Review of Ochoa Boyz debut album "R - Type" 2020 (track by track):

My first album review of the decade! This is a VERY special edition of album reviews here on A Way With Words!

Where do I begin with these boys? I mean, seriously… Where do I begin? Do I go back to 2012? Do I just jump into their debut album? I have so much to talk about (what’s new) … Help!!!!

Okay. So, here’s the deal. When I was sixteen, I was still kind of watching shows on Disney channel/Disney XD. We still had cable at my house, but not a lot of channels. I (kinda) has a crush on this very inspiring actor, Ryan Ochoa. He made appearances on Nickelodeon’s iCarly, had a reoccurring role on Disney XD’s Pair of Kings, and co-starred alongside Disney veterans Jake T. Austin (Wizards of Waverly Place) and Moises Aris (Hannah Montana) in the movie, The Perfect Game.

No, I’m not here to reflect on old Disney channel shows and whatnot (but maybe I will another time?). So, going back to sixteen-year-old me, with a crush on a celebrity actor, what do you do when you have that type of crush? You do your research on them. Or at least, me and a few others did. Back in the day, social media wasn’t as big as it is now. Instagram was barely a “thing” in 2012 and Twitter was more of where it was at. So, since I had a Twitter account, I would interact with the Ochoa Boyz almost daily. I made friends with other fans. I listened to them every day. They brought smiles to my face when I had tears in my eyes. My favorite thing from them besides their music, was when they live streamed. Before people “went live” on Instagram, there was this app/website called “Ustream” where I used to watch the boyz whenever they were live streaming. Same on Twitter: Always connecting and talking with their fans. It was amazing to experience. But being a teenager, I don’t wanna exactly say that I grew out of them, but I’m an honest person. So honestly? I did grow out of them by the time I was seventeen or eighteen. It wasn’t that I disliked them or their music, I just… Grew up? I got busy with graduating high school, college, working, getting a boyfriend, etc.

Okay so got off track there… ANYWAY, something reminded me of “boyz you like” recently and I can not even tell you what it was now. But something made me think of them. So I followed all of them on Instagram, saw they had an album coming out THE VERY NEXT DAY, got super excited, listened to their songs they did have out, listened to their new album, died over excitement for a few days, here we are! One more thing I do want to say before we jump into my review of this dope-ass album, because this is obviously a very personal thing for me, is: I am so proud of how far they have come. They have grown so much, have matured, their music has evolved and matured, yet they haven’t changed. I have always remembered and treasured how extremely humbled and grounded these dudes have remained over the years. I was lucky enough to catch some of their live stream the day their album was released, and couldn’t believe how grown these men (?) are, yet still so humble and thankful. Nothing made my heart happier than to see that.

“R-Type Experience – Aggression” - YO HERE WE GO! This album is so nice. It’s like the Ochoa Boyz are taking you away from your troubles, worries and stress. They have included intros, outros and interludes that feature a woman’s voice sensing what you may be feeling before, during and after hearing this album. The intro welcomes you to the “R-Type experience”. Welcomes you to “The Ochoa Resort”. She has you take deep breaths so that you are physically, mentally and emotionally prepared for what you are about to experience. It’s like they’re taking you on a journey you have never experienced before. I visualize sunsets and ocean waves, I feel that I can hear sweet birds singing too. So peaceful and so calm. But not for long…

Lyrics that hooked me:

“During your stay here at the Ochoa Resort, you will go through every emotion, learn every part of yourself, and every one of your desires will be known to you.”

“Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life, where you will never be the same.”

“First emotion… Aggression.”

“4K Rival” – Damn. Talk about aggression. But honestly? I really dig it. This song’s about calling people out. And people need to be called out. And liars. Good people don’t appreciate liars. But can we talk about this beat? The first time I listened to this song specifically, I was already getting’ hype. I can just imagine these boyz performing this track on stage and getting the crowd more than hyped. All vibin’ together. I would be goin’ HARD. But in reality? I like to listen to it in the morning when getting ready. Some of these songs on this album are amazing motivation for me.

Rating? This song is too powerful.

Lyrics that hooked me:

“Got the talent, got the mind, got my three fingers up, you can read between the lines”

“I bet you lie through your teeth with one hand on your bible”

Continuing with aggression… As I take a deep breath and calm myself down from the last jam, we continue with “Ghost”. This was the first music video I got to watch. And it blew my mind. Watching how grown up my boyz are. (Especially you Raymond, who are you, you were like ten yesterday) Just need to point out that the first few songs on this album are KILLER. I mean, so is the rest of the album, but when I first heard these first few tracks, I was already blown away. I barely ever feel that way with an album. Another upbeat and motivational jam. Another track I’ll be adding to my playlist called “Don’t Believe the Hype” which is actually full of songs that get me hype. The lyrics “I’m so tired of all these fake fake friends”. Bruh, SAME. It’s a very interesting thing to experience as you grow up. Some people just get older, some people do get wiser. And if you’re one that gets wiser, well congratulations. You’ll do just fine in life. I’ll let the lyrics do the talking.

Rating? This song is powerful.

Lyrics that hooked me:

“I’m so tired of all these fake fake friends”

“I went ghost”

“I was there when you couldn’t afford a car, now you’re acting like a superstar”

Extra favorite lyrics:

“Give me a pen I can go crazy”

“Here’s a lollipop, you’re a sucker if you thought boyz you like would stop”

Oh no… It’s my favorite song. This is it. This was the song where I thought to myself, “OOOO OKAY”. Man. These aren’t kids. Not a song I would let my mother listen to (And she loved Ochoa Boyz). There is so much going on in this song. I don’t believe my mind has had enough time to process and get my head wrapped around what is going on and what is being said in this song yet. But you know what? I absolutely love it. It’s a jam. It’s bangin’. When I hear this song, I feel like I wanna be in the dark, in the club, with cool lights flashin’, probably dancing and having a cocktail. I guess I can’t even fully explain how I feel about this song. It’s just so good. And I know I’m not the only one who feels this way about this song. I mean, I try to be a pretty professional person when it comes to my work. But this? THIS makes me wanna dance on tables. To elaborate, this song makes the girls go crazy.

Rating? This song is SO out of my league.

Lyrics that hooked me:

“Rough around the edges all I see is curves”

“I wondah wondah, can I get her mind up in the guttah?”

“In the guttah, her favorite place don’t tell her mother”

“Are they right there? Yeah they’re right there. Are they all fine? Yeah they all

fine. Are they all mine? Are they all mine? Are they all mine? We can share though”

“Who needs Blu-ray when she got me Ray”

“Got you in those feelings you can never get out of”

“R-Type Interlude – Enchantment” – Man. That was aggressive. I feel like my mind just went through so much and my emotions are going insane right now.

“That sure was a rollercoaster”, she says. Glad I’m not alone in this.

Oh, my heart. This song. I think others may be able to agree with me when I say that Bobby is the sweetheart of the group. The eyes, the soft-spoken voice, then he has a song called “Lost In Your Love”. Who wouldn’t love him? Don’t even mention his eyes. My first experience with this song… I thought it was amazingly sweet. And why would it not be? My heart when I hear the chorus of this song just wants to melt. My sixteen-year-old heart? My twenty-three-year-old heart? Why not both. Bobby has a vibe that just hits different. He’s something special. He’s a star.

Rating? This song deserves all the gold stars and heart emojis in the world. ♥♥♥♥♥

Lyrics that hooked me:

“’Cause I’m lost in your love, in your love”

“Something’s gotta give, little bit of love, if you’re passionate”

“If there was a scale you’d be more than ten”

“Your love is lucky with me”

“You know we got the energy I got the capability to make you my utility”

“We did it all in a minute even cooks in the back staring at you from the kitchen”

So, after hearing that song, I was able to breathe and calm down. Meditation is great! But here we are. Another love song. “Day 1”. I mean, it’s not an issue for me. This is a song you could definitely light candles and lay in your bathtub to. I

mean, it’s real.

Rating? Lord help me with this song.

Lyrics that hooked me:

“Just need more time bringing my day one home”

“Got off on the right foot, stable with my day one feels good”

“See her glowing in the dark that’s bae”

“She giving me a sneak peek before I even look”

“You’re so pretty and you witty got the keys to the city so you know we gettin’

litty”

“Motor”. This song is LIT. And it’s really fun to drive to. Each of the boyz have their own solo songs. Bobby had “Lost In Your Love”, Ryan has this one, and Raymond… We’re not there yet. This song makes my heart happy to hear Ryan in all his glory and it motivates me greatly.

Rating? Damn Ryan. That’s it. That’s the rating.

Lyrics that hooked me:

“You looking sexy in a car, transmission’s out but we can still go far”

“My bros call me a gym rat and I got gains”

“I’m no master mechanic but don’t panic I’m not fixing the master titanic”

“You’re the one riding shotgun to my next interview”

“Honor Roll” is already a popular one. But you gotta make their honor roll.

Rating? This song is a cute jam.

Lyrics that hooked me:

“Baby you remind me of high school, back then all we used to do was break the rules”

“All you gotta do is make my honor roll”

“You know we never gonna stop, you know you gonna see us on top”

“Nothing can phase me, I’m on the honor roll baby”

Y’all, it is three in the morning. 3 AM. But am I sleeping? Hell no. I am DETERMINED. And I’m really running off adrenaline at this point. Am I tired? A little. “Real One” is also already a favorite by lots of people. For each album review that I do, I must listen to each song individually and take down my feelings for the songs and my favorite lyrics. I was just now eating a chocolate chip cookie and almost choked on it during the first verse.

Rating? Damn Ray, you need to calm down. You’re being too loud.

Lyrics that hooked me:

“You a ten baby I can’t even lie about it”

“She ain’t twerking out in public anymore, she keep it hidden”

“Left right booty got the glow like a blacklight”

“You already know where she at tonight, you already know it’s the boyz you like”

“I can tell she a real one, she got me all addicted, and I know I’m not the only one, so I give her my attention”

“If you a pretty little thing let me hear ya holla”

“She always on my mind but she’s never a thot, she got a little bit of attitude like it or not”

“Closer To The Moon”. There’s a lot of yelling in this song. Not in a bad way. Just loud. But, a damn good serious song. Not gonna lie, it took me a few times to truly understand what was going on in this song and what they were talking about. But you know what? I’ve talked enough. I’ll just let you listen.

Rating? Yelling!!! But still hella good.

Lyrics that hooked me:

“How many times did we wake up Grandma? Every day!”

“Money doesn’t matter, family is a blessing”

“It’s a feeling that I’m too used to, shouldn’t have to see it on the news too”

“It wasn’t the easy way out, it don’t make sense”

“R-Type Interlude – All programs” – “Wow you’re doing great. I’m sensing zero levels of anxiety” Well I may not feel anxiety, I’m definitely feeling something. That was a LOT to go through. Especially that last song.

Shit. We made it here. How? I’m not exactly sure. I’ve been at this for about three hours now. But hey, the show must go on. Yes, we at “Puzzle’d Up” performed by lil’ bae Ray, who’s not so lil’ anymore :(

Rating? This keeps a good vibe goin’.

Lyrics that hooked me:

“I’m runnin’ circles on your mind like jaws but I don’t bite”

“Have you looked at yourself lately in the mirror? Is it clear, you’re a doll face, a ghost face, you’re the one I wanna hear?”

“I puzzle’d up, must be the reason you got even”

“Short Notice”. Thank God I wasn’t eating, drinking or inhaling something while listening to this song. Second to last jam on this hell of a good album.

Rating? This is hype.

Lyrics that hooked me:

“It’s over when I smell that perfume”

“Lookin’ like a whole snack with a full rack can you picture that kodak”

“We got those special spots where we like to play”

“I don’t need an appointment to get my way”

“Stay for a while ‘cause you can’t resist when I’m around even on short notice”

“It’s late night Ry did you see me in the paper”

“Doin’ it all by myself didn’t need a major” – Hella good lyric

“Baby got cake I’m a baker”

“You look good when you wake up, natural beauty with no makeup” – Also hella good lyric ;)

“Lonely Road”. Somehow, we made it to the end of the album. Without dying. Of happiness and hype. This song’s pretty intense, but for a good cause.

Rating? Another song full of yelling. RYAN YELLS A LOT.

Lyrics that hooked me:

“My life’s in a packet send ‘em”

“Haters gonna hate but we don’t hate ‘em” – Hella good lyric

“I’m in it for the long haul, like a statue I’ll stand tall”

“No expressions shown on this lonely road”

“R – Type Outro: Goodbye” – Holy. We made it. The last song REALLY pumps me up. Maybe more than any other song on this album.

Lyrics:

“Well hello again. It must’ve been fun. I hardly recognized you. We would like to thank you for your time at the Ochoa Resort. Robert, Raymond, Ryan and Drake. Hope R – Type upgrade have served you well. Goodbye.”

So yeah. I truly do feel like a changed person after this. Motivated. Determined. Positive. I do feel like I took a journey to the Ochoa Resort where there were everlasting sunsets, ocean waves, beaches, birds, Fiji water on tap, free cocktails. If you know me, then you know this is not my go to type of music. I have no issues with Hip Hop/Rap music at all. I have my share of artists and songs that I do like featured in those genres (obviously). But what I mostly listen to and enjoy reviewing and talking about is Rock. So, this was a totally different thing for me to listen to and work with. And… It was work. I couldn’t sleep the other night and saw that Ryan stated that he was “waiting for this now” when he reposted my preview of my review of this album to his Instagram story. I mean, I didn’t need any other motivation after that. So what did I do? I worked. 1 AM through 4 AM, Central time that is (since I live in St. Louis). It was weird at some points. I have weird ears so I can’t always hear exact lyrics and sometimes it’s hard for me to interpret what was being said in these songs. But I did my best. After listening to this album and others with headphones in a few times, I’ll probably be needing hearing aids soon. Another issue I was having with certain tracks was: “What do I say about this one? I haven’t listened to it that much.” But I decided that it doesn’t matter what I didn’t say about certain tracks. What matters is that I did this in such a short amount of time, and I poured my heart out at certain points. I can honestly say that I have never been so excited or determined to do an album review before.

One last thing (I PROMISE): I just can not express enough how incredibly proud I am of boyz you like. My heart is warm, my heart is full of love, I can not believe how grown up they are. I feel like I could talk about them for hours. Thinking back to the “Go Crazy” and “Dance with Me” days. Thinking about when their little sister Destiny (a princess) was not even a year old. Back when the Raiders were still in Oakland (I know they’re huge Raiders fans). Being able to revisit a group that I grew up with. And see that they’re still doing music. They’re still the hard working, sweet, mature boys I knew they always were. Mature is a strong word, but I guess I’ll let ‘em have it for now. There’s so much I can say, yet I’ve said a lot. I’ll let the album do the speaking for you to experience. If there’s anything else to say, it’s that I can not wait to see what else these boys got up their sleeves, and I have absolutely nothing but love and support for boyz you like. Thank you to Ryan, Bobby and Raymond for your music, determination, motivation and passion to make people like me happy and passionate. Also thank you to their parents, Destiny and Ricky for supporting and believing in them♥

Love,

Bethany♥

*R-Type by Ochoa Boyz is now available on all platforms. Check ‘em out. *