Consequence has been in Hip Hop news for all of the wrong reasons lately.  Childish Twitter Beefs with cousin and one time Tribe Called Quest collaborator Q-Tip, accusing Pusha T of notebook crookery, and bridge burning with Kanye West’s label, G.O.O.D. Music, have all done damage to the small amount of shine that Cons gets.  After all of the drama laden tweets and rants, Cons has to prove that he’s worthy to stand on his own, without his benefactors. Unfortunately, Movies On Demand 2 is not the boost that he needs to surpass his more famous foes.

Consequence has always been a satisfactory, but unremarkable rapper. His beat selection, word play, and flow, are all solid, but they have never been great enough to catapult him above the “underground” Rap status he currently carries. Tracks like “Alphabet School” see Cons utilizing a tired aesthetic:  playing off alphabet and syntax as  a tool for novelized violence. The results are Pun-tacular, as Cons drops groaners like “I’ll put this semi to your colon “and “If I can make the trap say A/then B easy and stay/ out of my way” over a lazy Kanye West produced synth grind. It’s a failed lyrical exercise that will only impress people who haven’t heard Papoose’s “Alphabetical Slaughter.” The Features are often pretty great (Pill, Kendrick Lamar,) But features on tracks like “Wet The Block” also highlight how average Consequence is. Leading the track, his verse is eradicated by the distinctive voices Lil Fame and Bun B.  This happens again on “1^st time” in which Talib Kwali delivers the best feature on the album, rendering Consequence’s rhymes completely forgettable.  Newcomers like Diggy Simmons and Mac Miller may be more Consequences speed, but ultimately he doesn’t really define himself against them.

All that said, MOD 2 has some gems to mine, but is a middling and uninteresting mixtape overall. “Got Me Trippin” with its submerged electronics and well placed Amerie sample is definitely worth a listen, and this track alone proves that there is some worth in this project-but Consequence changes no minds on Movies on Demand Vol 2. He simply continues on the same path he’s been on. While his fan base will most likely be able to find a few positives among the murk, listeners looking for a new and exciting record will probably not be impressed with this. Now that Cons has dropped MOD 2 he’s readying to release MOD 3. Unless he has decided to do a complete 180 degrees, I don’t expect eyebrows to raise.

-D.L.

You can get Movies On Demand 2 at the link below.