Artist(s): Ruff Ryders
Title: Ryde or Die Volume 1
Label: Ruff Ryders/Interscope
Year: 1999

1. Ryde or Die (Lox, DMX, Drag-On, Eve) 

Really tight song. True banger. Everyone is great. Drag-On’s verse is especially good. LOX, DMX and Eve come off nicely. The production by Swizz is awesome. Im not sure but I think this was the first single from the album.

2. Down Bottom (Drag-On, Juvenile) 

Swizz comes with another banger. The beat just makes you nod your head. The opening verse by Drag is fire. Juvenile’s verse is pretty good too. The chorus is ridiculously catchy.

” Do ya’ll niggas bust ya guns? (Hell ya we bust our guns), Do you ***** em til they *****? (Hell yeah we make them *****)…..”

3. What You Want (Eve) 

Eve’s turn to shine. Eve definently came correct lyrically but that production isn’t that great. Swizz kind of switched up his style and he made the beat sound spanish a little bit.

4. Jigga My Nigga (Jay Z) 

Another great song. All of Jay’s verses are fire. The production is on point. The hook gets a little annoying after a while though.

” From the crack tables back in AC, back on the block, Jay Z mother*****er from the the the Roc, went solo on that ass, but it’s still the same, Brooklyn be the spot where i serve them thangs”

5. Takin $ (skit) 

6. Dope Money (LOX) 

The beat here from the start hits you hard. It sets the stage perfectly for the LOX. The LOX are basically spitting about the streets are everything that happens in them.

7. Im A Ruff Ryder (Parle) 

Parle is an R&B group. I don’t like R&B too much but this song is nice. The beat is a little slow so it can take a while to get used to it because of the previous songs. Parle are great here. It’s a shame that they never got a chance to put an album out.

8. Bug Out (DMX) 

Easily one of the weakest tracks on the album. And yes it is the DMX solo. The beat is horrible. Damn, what was Swizz thinking? X is decent but the beat makes it difficult to listen to the song.

9. Kiss Of Death (Jadakiss) 

Nice beat here. Jadakiss spits mostly thug stuff and he throws in some nice punchilnes. His flow is good too. Tight song.

10. The Hood (Drag-On, Beanie Siegal, Mysonne, Infa-Red, Jadakiss, NuChild) 

Nice lineup here. Beanie starts off the song with a really good verse. Drag and jadakiss came with dope verses too. Mysonne and NuChild are nothing special.

11. Platinum Plus (Jermaine Dupri, Mase, Cross) 

Judging from the title you would think the song would be all bling bling. And you’re right. Production is nice but overall lyrically the song is bad. Cross is seriously a joke.

12. Buff Ryder (skit) 

13. Do That Shit (Eve) 

Another solo track from Eve. The production is good but after a while it gets a little repetitive. Damn, Eve has definently surprised me on the album. All of her verses have been really good. This song is no exception.

14. Pina Colada (Sheek, Big Pun) 

I hate the chrous it’s pretty stupid. Sheek and Pun spits hot verses though. Especially Sheek. Most of the album he’s been outshined by the LOX. Production is good but nothing too great.

15. Some X Shit (DMX) 

This is a huge improvement from Bug Out. The beat is just hot! X is really tight too. Not much more to say. Just a dope track.

 

Overall: 3.5/5. The best out of the 3 volume Ruff Ryder compilation series. If you like DMX or most of the Ruff Ryders i suggest picking up the album. It’s a solid compilation.