I Can't Call It: Tigallero - Phonte & Eric Roberson

Can I be honest for a sec? Cause I gotta come clean about a couple of things. Number one, I’ve never been an Eric Roberson fan and I've never heard one of his albums. Yeah, I’ve heard a song here and there and they're cool but I never heard anything that made me wanna hear more. And since we’re keeping it 100, I never liked the Foreign Exchange either. Aaaaaaand I might as well throw this one in there too, I never was a fan of Little Brother. So I guess this review is kinda getting off on a bad foot huh? But hey, I’m just being honest. So by now I’m sure most of ya’ll are wondering, if I don’t like Eric Roberson and I don’t like Foreign Exchange AND I didn’t like Little Brother…then why the hell am I reviewing Phonte & E’s new album? And the answer to that question is simple…it’s because Phonte is that dude! I was just saying the other day on my podcast that I honestly believe that Tay is the dopest MC that’s dropped post 2000. And before you nay sayers get started asking the questions that I KNOW ya’ll are dying to ask me, yes I’ve heard of J Cole & Kendrick Lamar. I just think Tay is doper. See with Little Bro & Foreign Exchange, I always loved Tay, I just wasn’t a big fan of the 9th or Nicolay's production but best believe from day one I always knew Tigello was a beast. Plus I never said that E. Roberson was wack or nuthin like that so the fact that Tay is linking up with dude in the first place is all the cosign I need to make room for “Tigallero” in my rotation. And I’ll tell ya’ll this, after living with this jawn for a minute, I’m happy as hell I did.

"Tigallero" sets off with the album's 1st single "It's So Easy" which is gonna be the perfect soundtrack for your summer BBQ's, family reunions, bar mitzvahs, etc. and has Tay & e going back & forth a la EPMD, "let me address, why I'm blessed, while I kick this freestyle with my son on my chest/no major studio eatin' up my checks, ain't complex when it come to lovin' you I wake up every single morning with the world's best view/of ya eyes and ya thighs, ya lips and chest too, she fresh to death yes extra special/next step's the best step yet so let's move." Thru The Night" got a heavy Dilla vibe going on & has E and Tay talking about trying to hold it down in their relationship even though other chicks are out here checking coats, "all these ladies lookin’ lovely in the VIP line, I love my girl and I’m loyal but that don’t make me blind/up in the after-party bein’ chased around, one more night gotta hold my ground" and when Tay jumps in his MC bag the beat changes just makes the song THAT much doper, "so many try to be mister man, but when the bullshit hits the fan/you really tellin’ yo kids that you risked it all for that bitch off of Instagram/nah, don’t do it, mission abort, these streets ain’t a game and it isn’t a sport, better learn how to pass or ya shit’ll get torched/I done seen so many love stories Began with one shorty bare on your couch and now she airin’ you out in one forty." The drums on "My Kinda Lady" will keep your head noddin' for the next two minutes & 39 seconds while Tay & E tell you their kinda girl, "she can quote me Nina Simone but prefer De La Soul, freestylin’ over Dilla beats while we chillin’ at home" and "Hold Tight" is smooth as that butter Phife was talking about and Tay's adlibs will have you dying while they praise just how dope their girls are.

"Never The Same" tells the story of a dude who cheats on his girl and even though she forgives him, it's never the same between them and "Waiting 4 Ya" picks up where "Never the Same" left off with the couple breaking up but has shorty telling her man, "maybe when the storm is over/and if you ever wanna try at love again I’ll be waiting for ya." "Lie To Me" has the fellas telling a shorty that "that if the truth is I can't have you, then lie to me ", "3:45" is cool but sounds a helluva lot like BJ's "Love Inside" and "Something" ends the album on a dope note but my fave banger on "Tigallero" is "Grow This Love." This jawn has the fellas trying to find the "right way" to fall and love and not rushing into anything. "So many times I was fallin' in love, well maybe more like fallin' in/fallin' so fast, I couldn't just grasp, what I needed when love within/but since we began being more than just friends, maybe we take it day by day/if I learn you better, my heart might just let ya, stay around and love would you stay."

So, I’m sure most of ya’ll are thinking that since I love “Tigallero” so much that now I’ll be going back & doing the knowledge on Eric Roberson and relistening to the Foreign Exchange and Little Brother right? Well, in the immortal words of Brand Nubs...lets all just slow down for a sec. See, I’ve come to grips that I’ll just be the odd man out when it comes to loving The Foreign Exchange & Little Brother the way the rest of ya’ll do. And guess what? I’m good with that…it just ain’t my cup of tea is all. Now as far as E Roberson goes, I’ll probably ask one of my peoples who rocks with dude to point me in the direction of his dopest album and I’ll mos def give it a spin cause after the dopeness he laced “Tigallero” with that’s the absolute least I can do to show money some love. And as far as Phonte is concerned, this album only strengthens my argument that dude is the dopest thing since sliced bread. And if by any chance cats were still sleeping on Tay, no worries…there’s still room on the bandwagon. And after listen to "Tigallero" ya'll ALL should be jumping on it!

4 outta 5 mics