Mixtape review – Shawn Chrystopher’s I Wear Glasses 3: Third Time’s A Charm

Posted at April 1, 2011 by Julie J Comments Off

Shawn Chrys is one of my favorite artists, and I have enjoyed listening to him growing musically over the last year that I’ve become acquainted with his music. I Wear Glasses 3: Third Time’s a Charm (IWG3 from here on out) was supposed to drop last month, but was delayed without date until Shawn randomly started tweeting about dropping the DJ Green Lantern-hosted tape yesterday. If Green Lantern, aka “The Evil Genius,” is involved, I always feel like that’s an indication as to the quality of the project.

While there is no abundance of dope artists from the best West coast right now (Dom Kennedy, Pac Div, Odd Future, Black Hippy, Kendrick Lamar, Fashawn, etc.), the downside is that all these talented artists really need to find a way to stand out from each other. Sometimes, they all start to sound the same to me. Shawn Chrys, however, is witty and amusing, rapping about things like his Jesus piece and his grandma, and his music has high replay value for me (his song “Like a Kid Again” was my highest played song in 2010). I always go back and listen to his old projects because his beats are dope, and he’s entertaining.

Even though I’m not a fan of skits, he really knows how to use them to his advantage to connect with the listener, and demonstrate another element of his personality that might not be evident in his music. For example, he talks about the name of his mixtape series (“I Wear Glasses 3…because, well, I wear glasses and really can’t see at night”) and tells us a funny story about his Jesus piece in “Rick James.”

After listening to IWG3, I still can’t believe that Shawn doesn’t get radio play and hasn’t tapped into the so-called mainstream. “Catch Me If You Can” was my favorite track off Shawn’s December album You, And Only You, and it is a club banger that still has his personality and wit that drew me to his music in the first place. I say that, because I feel like the tracks on IWG3 move in that general direction, but retain the basic elements (dope beat and interesting lyrics) that give Shawn his own lane. “Congratulations” chronicles Shawn’s growth as an artist as well as his change in life, from Ramadas to Four Seasons (one of the examples) and is, of course, done over a dope beat. Let me note, however, that I wouldn’t be looking in a mirror or throwing money in the air when I wake up until after at least two cups of coffee. “The Rain” (can’t you tell I’m from Washington State?) is another standout track because the beat is relatively simple, and Shawn has a nice flow over it.

Well, Shawn Chrys wasn’t kidding when he said that IWG3 would be dope. Everything that Shawn drops is of quality. On another note, I wear glasses, too, and I really can’t see at night.

Download IWG3!