Cool Tape Vol. 3 - Jaden: Review
is a singer rapper and actor as well as the son of singer, rapper and actor Will Smith. After releasing a line of singles and mixtapes Jaden finally made his commercial debut with 2017's SYRE and then followed it up in 2019 with ERYS. CTV3 is the third in a line of mixtapes that date all the way back to 2012.
Review By Lavender:
While I didn't love either of Jaden's first two albums and I really didn't love the mixtape he released in between there is usually at least something worth hearing on Jaden's projects. Despite the fact that CTV3 is shorter clocking in at under an hour there is once again a lot of filler tracks and not many songs that I don't have some complaint about.
Most of my favorite tracks here work because Jaden delivers good energetic verses and the instrumentals, while derivative of other artists, are pulled off effectively. Rainbow Bap is long at nearly 5 minutes but the beat is slick and the simple drum passage does a lot for the songs flow. It blends trendy indie and hip hop sounds together into a sweet and catchy tune. Everything is lowkey rap ballad type track and while the hook is pretty weak, get used to that, I like the trap beat quite a bit and Jaden manages to keep a right flow and steady pace on his bars. Imagine what a song by Jaden Smith called Young In Love would sound like and you've pretty much got the song Young In Love, while the hook is a miss again I like the cloudy instrumental a lot. Cabin Fever may be a surprise pick for a highlight because the lyrics sounds like Jaden's tweets circa 2013. The song features what may be Jaden's best singing on the entire album and sees him doing the sadboy rap thing justice.
Deep End is one of the best songs here with a good instrumental highlighted by a great transition into the hook. On top of this the hook here is one of the best on the record, and even though the bridge is a momentum killer the song does recover. Endless Summer is another one of the best tracks here even though Jaden's verse is an absolute lyrical time bomb of cringey ass bars. The beat is simple and mostly for Jaden to spit his fast paced bars over but the actual highlight of the song is a KILLER Raury verse. I haven't heard much from Raury recently but if he keeps showing up on Jaden's records I will continue to listen to them. Boys And Girls is a pretty solid closing track as well. The song is a positivity anthem that is sweet enough to live up to that label particularly with the choir of children singing supporting vocals.
Not every other track here is a total waste however, some of them just fall a little short. Circa 2015 is the opener with a pretty rich Kanye inspired shimmering instrumental. The song isn't much structurally and Jaden's mumble singing isn't a perfect fit for the vibe but the song is easy on the ears. Lucy! is a short upbeat track that also comes off as pretty underwritten and middle of the road. Sunburnt on the other hand is one of the most compositionally dense tracks here with multiple phases and a crescendo. The track also has some cool faint keys and Glass Animals style backing vocals. The downfall is mostly with Jaden whose vocals are manipulated in a weird way and not well enough to cover up some more really bad bars.
There are a handful of tracks here so forgettable I find them pretty hard to describe. In The Hills and Muted Sunrise are the cloud rap lowlights while Photograph and Drops Of Sun are the same but for weird 2000's alternative rock. Falling For You doesn't do much for me mainly because it is sickeningly sweet, so much so that it sounds like children's TV show music. Justin Bieber features here and honestly fits the track well but the vibe itself is the problem here, and it's a big one. Bad Connection is another pseudo trap song that doesn't even reach two minutes and it goes through it's entire runtime missing anything bold or standout. The Birth Of SYRE is the worst track here and pure auditory slop as Jaden rambles his way through a flowless track with dreamy guitar and some half spoken half rapped bars that don't really add up to anything relevant.
Cool Tape Vol.3 suffers from a lot of the same issues other Jaden projects have and they may be even a little more exaggerated with a lack of true highlights. There are just so many unnecessary track here and while Jaden has more than enough good songs in his discography to make a solid record or two he continues to release just about anything he wants to and the result is yet another inconsistent project, this time around I think there are even more duds than highs. 4/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
I dislike this cover. I think that there's good parts but all together it is a tik tok wet dream. The colors are cool and I think that if he just stuck with the car and what's in the front it would have been successful but the "quirky" additions just don't do it for me.
For more hip hop check out my review of Amine's Limbo here
