Review: NB3 - 3's A Party 2
[Self-Released; 2014]
Rating: 4.5/10
By Ethan Forness, Contributor
Key Tracks: “My Kind Of Night,” “Hands Up”
For the first time in over a year NB3 is back with his second full-length album, 3’s A Party 2, the aptly titled follow-up to last year’s 3’s A Party. Unlike his first album, NB3 produced all of 3’s A Party 2 himself and added friends and fellow artists Nati Legend, Cambo, Mike Denny and EP to the fray to try and make a solid party album. However, 3’s A Party 2 is a musical rollercoaster that can be divided into three categories: the good, the bad and the ugly.
Let’s start with the good, shall we? To NB3’s credit his beats have improved greatly after having only a year to refine his craft. As a rapper he’s smooth and has no problems transitioning from line to the next. NB3 also has some solid hooks across the album, from “Hands Up” to “My Kind Of Night,” where EP and Cambo respectively give the most memorable hooks on 3’s A Party 2. On top of catchy hooks, songs like “Quote That” and “Here’s Your Chance” have decent beats that could be played at any house party across campus.
Now we’ll move on to the bad. All across 3’s A Party 2, NB3 struggles with repetition in his songs. With songs like “bOuNcE” and “Ooh Turn Up” the hook seems to be almost 70% of the song, and it makes for a bore on what is supposed to be a party album. Unfortunately for NB3 he seems to take the backseat on his own album on a few tracks like “Hands Up,” where EP and Nati Legend steal the spotlight.
Unfortunately, it’s time to look into the ugly of this album. There are three overwhelming, stereotypical themes to 3’s A Party 2: sex, booze and weed. Maybe it’s just because it’s labeled as a “party album,” but after 3’s A Party and some of the other mixtapes NB3 has released over the past year, it’s a shame his content didn’t expand.
Speaking of content, the album is laced with references to Ohio University. Not necessarily a bad thing considering NB3 is both a student and a musician. Considering the very limited target market of Ohio University students, it would be difficult for 3’s A Party 2 to thrive away from Athens. NB3 really needs to diversify the content of his music and be able to rap about other subjects if he really wants to make a splash in the future.
Perhaps we can give the benefit of the doubt to 3’s A Party 2. NB3 is still only a sophomore at Ohio University, so there’s plenty of time for him to learn and branch out. Trying to release an album about sex, booze and weed during the infamous fest season in Athens is understandable, because he is possibly trying to feed off of OU’s party atmosphere. There’s definitely an upside to NB3 still being young, so we’ll chalk improved beats and networking to NB3’s credit. Hopefully, he’ll improve his craft even more and diversify his content.
