Jim Jones, ‘Vampire Life 3′ – Mixtape Review

Jim Jones' latest mixtape release 'Vampire Life 3,' starts with a sound bite from the Harlem drug era-inspired film 'Paid in Full,' which sets the scene for the18-song effort. Conceptually, the tape is chock-full of cocaine tales, exotic cars and eliminating enemies, which has been Jim's specialty since he was introduced.

Produced by the Olympicks, Ali Sosa, Vakseen, Trunk Banger and others, the mixtape is low on the big-name beatmakers and features as well.

Actually, the biggest feature is probably from British songstress Estelle, who accompanies Jim on the cut 'Coming Home,' where the Dipset rapper spits hood tales over piano keys with no drums.

Then there's 'NY Times,' where producer Sonaro creates an extremely East Coast sounding music bed for Jim to spit his signature husky voiced rhymes over.

Overall, 'Vampire Life 3' fails to have any big eventful moments because Jim didn't take any risks putting it together. Many of the beats are well-crafted like 'Young N Thuggin,' featuring Trav and Philthy Rich, but the song itself doesn't have that wow factor, which is what you expect -- at least on some of the songs.

One of the main reasons listeners may not be impressed with this project has a lot to do with the song's hooks -- at least 90 percent are either off-key, unnecessarily repetitive or just not memorable. And with almost every hook on the mixtape being performed by a male, 'Vampire Life 3' lacks that important female presence that's sometimes needed to balance out all that hardened masculinity.

Lyrically, Jim has a few good moments, but many of his verses contain uninspired punch lines. But for some reason, he spits them like he just said the most inventive thing in the world. Like on the song 'Boyz N Da Hood,' featuring Chink Sinatra.

'These n----s they ain't holding water / My watch drippy like I'm froze in water,' Jim raps. Clearly it's a line that didn't take much imagination or effort, which is a consistent problem throughout the tape.

However, there are flashes of stronger material on 'Vampire Life 3', like on the track 'Back on the Wall,' featuring Charlie Rock and produced by Cyfyre. It's one of the first moments on the mixtape where Jim uses a chorus that has some level of catchiness.

The song also gets points for providing a little entertainment on the beef side, as Jim makes fun of Jay Z and responds to his recent fascination with the art world.

"Trying to move that bacalao / We don't know no Basquiat," spits Jim. Clearly an answer to Jay Z's 'Picasso Baby'.

Other solid tracks include 'Summer' and 'Batman,' but for the most part there's nothing on 'Vampire Life 3' that amazes or commands your attention. And for that reason, 'Vampire Life 3' misses the mark. Hopefully, Jimmy will come with something stronger on his next go-around.

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Listen to Jim Jones' 'Vampire Life 3' Mixtape