A year and a half has passed since Tyga took the world by storm with his smash hit single “Rack City.” The multi-platinum single made Tyga a household name as you heard Rack City at house parties and on every radio station in the country. Although it’s been a while since then, Tyga returns to the music scene with “Hotel California,” his third studio album.

“Hotel California” has Tyga rapping about how much money he has, how many women he gets, and how much better he is than all of us, the same way he rapped on “Rack City.” This subject matter, although it makes for great party music, gets old, especially on an 18-track album. “Hotel California” isn’t a bad album; it’s just not worth 70 minutes.

The thing that holds Tyga back from becoming the next star in hip-hop is the fact that he cannot hold a song by himself. Despite “Rack City,” the songs he has released that have features have been more successful than his singles with no features. While rapping on his own, “Hotel California” lacks originality and excitement. His lack of creative wordplay and changes of flow really keeps the album from being an enjoyable experience.

“Hotel California” is at its best in the first half of the album. Without a few solid tracks, the album feels like Tyga is trying to recapture the magic of “Rack City” but fails to do so. The first half contains nine features from Lil’ Wayne, Rick Ross, Future and more, while the second half only has two. Sadly, the tracks that have Tyga rapping on his own fail to match what “Rack City” was.

On “Molly” and “M.O.E.,” Wiz Khalifa runs circles around Tyga, even when this isn’t Wiz at his best. Future turns “Show You” into his own song, Lil’ Wayne’s verse on “500 Degreez” is better than a lot of what Tyga says on this album, and Rick Ross saves the day on “Dope.”

There are tracks on “Hotel California” where Tyga shows some potential like “Diss Song” where he discusses a friendship that’s gone sour. Even on “Drive Fast, Live Young” Tyga shows hope that he is relevant in today’s hip-hop scene.

Despite the lack of interest he has in his lyrics, the production on “Hotel California” is nice. The production credits show that this doesn’t have the same sound as his previous effort, “Careless World: Rise of the Last King,” and it clearly shows. Compared to what other artists are releasing today, this album is far from being average. Even though his album sound is subpar, it’s enjoyable for a couple of minutes.

With two below-average releases, it seems the Young Money ship is sinking for everyone except Drake, who is expecting an album release later this year. If you’re a fan of Tyga’s sound this will barely leave you satisfied and for those looking for a new album to pick up and listen to, you probably won’t make it through the whole thing.

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