Sexy off my chest. But anyway, as I was saying, there are some good tracks on The First Set, and I‘d have to say #1 Fan is arguably the best overall song, both because it is the most heart felt, in that it is a dedication to his father that has passed (much props on the samples of the voice mails by the way, great touch), and in that its lyrics are just on point, especially in his best line of the album:

“No longer fighting the feeling

I’m just writing it down” … sickie

 

It’s not the best sounding song though, as I would give that to the Pharrell-influenced Make A New Song with it’s surprisingly decent chorus sang in that little semi-whisper sounding voice that Pharrell has, sort of like his part on Jay-Z’s Blue Magic chorus. Lavs even announces the Skateboard P influence for the sound of the song:

“Third verse of a banger and I’m hanging them out to dry

Skate P influence, got you wonderin’ why

I do what I do, I mean why even try

The sound is ridiculous, man I cant even lie”

 

The album definitely reaches its peak on songs six and seven, Make A New Song and #1 Fan respectively, and adds another nice track with Been Around The World, which by the way has the funniest line on the album, well at least to me. I know in these days of racial tensions some people might not find it funny, but come on, lighten up, how is this not funny:

“You can learn a little something

From the African side within”

 

Yet as funny as it is to me, I laugh only cause of how true it is and it’s a little humorous to find that a white guy like Lavin would go to Africa, chill with the natives, and get in touch with his indigenous side just like I would if I could. Big up to you on that spiritual path man, let these kids know about the world! It seems like nobody else does.

The rest of the album goes up-and-down, mainly down with a few ups, but at least bodes well in introducing the only guests of the album, Richter and Jon E, on the song Never Gonna Hold Me Down. I’d give you a quote for them, but none of their bars stood out on their own, it’s more of their entire verses and how they ride the beat.

The album ends on a very positive note both lyrically and production-wise with Remember The Time, another plus for Lavin who put the whole thing together himself without a marketing team to tell him how to end the album (I actually can’t confirm that, but from the looks of the album it seems like it was all him, so fuck it, if it‘s not true, sue me). As with #1 Fan, the strength of Remember The Time is its introspective into the mind of TJ Lavin the artist/rapper. Although at first I wasn’t too fond of the song, it wasn’t until after I hopped on Lav’s Myspace page… www.myspace.com/lavslab… and saw a comment from one of his friends saying that she vividly remembers the same scenes he’s talking about in the song, that I realized just how deep he was getting. As an artist, when you’ve painted a picture with your words, you know you’ve succeeded… now you just have to make everyone else that never actually lived through your memories see that picture in their minds too - and you have to make sure to do it on every song.

Like I said, artistically the album is a disappointment in that it brings nothing new to the table, but you have to give it up to the man, TJ Lavin is living it up and making all his dreams come true. And although I don’t feel as if he’s developed his voice to where it has to be in order to succeed as a rapper - because it’s more than just rhyming when you have to record a verse: you have to be able to hit the pockets (the empty space between words), keep your breath right, and always make sure your voice remains smooth - I know it‘s only because he hasn‘t yet reached his comfort level on the mic. But as with everything, practice makes perfect and you’re nothing without experience, so hopefully he takes this album as a lesson learned, as I’m sure he will, and come twice as strong on the production tip next time, and four times as strong lyrically.