Are you ready to party? Well apparently JopauL is and he’s having a great time doing it on “Time of My Life” (released by Domwan records and available in stores beginning October 30, 2015). If twelve testosterone teaming tracks to take the party to the next level is what you’re looking for, then JopauL and his gang are your go to party guys.
What better way to get a party started than the song “Party Started”. Its galloping beat grabs you from the get-go of this three-plus minute joint that celebrates all the Bacchanalian delights of a party night with friends. Tip of the hat to JopauL’s well worked wordplay with lines like, “I’m talking about bottle poppin’/The party never stoppin’/Batman to you jokers cause your girl I’m Robin”. Come on, if that line doesn’t make you crack a smile then Jack you must be dead.
From there we trip out to “All Around The World”. It’s a guided tour to the girls all over the globe. Sexy stops include the Philippines, Switzerland, Vietnam, Brazil, Japan, the U.K., the U.S.A., Europe, Canada, and the Middle East and on and on and on. Just be sure to get your visa stamped at each stop and that you’re fully vaccinated, and totally inoculated, against those transmittable traveling diseases.
“Take Me There” takes the tempo down a notch or two while Staten Island born and bred JopauL duets with the sultry throated Marissa Pontecorvo, who very well may be, we can only assume, one of his Staten Island, NY, neighbors. From the breathy, lusty sound of the aforementioned Ms. Pontecorvo’s voice by the end of the recording JopauL has managed to take her to that place where she wanted to go to from the beginning of their salacious song.
Every album needs its breakout single and “Aw Yeah” no only fills the bill, but once it gets up to bat it knocks the ball way, way, way out of the park. Of the dozen ditties that constitute the “Time of My Life” collection it’s this one that producer Dominic “DomWan” Durham shines the brightest on. Just like the Energizer Bunny, Jopaul is, as we would expect, getting naughty feeling that hottie’s body while continuing to party. More clever wordplay about some Mary who gets it a’poppin’ while giving knowing nods to Drake and passionate pats on the head to Bad Boy Mike Lowery’s pit-bull. Now that’s really a mouthful (please, no “that’s what she said” jokes are permitted to be inserted during the course of this review).
On the following two tunes, “Me and You” and “You Got It”, JopauL shares the microphone with singer Dudley Stevenson, (perhaps another of his Staten Island homies?) and the boys riff off each other’s lines like Top Gun pilots jetting across the pale blue skies. The former title celebrates the coziness of companionship, while the latter expresses the mysterious joys of that certain je ne sais quoi that baffles and bewilders us all from time to time.
The ups and downs of living are what “Rollercoaster” is all about and the title track is apologetic about Jopaul’s abundant enjoyment of his fast life and fun times. Guess that’s just the way he rolls. “Get That Feeling” allows another young lady, Mikki May, to share the mic with our Staten Island homeboy as they seductively spit double entendres at one another.
“Turned Down for What” sends shout outs to selected brands of liquor as it slings some snarky, sideways slams to fellow rappers like Dre, Snoop, and Diddy. It’s all in good fun, so it’s not likely to ignite another East/West rap war. Wrapping it up with a remix of “Aw Yeah” is as good of a way to go out as there is. STEEL sits behind the remixing soundboard on this swan song and the “Time of My Life” LP ends, as it well should, with a great big bang. Hey kids, what in the world have they been putting in the water out there on Staten Island?
