The Rundown: Tyga, Hotel California

Does the YMCMB MC earn his stripes on his third album?

Tyga, Hotel California - The cover for Tyga's second Young Money album was pretty lavish. The Cali native rocked an enormous white fur coat while standing on a spectacular outdoor patio and kickin' it next to — yup — a tiger. (Photo: Young Money Records)

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The Rundown: Tyga, Hotel California - Tyga has to be nervous. He's already on his third album, Hotel California, which drops today, and he's no doubt trying to follow up on the massive success of his 2012 hit "Rack City," a song that got so popular that white kids and their grandmothers were twurking to it on Youtube. But the album's two singles, "Dope" and "Molly," have mostly fizzled, and Tyga still finds himself throroughly outshined by his superstar Young Money labelmates. Still, a strong album would do much to ease criticism that Tyga is just a one-hit wonder with shallow, strip-club rhymes. Does Tyga earn his stripes? Check our track by track review of Hotel California to find out. —Alex Gale (Photo: Young Money Records)

"500 Degrees" feat. Lil Wayne  - "F--k yall, money talk, d--k large, tiger in my backyard, b---hes in my futon." That's how Tyga sets off Hotel California, and it's a pretty effective preview of the money, sex and tough talk that pervades the album. Tyga's Young Money boss Weezy shows up for a verse, which makes sense (his third album had the same name as this song), but unfortunately he's still got some of the lazy lines that doomed I Am Not a Human Being: "Don't cross me like a pedestrian." Tyga gets caught up too: "Ball like a Nerf," he raps.   (Photos from left: John Ricard/BET, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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"500 Degrees" feat. Lil Wayne  - "F--k yall, money talk, d--k large, tiger in my backyard, b---hes in my futon." That's how Tyga sets off Hotel California, and it's a pretty effective preview of the money, sex and tough talk that pervades the album. Tyga's Young Money boss Weezy shows up for a verse, which makes sense (his third album had the same name as this song), but unfortunately he's still got some of the lazy lines that doomed I Am Not a Human Being: "Don't cross me like a pedestrian." Tyga gets caught up too: "Ball like a Nerf," he raps. (Photos from left: John Ricard/BET, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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"Dope" feat. Rick Ross - The album's first single is anchored by a DJ Mustard 2013 club remake of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's 1991 classic "Deep Cover." The production's actually sort of cool, but Tyga and Rick Ross don't even attempt to match any of hefty gravitas of the original. Instead of "187 on an undercover cop," this time "h--s" are catching a bad one (in the bedroom). Even Ross can't up the drama with his way laidback performance—though his claim that he insures his beard is truly hilarious. (Photos from left: Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for Reebok, Steve Granitz/WireImage)

Rack Awards 2012 - Tyga closed the show in true YMCB fashion performoing his chart topping smash "Rack City". (Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET)

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"Get Loose" - Tyga's last album, Careless World: Rise of the Last King, was defined by the hit "Rack City" commercially, but it had many different sounds musically. By the time "Get Loose" comes on three songs in, it's hard not to think that Tyga hasn't honed in on the formula of his biggest song to date. Like "Rack City," each song so far consists of Tyga rhyming about sex, stunting and the streets over a sparse beat featuring a single eerie synthesizer line, sound effects and hand claps. Each song, incuding "Get Loose," is perfectly enjoyable, but none truly recapture that "Rack City" magic. (Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET)

Photo By Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET

Tyga

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"Diss Song" - "Diss Song" is a much-needed left turn. Musically, there's a pretty incredible acoustic guitar and vocal loop, a break from the album's relentless synthesizer-led production. On the mic, Tyga finally shows a deeper side, breaking down a rap beef with a former friend from an extremely personal perspective. There's even some sick DJ cuts at the end and a spacey beat switch at the end. Only the cheesy singing under the hook ("I ain't trying to diss you") brings this song down from sky-high heights. (Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images For BET)

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"Hit Em Up" feat. Jadakiss and Tupac - This song has an interesting backstory: It was originally released on Youtube, and featured a third verse consisting of  Tyga trading lines with unreleased vocals from Tupac himself. Musically, it was well-executed and brought the song's energy up; conceptually, the thought of Tyga, a young rapper with strong pop-rap leanings, collaborating with a revolutionary gangsta-rap icon like Pac was troublesome to say the least. Either way, presumably due to sample clearance issues, the Pac vocals didn't make the final cut. We're left with a banging Jadakiss verse over a decent but straightforward Tyga song, one that sounds a lot like many other songs on the album (as well as 2 Chainz' "I'm Different," which DJ Mustard also produced).  (Photos from left: PNP/ WENN, Johnny Nunez/WireImage, Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Get...

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"Hit Em Up" feat. Jadakiss and Tupac - This song has an interesting backstory: It was originally released on Youtube, and featured a third verse consisting of  Tyga trading lines with unreleased vocals from Tupac himself. Musically, it was well-executed and brought the song's energy up; conceptually, the thought of Tyga, a young rapper with strong pop-rap leanings, collaborating with a revolutionary gangsta-rap icon like Pac was troublesome to say the least. Either way, presumably due to sample clearance issues, the Pac vocals didn't make the final cut. We're left with a banging Jadakiss verse over a decent but straightforward Tyga song, one that sounds a lot like many other songs on the album (as well as 2 Chainz' "I'm Different," which DJ Mustard also produced). (Photos from left: PNP/ WENN, Johnny Nunez/WireImage, Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Get...

"Molly" feat. Wiz Khalifa, Cedric Gervais and Mally Mal - Rap has already had enough troubling references to Molly, slang for crytallized MDMA—did we really need a whole song about it? (Especially with a hook that repeats "Molly" again and again just to be sure you get the point.) The beat, which predictably borrows from the eerie horrorcore production of classic Three-6 Mafia, is about as passé as the topic.  (Photo: REUTERS/Danny Moloshok)

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"Molly" feat. Wiz Khalifa, Cedric Gervais and Mally Mal - Rap has already had enough troubling references to Molly, slang for crytallized MDMA—did we really need a whole song about it? (Especially with a hook that repeats "Molly" again and again just to be sure you get the point.) The beat, which predictably borrows from the eerie horrorcore production of classic Three-6 Mafia, is about as passé as the topic. (Photo: REUTERS/Danny Moloshok)

April 18, 2012: Tyga and Chris Brown Announce New Mixtape - Tyga had Team Breezy in a frenzy when he tweeted that he and Chris Brown were working on a sequel to their 2010 collaborative mixtape Fan of a Fan.(Photos: John Ricard/BET)

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"For the Road" feat. Chris Brown - We mentioned before that Tyga had pop-rap aspirations, and after the club and booty-club songs that dominate the album so far, he plays his radio-ready, for-the-ladies card here. Cheesy, yes, but it's good to finally hear a song that doesn't reduce male-female relations to a violent euphemism for sex. Chris Brown kinda kills the hook in a good way (though the line "Girl, I'm 'bout to make you cry" might be ill-advised).  (Photos: John Ricard/BET)

"Show You" feat. Future - It's strange that Tyga decided to put the album's love songs back to back, but Future's new reign as rap's leading Auto-tuned hookman is still ongoing, and he's the high point here as well. We wouldn't be mad at a full album of Future love songs, honestly.  (Photos from left: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BET, Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

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"Show You" feat. Future - It's strange that Tyga decided to put the album's love songs back to back, but Future's new reign as rap's leading Auto-tuned hookman is still ongoing, and he's the high point here as well. We wouldn't be mad at a full album of Future love songs, honestly. (Photos from left: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BET, Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

"It Neva Rains" feat. Game - Tyga finally goes for the sunny, serene vibe promised by the album artwork and title by flipping Tony Toni Toné's "It Never Rains (in Southern California)" in pretty ill fashion. It's the third straight song with a soulful, semi-romantic vibe, and it's the best easily. Boosted by a classic Cali vocoder hook and a surprisingly smooth verse from fellow L.A. repper Game.  (Photos from left: Jemal Countess/Getty Images, Brad Barket/PictureGroup)

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"It Neva Rains" feat. Game - Tyga finally goes for the sunny, serene vibe promised by the album artwork and title by flipping Tony Toni Toné's "It Never Rains (in Southern California)" in pretty ill fashion. It's the third straight song with a soulful, semi-romantic vibe, and it's the best easily. Boosted by a classic Cali vocoder hook and a surprisingly smooth verse from fellow L.A. repper Game. (Photos from left: Jemal Countess/Getty Images, Brad Barket/PictureGroup)

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"M.O.E." feat. Wiz Khalifa - Wiz and Tyga join forces again here, but here the topic is much harder to argue with: They're promoting "music over everything" instead of merely drugs (well, Wiz talks about smoking weed, of course, but hey). There's a pretty inventive flip of the piano sample and hook from Jay-Z's 1996 classic "Feelin' It"—it sounds totally different, but it maintains the original's serene sunset vibe. More songs like this instead of "Rack City" redux would've been a dope surprise.  (Photos from left: Larry Busacca/Getty Images For The Recording Academy, C Flanigan/WireImage)

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"M.O.E." feat. Wiz Khalifa - Wiz and Tyga join forces again here, but here the topic is much harder to argue with: They're promoting "music over everything" instead of merely drugs (well, Wiz talks about smoking weed, of course, but hey). There's a pretty inventive flip of the piano sample and hook from Jay-Z's 1996 classic "Feelin' It"—it sounds totally different, but it maintains the original's serene sunset vibe. More songs like this instead of "Rack City" redux would've been a dope surprise. (Photos from left: Larry Busacca/Getty Images For The Recording Academy, C Flanigan/WireImage)

"Hijack" feat. 2 Chainz - Tyga proves our point by going back to the eeric club sound of the album's first half. His delivery is agile and the hook is catchy, but at this point the simple synth beats and  "p--sy, money, weed" references (that's a quote) are tiresome. An amped 2 Chainz provides some nice comic relief though: "I've got plaques on my wall you got gingivitis."  (Photos from left: Chad Buchanan/Getty Images, Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic)

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"Hijack" feat. 2 Chainz - Tyga proves our point by going back to the eeric club sound of the album's first half. His delivery is agile and the hook is catchy, but at this point the simple synth beats and  "p--sy, money, weed" references (that's a quote) are tiresome. An amped 2 Chainz provides some nice comic relief though: "I've got plaques on my wall you got gingivitis." (Photos from left: Chad Buchanan/Getty Images, Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic)

"Get Rich" - OK, we may have just been complaining about the same-y DJ Mustard songs, but they have an undeniable energy that the video-game-inspired beat here lacks. Or maybe even Tyga is bored with talking about the same old stuff yet again (see song title).  (Photo: Johnny Louis/WENN.com)

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"Get Rich" - OK, we may have just been complaining about the same-y DJ Mustard songs, but they have an undeniable energy that the video-game-inspired beat here lacks. Or maybe even Tyga is bored with talking about the same old stuff yet again (see song title). (Photo: Johnny Louis/WENN.com)

Tyga - As the sometimes overlooked star of Lil Wayne's Young Money crew, Tyga is on track to do big things in 2011. After being featured on Chris Brown's Grammy-nominated hit "Deuces" in 2010, the California rapper is gearing up for his sophomore album by releasing a new mixtapeBlack Thoughts 2, touring with Wayne, and clocking studio time with the YM family. It's young moolah, baby.(Photo: Adrian Sidney/PictureGroup)

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"Enemies" - Tyga is in love again on the album's softest, quietest song. Although the dreamy sung hook and acoustic guitar loop are a promising sonic change, the track never heats up past lukewarm. (Photo: Adrian Sidney/PictureGroup)

Missed the Memo - By the time Lil Wayne issued his executive order to ban his Young Money artists from Hot 97's Summer Jam 2012, it was too late to stop Tyga, who was one of the first acts to grace the stage.(Photo: Courtesy Deneka Peniston/Hot 97)

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"Drive Fast, Live Young" - A lack of vowels will probably prevent this from becoming the next played-out, escapist acronym of choice, like YOLO. There's bluesy pianos and guitar, some cool, echoed, Weeknd-inspired singing in the background, and Tyga shows flashes of some desperately needed personal perspective. Still, he is mostly just back to bragging again, here over oddly emotional production. (Photo: Courtesy Deneka Peniston/Hot 97)

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Tyga - Young Money is in the building as Tyga rips the stage at the Closer To My DreamsTour.Irving Plaza on July 28, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Terrence Jennings/PictureGroup)

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"Palm Trees" - Tyga ends the album's standard edition with one of its strongest songs. There's a luxe, Maybach Music vibe (thanks to a Cortex sample used by Rick Ross), and Tyga expands his overly materialistic mindset into a worldview/diary of sorts. The titular "Palm Trees" serve as a sort of defense mechanism from haters. "All white neighborhood, I feel alone," he even rhymes at one point. (Photo: Terrence Jennings/PictureGroup)

Tyga - Tyga performs at Closer to My Dreams Tour. Irving Plaza July 28, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Terrence Jennings/PictureGroup)

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"Dad's Letter" - We don't totally understand the strategy behind putting certain tracks only on the deluxe edition, but it's a shame that this song was left off the regular version. It's a topic that's been parsed plenty times before, with Tyga writing his absentee dad a letter of both longing and bitterness. But it's finally a look at Tyga behind the image, and there are some real revelations here: "I shoulda used a hat, my girl is getting fat...I'll be there like you wasn't, Dad," Tyga says, referring to his son with his girlfriend, Blac Chyna. (Photo: Terrence Jennings/PictureGroup)

Tyga - After a breakthrough year, YMCMB soldier Tyga is up for Best Collaboration and the Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice Award thanks to his dope verse on Drake's anthemic "The Motto," also featuring Lil Wayne.(Photo: John Ricard/BET)

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"Don't Hate the Playa" - Even this stereotypically titled brag-rap track is a puzzling omission from the standard release. The spooky, creeping production, sounding like outer-space trap, is one of the album's most interesting beats. (Photo: John Ricard / BET)

"Switch Lanes" feat. Game - Tyga signs off the deluxe version by retreating back to familiar territory. There's another horror-movie synth line, more 808s and handclaps, a "hey" vocal sample and skittering snares.  Game and Tyga do have an oddly appealing chemistry, mostly thanks to the former somewhat hilariously taking on Tyga's cadence and delivery. But the song's title couldn't be farther off—Tyga is driving straight down his well-worn lane with this one.  (Photos from left: John Ricard/BET, Scott Gries/PictureGroup)

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"Switch Lanes" feat. Game - Tyga signs off the deluxe version by retreating back to familiar territory. There's another horror-movie synth line, more 808s and handclaps, a "hey" vocal sample and skittering snares.  Game and Tyga do have an oddly appealing chemistry, mostly thanks to the former somewhat hilariously taking on Tyga's cadence and delivery. But the song's title couldn't be farther off—Tyga is driving straight down his well-worn lane with this one. (Photos from left: John Ricard/BET, Scott Gries/PictureGroup)