Last month, Queens spitter T.Shirt lost a hard drive containing studio sessions that were to become The Fuck. With all progress essentially lost, he had the choice to either start from scratch or release what he had as-is. Shirt went with the latter, dropping a project that was “about 94% done.” Despite its circumstances, The Fuck sounds far from amateur, an album that unleashes his many voices without letting them overstay their welcome.
Shirt’s latest is a darkly melodic joint full of rants, raves and rhymes. “Puerto Rican Rum” 
brings a boom-bap backdrop and some well-aged big band horns, but the party doesn’t last long, as the horns descend into mucky, profanity-littered curmudgeon rant “Old Man Angst.” Shirt’s cutting tyrades then lighten up with the comedically jaded “My Bitch Don’t Even Like Me,” a tale that bounces along to its punchy synth and funky bassline.
The album’s best moment is his most personal – “I Never Knew Money,” whose drum break and haunting piano loop set the tone for Shirt to spit about the harsh reality of relying on a gambling addict to pay the bills. As he tells it: “My father was a gambler but he cleaned up, one long weekend we thought he might’ve been dead / He went missing and didn’t come home for three days, finally showing up, guess what this muthafucka said / That he was locked in the basement of where he worked with no food due to a crazy accident / We found out that was complete bullshit, and he disappeared to play horses and gamble the fucking rent.” “I Never Knew Money” is the soul of The Fuck, its bars informing both Shirt’s biting criticisms and his dark sense of humor.
The album’s productions are sonically rich, full of beating drums and haunting high-end melodies. Every beat seems well placed for each topic – they sulk when he spits vitriol and get playful when he’s looking to simply showcase his skills (“Southside Phantom”).
The Fuck is by no means a breath of fresh air, but the breadth on display here is pretty impressive, especially considering its short length. None of its ten songs feel particularly out of place – a true testament to its sequencing. Shirt never seems to dwell on The Fuck, and this choice helps frame a well-rounded listening experience.
The review doesn’t seem to match the rating. Isn’t this the dude 88-Keys had problems with?
When I saw that, I decided to not give a fuck.
Shit’s bananas!
4/5? No way.
shits dope. stop hating and give this dude some props. he better than a lot of so called rappers out there, underground and mainstream. dope tape.
This dude is dope. HHDX get your shit straight.
wait…what? It doesn’t get much straighter than 4 out of 5.
I never heard of this guy before.. but son can spit!
He had a problem with 88-keys.
he addressed the 88 thing full on record and never spoke about it again.
this album is dope and a reminder that NYC rap is some real shit
Grimy east coast rap.. Why I love some tshirt.
Check out Tanned Face Children too if you haven’t heard yet.. doooope.
(I Should Just Chill is a given.)
This dude is gonna blow. Go ahead and watch. ‘THE FUCK” his strongest project yet.
T.shirt is the bomb. Cop this now.
There’s a few hot rappers in NY… One’s a shirt!
The nerve of this rapper
The gall of this nig&a
He be cursin like a sailor
Cursin like a sailor……. DOPE!
“the fuck” is the shit! i learned about this kid a little back. instant fan.
!
“I Never Knew Money” is some of the realest shit I’ve heard in years.
Along with A$AP Rocky, this dude makes real rap and always brings it. Respect on the review & rating.
soooo goooood
this is some hard shit. im going to break it into little pieces and put it in my crack pipe
Fucken awesome, real new york rap! He’s only been getting better., im sold.
Good shit. This cat’s growing on me, i have to admit. Its good to see New York rap music back on the come up.
The writing on this is just excellent.
T shirt has been steadily been gaining momentum and his skill/style/flow has never disappointed me as a listener. More than I can say about 99% of other up and coming rappers. The Fuck is yet another astonishing delivery considering his circumstance.
what else is there to say?
Hella dope
Dude is consistent, glad he’s getting noticed.
OFFICIAL
been feeling this album
ok
who the fuck is T.Shirt!?!
He’s got great talent. Always has.
what the fuck is this?
i watched that video and…
fuck this shit/
fuck that bitch/
fuck the world/
i fuck bitches/
bitches suck dick/
bitch ass niggas suck dicks like fucking bitches
got ill bars
fuck him
Damn and I thought I cursed lots… how many times can u say fuck… damn
this is FUCKING awful!!! the game is saturated with a thousand rappers that sound just like this wack ass guy. Here’s a tip T-Shirt: try challenging your listeners minds with your lyrics instead of saying FUCK every other word. Profanity definitely has its place in rap, but this shit is just rediculous. I could write these wack lyrics in my sleep. Dude needs to get his bars up!!!!
“I curse because I’m cursed in this life”
Never heard of this dude so it was a pleasant suprise. Gonna bump this @ work 2morrow
WHAT THE F… IS THIS
YOU CANT CALL THIS RAP !!!!!
THIS IS PURE SHIT. TIME TO FLUSH !!!!
SHAME ON THIS FAKE NI**A !!!!!!
feeling the fuck out of this fuckin shit
This album/EP kinda caught me off guard, but this guy is great. The album sort of has a cynical, rebellious, invective feeling in the first part. The last half is more introspective. I think this guy is somewhat of an artistic genius in how he can portray feelings with words. In “Old Man Angst” (the song in the video) although it might just seem like random cursing, but in fact it’s a negative stream of conscience describing a bitter mans life and outlook. I also like how the first half of the beats are kinda jazzy and bluesy and his flow matches it extremely well. 4/5
genuine ass dood with some genuine ass lyrics. great album giving the hip-hop heads a lot of personal insight into his life. has a lot to offer as an artist. peep some older joints that show his versatility:http://tshirt.bandcamp.com/album/cowboy-in-the-sun-ep , http://theshapery.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/advised-listening-t-shirt/
realtalk
apparently alot of people dont know what good hiphop is today this cd made my week
For you guys talking about him just cursing, you really need a better listening ear for music and not just look at the surface and the first couple words you hear.