Monday, March 9, 2009

Pulse of a Nation: Early Anticipation and Reviews for The Dream's 'Love vs. Money'


HONEST TRUTH: Pulse of a Nation: Early Anticipation and Reviews for The Dream's 'Love vs. Money'

With much of the headlines being filled with drama and feuding over the past couple of weeks, it is very refreshing to take in some good news in the early quarter of 2009. This coming Tuesday, March 10th is the day that The Dream’s much anticipated Love vs. Money officially hits stores and a lot of the talk surrounding the album has been extremely positive.

The man behind Rihanna’s hit 'Umbrella', The Dream has carved a respectable niche in the industry as an accomplished singer-songwriter and producer. Having collaborated with the likes of the aforementioned Rihanna, as well as J. Holiday, Usher, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and a slew of others, the sky seems to be the limit for the man known as the Radio Killa and an upcoming joint venture with Kanye West will only continue to add to his appeal.

As Love vs. Money nears its target date, there have been several people who have either been dying to listen to the tracks or already raving about the album’s quality. With a 4.5/5 Star rating from Rolling Stone and his new single ‘Rockin’ That Thang’ on heavy rotation, The Dream is yet again hitting the scene in a big way and 24 Hour Hip Hop stormed the R & B community to get a true sense of what everyone is saying. The overall vibe seems to be that Dream has scored a true hit, if not a classic, with Love vs. Money. Read on to see what the everyday public had to say about Dream's new album, their favorite tracks, and who they would like to see him collaborate with in the near future...







“I am really looking forward to listening to this album lots...sounds like some of the tracks might take a while to grow (the hooks aren't always obvious), but immediate standouts for me are the first 3 songs, Take Ya Home To Mama, Right Side of Ya Brain, and Mr. Yeah.”

“I love me some dream…this cd gonna be the mufkkin shyt!”

“I love love love the Dream! His first album was CRACKOLA, it still gets play on my ipod....His first single on the newbie is CRACK.... and the work that he has done on Jamie Foxx's album is AWESOME!!! That man gonna go far in his industry and I will be buying (not bootlegging, and downloading) his album on Tue!!”

“The Dream is alright in my book. He drops a lot of hits. That new song he has out is the business.”

“Something about the Dream really stands out. The dude is appealing as hell and just has a good ear for making music. I’m definitely going to be hitting him up this Tuesday.”

“I listened to the CD and I enjoyed it for the most part. There are just a couple songs I skipped but Fancy is my favorite song. I was hoping it would be more like his first CD where it played on like a mixtape but I still gave it 4 out of 5.”

“Well..It’s a good album but I prefer his debut one. There were more standout tracks. The second CD is too slow for me...”

“This album is AMAZING.. the production is WOW. I really hope he does Mariah's whole next album now . I'm DEF buying this.”

“Rockin' That Thang was a great lead single. It's still doing pretty well. My Love is flopping hard right now. It's a shame, because it's a good song with a great hook. I think it has too much burn factor, though. Plus, it didn't help that it was leaked such a long time ago. They should've waited for Rockin' That Thang to finish before sending My Love to adds, anyway. Walkin' on the Moon is a brilliant Michael Jackson-esque throwback song. I don't think it'll be as big as Umbrella like Kanye and co. feel, but I think it'll be his biggest this era. It's definitely one to watch.”

“It's a really good album. The "Love vs. Money" tracks are probably my least favorite but everything else has hit potential. Fancy is GREAT (maybe a little too long though) Moon, My Love, Right Side Of Your Brain & Booty are CLASSIC!!!”

“Rolling Stone gave this 4.5 stars out of 5! They said there was not a bad song on the CD and raved about it!”

“Man I feel different...three of those songs are weak like take u home to my momma & Kelly’s twelve play & love vs. money part 2...those are the ones I don't like. everything else is good though...in my op I think bobby valentino's cd is still holdin it down for right now & might get it for r&b this year. his music is different all the time...the dream talks about the same stuff sometimes...not all the time but sometimes.”

“VERY good album, a few duds but on the whole it's good. This is what USHER should have been doing.”

“There's one thing about The Dream I don't get. He obviously is versatile and experiments with different sounds but at the same time he can manage to sound samey. I can't put my finger on what it is, maybe it’s his voice? Anyway I'm liking the sound of the album and will be getting my copy.”

“Every time Trey Songz takes a dream beat he slays it, so I’d like to see em work together.”

“Thee album is genius . both of his albums. are like movies for the ears
and his 2nd album is def. his 1st on crack”

“I can't believe how awesome this album is...I remember being so disappointed when all the leftover tracks were first released and they were terrible.”

“Personally I think this album was hott, its on repeat. Track with Kanye and Mariah were hott and also Kelly play 12.”

“The whole album is hot. just like love hate I listened to the whole cd wit no skips, especially love vs. money 1 and 2, put it down and sweat it out. whole cd is fire and not one bad song.”


To Read Rolling Stone's review of Love vs. Money, please visit

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