1. Intro

Intro.

2. Homicide

I like the beat here, nice piano type track mixed with some opera type sounds. Yayo is pretty terrible but he doesn’t ruin the track here or anything. Not a bad track at all. Good

3. It Is What It Is(Feat Spider Loc)

This is like a mix between heavy Southern bass and G-Funk, needless to say I dig the beat. The beat is about the only thing I like here, poor rapping and a poor chorus, this is just a mess. Average(I dig the beat)

4. Tattle Teller

The beat is good, I can’t really describe it because there are so many sound elements going on at once. This is a track about snitching and we’ve already landed in cliche’ city. Yayo is just not ready to release a solo album, he should strictly be a hype man. Average(Again the beat)

5. So Seductive(Feat 50 Cent)

This track is terrible, just atrocious and of course it’s the single, because the lemmings have to listen to this awful crap. 50 Cent & Yayo stink up the joint, while the headache inducing party beat hits you like indigestion. Train Wreck

6. Eastside Westside

Terrible beat here, just a boring piano beat looping on and on as other annoying elements are added. Yayo sings in the beginning and I don’t really care, he says nothing of value and just spits out cliche’s that would make 50 Cent shake his head. Wack

7. Drama Setter(Feat Eminem & Obie Trice)

Eminem adds nothing to the track, well he hasn’t even done anything good since 2000 and his cronie Obie “I have zero charisma” Trice. Man Trice is boring, he’s just invisible here. This is not a good track, very annoying chorus. So wow you’re a “Drama setter”? Why should I care? Wack

8. We Don’t Give A F***(Feat 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks & Olivia)

Speaking of adding nothing to the track, Olivia is a terrible singer, she’s off beat and is like Ashanti, only a lot uglier. This track is weak, they obviously took the track title very seiously because this is just all of them being unmotivated. Next track. Wack

9. Pimpin

I like the beat, it’s very relaxing. Yayo ruins the track as he tries to sing on the track, but it gets better once he starts rapping and the beat sort of changes up. I dig this track, but the singing is terrible and really I’m tired of rappers making tracks about “Pimpin'”. These guys aren’t real pimps, Ice T should slap these idiots silly. Good

10. Curious(Feat Joe)

Joe hasn’t been of any worth since he released that Stutter garbage. Joe sings, I yawn, wow this track is boring. Wack

11. I’m So High

Yet another tired cliche’ in rap. So, you’re “so” high? Who cares? Weak beat here and weak singing here. This track is awful as Yayo talks about smoking in jail. Wow this is so uninteresting. Wack

12. Love My Style

The beat is just awful and it gives me a headache, it’s a mixture of chanting and other annoying elements. Yayo talks about women “Loving his style”, this is unoriginal garbage. Wack

13. Project Princess(Feat Jagged Edge)

Relaxing beat, this is your typical “lovey dovey” type track complete with your D-list group singing the chorus. I’m already tired of this album. Wack

14. G-S***

Piano beat here, it’s actually boring. Yayo tries to be all “lyrical” here and just doesn’t say anything of worth. This guy should be on stage setting up equipment, not rapping. Wack

15. I Know You Don’t Love Me(Feat G Unit)

The beat is ok, I can’t really describe it, it has a very Westcoast feel to it. 50 sings the chorus and he name drops some rappers. This track is all beat and nothing else. Wack(I did however like the beat)

16. Dear Suzie

This is like the retarded version of “Stan”. Yayo writes to a “fan” named “Suzie” in jail. This is awful, complete with an awful beat and even worse singing. These guys can’t come up with their own ideas so they steal from the next man. Train Wreck

17. Live By The Gun

I like the beat here, dark sounding piano beat. Yayo doesn’t do that bad of a job here and it’s better than an outro. Good

All in all this gets a Wack rating. Just pure wackness from the G-Unit crew. I’m neutral towards their music so I listened to this with an open mind and just did not like it. Unoriginal garbage by a guy who should be a hype man. Avoid this mess.

1. My Turn

Decent beat here, it sounds like a mix between Just Blaze & Kanye West. LiL Rob sounds like 50 Cent here as he sings in a monotone voice and brings nothing to the table. Ok so this was better than an intro but really he shouldn’t try and emulate other’s because all it will result in is disaster. Wack

2. Summer Nights

This is the single and I can’t stand it. Horrible beat here, it’s so uppity and sickening, it’s like if DJ Quik did E and decided to make a beat. Terrible sing song chorus and LiL Rob brings the suck. Summer anthem? What a *****ing farce this is. Train Wreck

3. Back In The Streets

The beat here is like Kanye West on meth. Just terrible stuff here, way too fast and disjointed with some un-needed soul samples thrown in there. LiL Rob tries to rap fast and it just sounds awkward. Avoid this. Train Wreck

4. Superbad

The beat sounds like In Da Club but much worse. Why is LiL Rob trying to sound like 50 Cent? This is so obvious that it’s sickening. This is like amatuer night at Abe’s 5 & Diner. Just awful all around here. Train Wreck

5. Playground

The beat sounds like some 80’s techno sound mixed with dance drums. This is supposed to be a dance/club type track but this would make people run away from the club. LiL Rob tries the “Slow/whisper” type flow and it doesn’t work. This is the drizzling shits. Train Wreck

6. What Am I Saying?

Bouncy awful beat here. LiL Rob tries to sound like Fabolous here. This is just painful to listen to. This guy cannot even find his own style. What are you saying? Why are you rapping? Why am I even listening to this? Those are the questions that need to be answered. Train Wreck

7. Ooh Baby Baby

Ok I like this beat here. It has elements of jazz, soul, and some 1950’s type sound to it. This is a love track so really you’re only listening to the beat. Good(I dug the beat)

8. Bring Out The Freak In You

We go from good to trash. Wow the beatm sounds really dated. LiL Rob talks about doing “What nasty people do”……moving on. LiL Rob tries the oh so played out “Let me flow smooth here so it looks like I’m talking low”. This my friends is the anti-dope. Train Wreck

9. Rough Neighborhood

Kanye type beat here, complete with soul samples. The beat is pretty cookie cutter, but it’s Rob’s flow that kills the whole thing. The guy has no clue how to rap over this type of beat. Just a sloppy mess. Train Wreck

10. No Future In It

Decent G-Unit-type beat here. Rob does ok here, ok this track really is ok and is probably the best on the album. Good

11.Representing

Very common(Not the rapper) sounding Westcoast beat. Not that good but tolerable I suppose. LiL Rob does ok here. Average stuff. Average

12. I Who Have Nothing(But I Have Respect)

Very long track title. Wow and the beat sounds just like something the Heatmakers would produce. Not that bad actually, in fact quite good. Good

13. I’m Still Here(Bonus Track)

I think we all know that you’re still here, I mean we are listening to your album. What a pointless track. Terrible beat here, very slow and dull. Terrible way to end the album. Train Wreck

All in all this gets a Wack rating. Wow what a poor attempt at pleasing the mainstream. LiL Rob has no creativity and no style. This was un-original horse feces. Avoid this.

I’m going to keep this review short but sweet when describing these beats I can’t really go into much detail as the other ones I have done as they all are pretty similar as they follow the Crunk formula which more or likely you have came across to on one song or another as last summer it was practically everywhere due to the soundtrack of Need for speed. Get low was a world known hit and Lil’ jon had created his style of Crunk. Crunk sounds like the mix of hip hop and the noise Animal from the muppets would create. Crunk is the new sound from the south which gets you hyped up for everything with their powerful beats and simple, abusive yet catchy lyrics which are shouted at you.“Get Crunk” really introduces what getting crunk really is. You really feel the chimes of the xylophone and the hard hitting drum loop. Once again “What U Gon’ Do” has the same feel beat wise as it sounds like Jon has changed the xylophone for a whistle kind of one. Again it is filled with abusive lyrics about confronting people in clubs. Even though this is probably not club friendly song I see it being played in clubs. As I saw “Real Nigga Roll Call” featuring legendary Ice cube I was thinking of some high class lyrics about whose real and who’s not but even cube lamely rhymes around the word nigga and maybe a little shot at Cypress Hill. The beat is more different then the ones before so it has you mashing your head and approving the change. “Da Blow” is another little gem which is a little different from most of the album. The beat is quite haunting due to its chimes and high tempo drums. Over this they make a very simple description of Drugs which why they chop and screw it on the sampling which scratches and stutters.“Contracts” is the pimping song which appears on every wannabe gangsta album. Again the beat is very repetitive and Trillville doesn’t really provide dope lyrics but entertaining ones. The average lyricism and repetitive beat isn’t the worse thing about this song as the singing is awfully done at the hook. The next two songs have a nice rockish feel with the rock guitar loops. “White Meat” which you can guess by the name what it is exactly about but Eightball and MJG lays some dope verses for this album. The next song has Rick Ruben producing while Lil’ Jon just shouts and for once he doesn’t seem 100% out of place as his voice seems to match “Stop *****in’ Wit Me”. Lil’ Jon seems to break away from the aggressive crunk sound and produce 2 very slow mellow beat from a piano loop. Usher and Ludacris try to recreate the smash hit of “Yeah” with this love song “Lovers And Friends”. It won’t make such a splash but it a good refreshing change. While that is refreshing “One night stand” is not at all. I hate the topic and I don’t really like the beat either.

After an Hilarious skit from Dave Chappelle “Aww Skeet Skeet” has a sort of sing-a-long feel like when an “When I say Skeet you say Aww” type of feeling. “In Da club” we have Ludacris and R-Kelly paying homage to the nightlife and most probably this will be in the clubs. After “*****es Ain’t S**t” which is another wannabe appeal track we have“Stick That Thang Out (Skeezer)” which is terrible as it sounds like computer game music. Then we have the best song and that is “Grand Finale” for once we have nice lyrics and nice beats put together. Jadakiss, T.I., Nas and Cube spitting some dope battle type of lyrics. You get two free bonus CDs one a DVD and another one jam packed with remixes. Most you most likely to heard but none really worth to comment about except the remix of Lean back. It has better lyrics but a worse beat. I really enjoyed Eminem’s part “Oh baby I don’t dance not that I can’t there’s just a pistol in my pants”

In all this album gets a nice 3 out of 5. There wasn’t much lyrical skill but what do you expect from a Lil Jon album??? The beats are head nodding but can get very repetitive and like No limit unless you a fan then you’ll probably wont be able to tell the difference behind most of them that’s why I had difficulties explaining them while listening which you’ll see the awful style and descriptions I have used unlike my better ones like Busta It’s Aint Safe no more and many more. Crunk is a nice little south movement if you ask me. Also one thing which you’ll find a flaw normally in albums is the skit are enjoyable as most are supplied by Chris Rock which are funny and then we have the little Dave Chappelle skit.

Recommendation: Buy this album if you like crunk but if not don’t buy this easy as that!

The Dogg Pound has a long history behind them. The group was introduced on Dr Dre’s The Chronic and Snoop Doggy Dogg’s Doggystyle before dropping Dogg Food in 1995. When 2pac was shot and killed, and Suge Knight put in prison, the group broke up. Kurupt left Death Row while Daz stayed. Snoop, who isn’t really a member of the group but a very close affiliate, also left the label. A few years later Daz left Death Row and Kurupt went back to Suge. Disses were exchanged before Kurupt left Death Row and Snoop brought the duo together again for this album, Cali Iz Active. I’m not sure if Snoop is an official member of the group now or not, but he’s not listed as a feature so I guess he is.

Both Kurupt and Daz used to bring energy to a song. Nowdays, Daz provides the energy while Kurupt has settled with a more laid back style than he had in his early years to many fans disappointment.

I’m not expecting Cali iz Active to be the classic Dogg Food was, but I do expect a very tight album.

This album is very hard to grade. Tight tracks are mixed with real weak performances. Kurupt disappoint me every time I hear him nowdays, but like I mentioned before we should probably not compare him too much to his old style. The change of style makes me appreciate Daz more than I did on Dogg Food. Daz is now the best rapper of the group to me even though Snoop sometimes wakes up and spit real hot shit.

With a three man group, there’s no big need of guest appearances. Still, the guests on this album add something you wouldn’t have gotten without them even though Ice Cube and Nate Dogg added nothing due to the fact that they didn’t do anything. The Lady Of Rage, RBX and David Banner made the biggest impression and were excellent picks for the album.

To compare this album to Dogg Food would be like compating Kurupts new style to his old. Dogg Food is a 5 out of 5 classic to me, or possibly a 4,5 out of 5 arguable classic. This album is nowhere near that rating.

I have to admit the album’s pretty tight though and deserves a rating above average. There aren’t alot of West Coast albums making a big impression nowdays so the West has really been awaiting this album. It’s a slight disappointment even though my expectations probably were too high. I rate this album 3.5 out of 5. Worth mentioning is that it’s alot closer to getting a 4 out of 5 rating than it is to getting 3/5. As a West Coast fan, you should definately get it.

Kurupt aka Young Gotti is half of The Dogg Pound. The second half of the group is the man that produced this entire album: Daz Dillinger.

Kurupt and Daz was at the top of their carreer when dropping Dogg Food. Kurupts first solo came after leaving Death Row when he released Kuruption, Tha Streetz Iz A Mutha and Space Bookie: Smoke Oddessey. Tha Streetz Iz A Muthais as close to a classic you can come in my opinion, if not a classic.

Kurupt later returned to Death Row whom dropped Against The Grain after his departure. The album was tight in my opinion and Kurupt whom had been falling off a little bit did his best to keep his flow up. Alot of people think Kurupt fell off, while he is saying he just changed his style a little. Personally, I like the raw and energic Kurupt better than the lazy laid back Kurupt. It’s natural to compare Same Shit Different Day to Against The Grain.

Kurupt has, surprisingly, chosen to drop Same Shit Different Day on the same day as the new Dogg Pound album, Cali iz Active, is being released.

1. Intro

Kurupt is talking about some old classics he’s been on saying he’s still bringing them classics.

Kurupt’s starting off the album with a dark and pretty slow but still futuristic beat. Young Gotti’s trying to go hard which is good since he’s been going over to a more laid back style lately. While the flow is cool, the rhymes are pretty lazy. It’s still a tight track.

Daz is mixing his own production style with a newer style and I like it. In my opinion, Daz stayed with his old style a little too long while the game went forward and created a new style based on his old work. His old style was dope, but the bangers were absence lately. Kurupt has a rawer flow here than for example the new Dogg Pound album and that’s a good thing. All in all this track just doesn’t do it for me, though.

4. I Get High 2

I Get High 2 is a banger. Daz laced down a fat beat for Kurupt to spit hot shit over it. Maybe tight beats is what Kurupt’s been missing lately? Either way, this is a banger and should definitely be a single!

5. As Time Fly By feat. Daz Dillinger

This beat reminds me of When Thugz Cry by Bizzy Bone but with more bass and more banging. Daz is featured on As Time Fly By and in my opinion he’s lifting the track a notch even though he’s not really doing a verse. He’s mainly on the hook and does some other appearances. The beat’s banging and it’s good to hear these type of bangers from Daz again. It’s been a while. Kurupt seems to step up too as the beats gets tighter. Real tight, and surprising, development of this album…

6. Gangstaz Part 2 feat. Daz Dillinger

Daz does his first verse on the album on Gangstaz Part 2 and he does it well. Daz brings energy to a track. The beat’s tight but not as banging as As Time Fly By and I Get High. It actually gets a little repetitive… An other thing that kind of bothers me about this track is that Daz outshines Kurupt. Kurupt used to outshine Daz! Did Daz become that much better or did Kurupt fell off? You be the judge.

7. Ryde And Roll

Ryde And Roll has an other tight beat from Daz whom has now grown a lot in my eyes even though I was a fan before. Unfortunately, Kurupt is on his “***** a *****” mood and rhymes ***** with ***** a few times etc. You know the deal. It’s cool sometimes but it’s getting a little worn out.

8. What Can I Do feat. Ashton Jones

What Can I Do is for the females. The hook’s real girly and the RnB additions prove this is something to bump when your girl’s at your house. I bet Kurupt had to bite his tongue a few times since he likes to go all out on a *****. It’s funny to me how the male RnB singer is listed as a feature while the female isn’t. Either that’s a mistake, a part of Kurupts *****-a-***** attitude or the guy just sings like a girl from time to time. This is a cool slow jam but it’s not a track I’ll bump more than once.

9. Yes I’m A Quiccer

You rarely hear producers recycle beats. Daz is one of the producers I’ve heard done it before. Here’s an other example. This track is a recycle of the beat from the track Step Up on Tha Streetz Is A Mutha. A few instruments has just been replaced with others and some small changes has been made. The original had Crooked I and Xzibit over it and that combined with a young Kurupt outshines this track by far. It might’ve been tight if there was no other track to compare it with.

10. Shoot Em Up (Skit)

11. Accessories (Nina Breeda)

Accessories is wack. The beat isn’t wack, but it’s weak and Kurupts flow is lazier than ever. His rhymes are pretty lazy too. Filler.

12. I Did It

Who took the Behind The Walls beat and changed a few things to make a new song? This is where Daz comes in saying “I Did It”. Second recycled beat on the album even though it’s pretty different from the original. Daz didn’t produce the original either… Mike Dean did. This beat is pretty cool still, but Kurupt keeps spitting his lazy stuff. It’s a shame…

13. Ain’t That Somethin’ feat. Daz Dillinger

Ain’t That Somethin’ has a banging beat that reminds me of that Daz track It’s Not Over Until I Say So or whatever it’s called. It just reminds me of it though… it’s not a remake as previously said about other songs on this album. The track’s real tight and blast-that-ass-Daz makes a real tight appearance again. Tight way to wrap up the album.

14. Young Gotti Outro

Same Day Different Shit has its up and downs. Kurupts flow seems to be depending on the production. If the production’s banging, Young Gotti spit some hot shit with a raw flow but if the production’s a little weaker Kurupt goes back to his lazy flow with random rhyming words put into sentences. I Get High 2 and As Time Fly By are the best tracks on the album in my opinion and should possibly have been considered being put on the Dogg Pound album Cali Iz Active instead as it’s the groups big comeback album. Daz still has capacity to bring out bangers and he proves it here. His So So Def solo album’s been in the works for a while now and is hopefully filled with bangers. Unfortunately, Kurupt’s not keeping up. I think it’s safe to say Kurupt fell off. At the same time, it might not be fair to compare this Kurupt with the hungry young Death Row rapper he was over 10 years ago. He’s a solid rapper but below the average rapper in flow and rhymes.

Little Brother, most likely to blow this year, and there sophomore album titled ‘The Minstrel Show’ is there first on a major label. Rapper Big Pooh and Phonte a rapping duo with one of the hottest underground producer 9th wonder (most notably working with Jay-Z ‘Threats’) in rap today. There debut remains an underground favourite and so does Phonte’s Foreign Exchange album.

The biggest thing you’ll notice is there’s not much in terms of live music on this album in fact the whole album was produced using Fruity Loops by 9th wonder with the exception of ‘Watch Me’ which is produced by Khrysis and has Jazzy Jeff doing scratches in the background.. What to expect from the production? Incredible baselines a lot of samples and drum loops snare & kicks and a few other instruments thrown into the mix.

The album starts off with ‘Welcome To The Minstrel Show’ a intro that sets the mood which follows through the whole album and even is the ending of the album ‘Minstrel Show Clothing Theme’. For those who don’t know In the minstrel shows of the late 1800’s, white and Black performers would blacken their faces with cork and perform as stereotypical, grossly exaggerated racist caricatures of Black culture. The whole album runs almost like a TV series on a network ‘UBN’, there’s a lot of interludes and skits after tracks and one skit even extends to being an RnB parody like song titled ‘Cheatin’.

Apart from that the tracks were Big Pooh and Phonte spit are amazing simply put, you have two rappers who were better than your average rappers on their first album who have now stepped up their games the lyrics are more harder hitting and the flows perfected. The album flows from one track to another track the best example of this is how ‘Beautiful Morning’ leads onto ‘The Becoming’. Also the subject matter is extremely diverse and covers a range of subjects.

Overall this album gets a 4.5/5 only reason it doesn’t deserve a 5/5 is because the interludes and skits ruin repeated plays from the beginning to end of the album. Buy this album if you want a break from the norm.

Once before another Chicago hip hop head blew up the scene there was another mc keeping hope in all Chicagoan hip hop heads many years before. His lyrics were unmatchable by miles and had a whole different state of mind then most of his fellow emcees which why maybe he isn’t credited as much due to him being ahead of his times. After 10 years from releasing his debut which is hailed as a classic too most he made an appearance on Kanye West’s College Dropout Get Em’ High. It seems like time had finally caught up with Common with the album which has been labelled as classic “BE”.

As the album begins we are giving the title song and its nothing but mind blowing on both parts and this is from one hip-hop head who doesn’t claim Kanye is the god. Kanye and Jay puts everything in this beat everything from piano,strings, an addictive bassline and this Synthesizer which is cool and I haven’t heard before. While that beat is complicated the next one “Corners” is very simplistic with a drum loop and a lot of mumbling with sudden outburst of high pitched sampling with a quiet piano. I feel this one is overrated and the only two reasons why people hail this track as it’s got a Kanye label and Common lyrical skill. Common spits dope multi in each verse which he spits a different view in each one. “Go” is another thing praised which I can’t see as much. The beat kind of reminds me of lift music which isn’t a bad thing but isn’t really a good thing. Common lyrics are kind of sex rapish although his lyricial skill makes this above average unlike most artists. “Faithful” gets back on the track with its very soulful feel with its famous Kanye use to be RZA Sped-up high pitched sampling. It has Chicagoan horns at the hook while a nice Harmonica which in my opinion underused in hip-hop. Common metaphors God as a woman bring up some interesting things to think about while on the 2nd he paints a little story. His storytelling skills are showcased even more on “Testify” . Over a very simplistic beat which when I say simple I mean simple, Common in a spoken word voice and flow switches between first and third person a case in a courtroom only to be flipped right at the end. Jay Dee’s first solo production slot of the album and it’s a gem. He supplies Common with a very soulful beat while Common looks at what is love to different people in “Love Is” . “Chi City” has a very catchy beat with its funky Guitars being played. Again something new and that is a live version and no studio version. “The Food” has a nice beat with the piano based beat. The lyrical skill is up to scratch although its hard to hear sometimes due to the live sounds and also one verse is missing. “Real people” is a jazz horn laced beat and again I like this side of Kanye production. As you can see by the name Realness has a major part in this one as he had to release some view which he couldn’t be held in hoping to reach the “real” people. “They Say” is another Lift music feel though a good one. John Legend has a good soulful hook while Common tries to break down peoples comments while Kanye rambles on about something. “It’s your World/Pop Reprise”ends this delight but like every album Kanye appears on theirs always a track which goes on double the amount it needed although Jay Dee is behind this one. Either way the beat made from Violins and pianos is dope and Common spitting retrospective rhymes.

In all this gets a 4 out of 5 . It has too many flaws mentioned above to be classic which in my world means near perfect although it has many more pros then cons.

Common comes dope in all songs even Go I’m not a big fan of those type of raps. Common state of mind is refreshing from the same old “bang bang” or battle type of rappers and any other type of rappers. Although it very tight its overrated as hell and the reason you ask? Kanye West! Yes admit it half of you wouldn’t even give Common a second look it if never had Kanye’s name in the credits. They’re not perfect like I have pointed out earlier so I’m not going to make up reasons covering up the mistakes.

Recommendation: Buy this album if you want something refreshing from the same old stuff but also look at his “One day it’ll all make sense”. This is probably my second favourite Common CD.

1. Intro

Intro.

2. Serious(Feat Oh No)

Madlib produces a really eerie sounding beat, it sounds like “Meow’s” but more melodic. Good track here as MED(Medaphor) & Oh No drop dope verses. Medaphor is a rapper who can make you listen to what he has to say, he’s got a really powerful voice(Flow) and raps about stuff that matters as opposed to “Yo I be sippin’ lean kinfolk”. Good track. Good

3. Whut U In It 4

Oh No produces the track and really it’s not that good, in fact it’s really sloppy. MED raps about why he’s in the rap game. MED tries to carry the track but the beat is just awful. Average(For MED’s work)

4. Can’t Hold On

DOPE! Madlib produces the beat and it has an 80’s feel to it with a really funky bass added to it. MED does a great job here rapping about the past. The chorus is really Kanye-ish. Great track here, you have to hear it. DOPE!

5. Push(Feat J. Dilla)

Dilla produces the track and really it’s not good, in fact it’s terrible. I don’t know why he was going for a club vibe here but it just doesn’t work. Dilla’s up first with a terrible verse. The chorus is even worse. MED with a good verse but really it doesn’t matter as this track is just a carbon copy club track. Nothing to hear here folks. Wack

6. Special(Feat Noelle Of The Rebirth)

DOPE!!!! I really like the singing by Noelle, it just sounds really melodic. The beat(By Madlib) is piano heavy and really relaxing. MED rips it as usual. I dig the chorus with the singing. Another great track. DOPE!

7. The Offering Interlude

Interlude.

8. Hold Your Breath

Madlib produces a really sloppy verse, it’s like he can’t decide whether to do a “Reflective” type beat or a “Club” beat. MED rules it as usual here. This track is just “meh”. Average

9. Now U Know(Feat Dudley Perkins)

Madlib produces a really good beat, I can’t really describe it as there are about 6 different things happening at once. MED shines here and Dudley plays a small part in the chorus. Overall a good track. Good

10. Pressure(Feat Diamond & Poke)

Fast paced type beat by Madlib, sounds like a mixture of Eastcoast & Midwestern rap. MED flows really well over this type of beat, he even rapid spits. Good track. Good

11. Never Saw It Coming

Great beat by Madlib, just soul samples and bouncy bass type beat. MED raps about hustling, drug dealing, getting busted, and in the end getting shot by the cops. Great storytelling here and man that beat is just genius. You need to hear this. DOPE!

12. So Real

Dilla produces a much better beat this time around. A very bouncy beat here. MED does a great job here, just rapping about different subjects and maintaining a dope flow. Good track. Good

13. Never Give U Up

Oh No produces the beat and it’s very Kanye-ish, it’s really good. This track is about smoking weed and even MED can make this tired topic seem interesting. Good track. Good

14. Mary J Interlude

Interlude.

15. Get Back

Just Blaze produces the beat and it’s really uninspired, it’s like he didn’t even try here and the end result is a sub par beat. MED tries his best to carry the track but the beat is just so basic. The chorus is terrible with the beat changing up for the worst. This track is awful. Wack

16. Listen 2 This

DOPE!!!! Best track on the album. One of my favorite Madlib beats here. This beat is very jazz-like. MED just rips this track, rapping about various subjects. The only problem is that this track is way too short, but man this was great. DOPE!

17. Yeah

Nice Eastcoast sounding beat by Madlib, I can’t really describe it. MED does a good job on this track, nothing really special about it or anything, it’s just a good track, except the chorus is really annoying with the voice synth. Good

18. Nightlife(Feat Noelle Of The Rebirth)

Nice funky-ish beat by Madlib. Noelle does a great job with the singing in the background during the beginning. MED raps about the various subjects of the nightlife. I dig the chorus even though it’s so simple. MED & Noelle do a great job. Great way to end the album. DOPE!

All in all this gets a Good rating. Stones Throw once again deliver with a great album. MED could be the next big star, his flow & lyrics are top notch and he does a great job on this album. Cop it!

DJ Quik! Maintaining a strong presence in rap since the 80’s, Quik has been one of the forerunning voices of the West Coast, working with such acts as Dre, 2Pac, and Snoop Dogg during the height of their popularity as artists. Several of his albums have been critically acclaimed, and now on his latest effort he expands his boundaries to the south as well as the west.

The first thing one will probably notice is the presence of live instruments that induces an organic sort of sound. The first actual song, Intro For Roger, is funky but also mesmerizing, with a different feel than plain G-Funk; Fandango, with B-Real, makes heavy use of horns to back good performances by both Quik and Real (the latter’s flow is bonkers!). Til Jesus Comes brings back the flavor of a Death Row-era West Coast, with the same type of stoic bass/drums, edited background singing, and synths, but brings something new to the formula with an electric guitar on the chorus.

Black Mercedes with Nate Dogg is possibly one of the smoothest and G-Funkiest tracks I’ve heard in a very long time, with excellent performances by both Quik and Nate, period. The album continues on with a track featuring Game and Quik’s longtime partner in rhyme AMG, then one featuring–yes–Chingy. You may groan, but Chingy’s performance on this song utterly stunned me; it was actually GOOD. Either Quik is god, or he has a ghostwriter and let Chingy get two verses from dude.

The rest of the album, through the smooth funk of Indiscretions in the Back of the Limo with TI and the silky Quikstrumental with Jodeci, brings more innovations and changes in sound, showing Quik has definitely kept up his abilities through the years, if not improved them.

Le Rating: 4.5/5 (Really *****ing Good)

1. Rider Muzik

Nice Westcoast feel, I dig C-Dubb’s style, it’s unique and he’s fluid with his flow so he’s not tripping over his words and he uses some dope wordplay. Great way to start off the album. Good

2. ***** em All

Nice bouncy-ish beat, it even has a hint of South to it. C-Dubb gives some “***** you’s” to the fake artists out there and all the shady people. C-Dubb doesn’t hold back either, I like this track. Good

3. Futuristik

Pretty good track, not one of my favorites but it gets the job done. Nice futuristic sounding beat and C-Dubb does a good job. Good

4. Ground Zero

Slower paced beat but with a bouncy piano beat thrown in, it’s pretty good. What I like about C-Dubb is that he’s brutally honest, the guy is straight forward and just speaks his mind. The chorus is simple but it’s really good. Great track. Good

5. Worldwide

Again what I like about this album is there are no guests, so you get a real solo album from a real solo artist. To me that’s what it should be about, I’m sick of buying a “solo” album and seeing 20 guests stacked to the top. Again this track is good, and C-Dubb flows well over it. Good

6. Sellin Game

Starts off slow and releaxed then it kicks it, really dope sounding beat here with a mixture of different styles. C-Dubb has a lot of charisma, he’s not just sleep walking through tracks, he’s actually taking the time to deliver dope lyrics. This sort of has an Asian feel to it, but mixed with that Westcoast sound. Really good track here. DOPE!

7. Let You Go

This beat has a party vibe to it, sounds really good. This is a drinking song, so when you go out and get sloshed, make sure you bump this track loud. In a way this also has a meaning, see C-Dubb wants to stop drinking but he just can’t let it go. Good track. Good

8. Finally

Pretty good track, I look at the title and hear the track and I also think “Finally someone knows how to make a good record”. Good

9. Keep It Mobb

Mobbish style beat here, with a slower paced dark feel to it. C-Dubb rips this track to pieces. Great stuff here. Good

10. Here We go Again

Pretty good faster paced track here. Once again C-Dubb shines. Good

11. Strugglin

We’ve all struggled, so we all can relate to this type of track. Good stuff. Good

12. The Formula

Really good beat, nice and bouncy yet with a hint of smoothness. C-Dubb once again shows why he’s a solo artist. A feature? I think not, he doesn’t need a guest rapper. Good

13. Lost Soul

Bouncy Westcoast beat here, sounds sort of like an old school E-40 beat. C-Dubb raps about what makes him smile and that’s performing and booze, well atleast he’s honest, he could be saying flowers blooming make him happy but ***** that, this is C-DUBB! He gives you the honest truth. Good

14. Flamez

Good lyrical track here, C-Dubb has already proven himself to be a great lyricist and this just seals the deal. Good

15. Outro

Outro.

All in all this gets a Good rating. Now this is what an album should be like, a real solo with ZERO guests. C-Dubb understood this concept and he made it work. Make sure you go to Cdbaby.com & Paystylemusic.com and support D-Dubb, C-Dubb, & E-Moe. BUY IT!