Mixtape Review: Royal Flush 2 - CyHi Da Prince

*CyHi voice*... AAAAYYYYYYYYYEEEEEE!

I've been highly anticipating this mixtape release for a minute now. By now you're well aware that I am a big fan of CyHi Da Prince (not necessarily a big fan of his stage name though). Here's my review of his latest mixtape release, "Royal Flush 2".

Spadez Interlude: I'm not sure if this is from Coming to America but it made me laugh immediately because it sounded like it. And CyHi's voice-over was a bit over-the-top, but I guess that's the point, lol.

When the Smoke Clears: That "shorty can you suck my thing" line is pretty weak and elementary and  overall I think his flow was somewhat basic on this song. He has some slick lines but I feel like this wasn't on par with what I was expecting as the first track on the mixtape. It's not a bad track but I was expecting something a little more uptempo that grabbed me.

Cold As Ice: It took me a second to get used to the double-time type flow he uses here. Also, he goes back to the same basic type flow that he showed in the first song at times but the baseline in this song and the hook really got me hyped (not sure why though, lol).

Bulletproof (feat. Yelawolf): This is just dope. The sample, the beat, and CyHi's flow in this are all pretty good. One of my favorite tracks on the mixtape. Oh yeah, Yelawolf comes in at the end and kinda obliterates the track. So much so that I had to go back and listen to some of his music whereas prior to this verse, I was completely and totally indifferent toward Yelawolf and his music.

Thousand Poundz (feat. Pill & Pusha T): Another joint where the beat caught me off the break. Pill, CyHi, and Pusha all hold their own on the track. Solid track overall and one of my favorites. And how can you not have a track that's a thinly-veiled drug reference and not have your labelmate Pusha T(on) on it? This was obligatory, yeeeeuckkk!

Heartz Interlude: Prince of Hearts... OK, on to the next song.

New Girl (feat. Trey Songz): Once I heard Trey's voice I figured this would be a decent song. Not that it's the case with all his songs, but still. This song immediately made me think "radio joint" because of the beat and Trey being featured on it. I just don't know how the content/topic would really go as far as people wanting to hear that he is looking for a new girl that he ain't gonna love forever. I mean, that's real talk and all but... Then again, urban radio doesn't care what they shove down your ears, as long as it doesn't make you smarter or enlighten you in any way.

End of the Night: Another joint made for radio and I'm not mad at him for it, lol. This is where you get your radio spins and your female following. And if women buy the record that's a very good thing and it's actually not a bad song. He doesn't seem like he's forcing the record or trying too hard to pander to the female audience. It seems natural. Good look for CyHi.

Right Side of the Bed: The beat is decent but I am not feeling this song. The hook is weak and it just makes his raps seem weak to me as well.

Sunday Morning: This track is HILARIOUS, especially the chorus! Some of the lines he uses in this song are weak but at the same time funny as hell.

Clubz Interlude: Another Coming to America sounding song but who really knows, lol. Another interlude and this one is highlighted by "beautiful women with hair flowing past their bosoms"(LOL at that).

Dance: I think this song is dope. Not sure how some women will feel about this one but this joint KNOCKS. Strip club beat and the hook is stripper-friendly for sure. Shot out to CyHi for making this one because it's going in my "StripperMusic" playlist in iTunes. Fellas, if you don't have one, get one ASAP!

Fightin' In The Club: I like the concept of this song but I think it sounds a little too soft for it to be about not fighting in the club. I'm still not sure if I like this one or not. I can relate to the scenario/story he's telling because no dude that's at the club talking with a girl - that feels like he's getting somewhere with - wants a fight to break up his conversation with the girl.

Emotional (feat. Tity Boi): Not feeling this joint (mostly because of the hook) but I Tity Boi's verse is funny to me.

Made Me Who I Am: My favorite song on the mixtape. And as nature would have it, it's the shortest one (smh). Seriously, the interlude after this song is almost as long as this song. He needs to make this song longer and put it on his studio release. "The Bible said they threw stones at Christ/Now I understand why my Jesus piece got rocks in it".

Diamondz Interlude: Final interlude. By the time you get to this one I think you're just about tired or these joints.

Take You Back: Another one of those personal songs that shows a little vulnerability and honesty and less hyperbole and swag. I tend to enjoy these songs from any rapper - not just CyHI - because it just shows a real side rather than the "act" they're putting on as a rapper.

Woopty Doo (feat. Big Sean): Honestly, this is something I'd expect from Big Sean, not CyHi. Maybe this used to be a Big Sean track featuring Cyhi and Sean gave it to CyHi, lol. Oddly enough, I've been using woopty-do but I won't even say how I was on it first because it's not that cool to say anyway and yall wouldn't believe me either way. The song isn't that bad and it actually has a really good message that I agree with. But, it's not really one of my favorites and it's not really a stand-out track for me.

Beautiful Mind: I like this joint. It has kind of a feel-good vibe to it which goes with the title of the track (the "beautiful" part anyway).

Stadium (feat. B.o.B.): The way this song starts off is not indicative of how the verses sound (sonically). Still not sure how I feel about this one. I think I like it but it's nothing that makes me feel like it's that good, just an easy listen. Now that I think about it, it's couple other songs on here I feel the exact same way about.

Overall, I think that conceptually this is a solid mixtape. He obviously had a theme he wanted to stick to and he did that well. I like how he broke the disc up into Prince of Spades, Hearts, Clubs, and Diamonds. He's alluded to this on previous mixtures and it's good to see that he kept with that concept. I think it's a smart move that gives him some flexibility in the types of song you can expect from him (ie - he's not gonna just stick to one type of sound/topic). I like about half of the songs which is actually on par or better than the way I feel about most mixtapes. I don't think this mixtape is better than the first but it shows that he's working his way toward a debut release that's at least decent. I say that because this mixtape doesn't have any Kanye production (with the exception of "Woopty Doo") or Kanye raps on it. It also doesn't have any Common or John Legend on it. And I assume that since he's signed to G.O.O.D. Music he'll have the chance to work with those guys for his album. It's a very good sign if he can put this type of mixtape together without even having to go to anyone on his label outside of Pusha and Big Sean. I think CyHi's got a lot of potential and I hope he's successful.

Download the Royal Flush 2 Mixtape here. And if you haven't heard the first Royal Flush mixtape, click here to download.