Hailing from Ft. Myers, Florida, Slip-N-Slide rookie – Plies, has been building a buzz over the past year. After the success of his street single “Chopper Zone”, and the release of his own mixtape “Da Real Nigga Bible”, Plies offers up his debut “The Real Testament”.
Over simple southern production, Plies describes how rap was never his dream, so hustling’s always an option. At just over 2 minutes though, this song lacks any lyrical skill, and replay value. Not the best way to open up the album.
2.) 100 Years
Snitching is the subject here, as Plies tells tales of his lil homies gettin their dreams shattered by “***** ass crackaz”. Production is very simplistic, and not very entertaining. Plies once again proves his lyricism (or lack there of) needs to be polished before stepping in the booth.
3.) I Know U Workin
This song features more bland production, with Plies picking up the subject from the last song and carrying it on to this one. While definatley keeping it street, Plies unfortunatley is sounding the same on every song thus far. The hook lacks, and the only bright spot of the track is Plies charisma.
4.) On My Dick
Slip-N-Slide’s Goldrush produced this song, and did a surprisingly good job. Although Plies details (yet again) the hustle, and need to get money; this track actually works for him. The hook is weak again (“I’m on my dick dogg, i gotta make somethin’ happen”), but compared to the first three songs, this sounds decent.
5.) 1 Mo Time
A very mellow bassline is provided by J.R. Rotem, as Plies goes back and forth with his woman about him getting that last nut in before she leaves him. Generic lyrics and played out subject matter, however, make this song another lackluster effort.
6.) I Am The Club
The first real decent song of the album, this is more of Plies in his element. Over a very bouncing instrumental, and the typical synthesizer, Plies actually provides an entertaining song. This could be used as a single, with Plies debating on what he wants to do at the club, before realizing he is the club.
7.) Runnin My Momma Crazy
Piano laced production is used here, with Plies suprisingly switching up the subject matter, and trying to make a heartfelt song for his mom. However, the same monotonous flow is used, and his hook writing skills are completely terrible. Nice attempt, but will fail to garner any attention.
8.) Shawty feat. T-Pain
The lead single off the album, this crossover attempt features T-Pain crooning a perfected hook over smooth production. Plies actually sounds good here, but T-Pain clearly steals the show, as this song continues to get spins across the country. Good song.
9.) Friday
This is a great song from start to finish. For the first time on the entire album, the production really stands out, with Plies detailing how he lives everyday like it’s Friday, ’cause you never know when you’re going to go. Great song, possibly the best on the album.
10.) Goons Lurkin
Wow. Finally, two good songs back to back. This features slow, thuggish production as Plies take the role of the hitman. Young Jeezy type subject matter is used here, with Plies detailing a car full of goons lurkin at “5 in the mornin”. Good song, and is guarenteed to rattle trunks.
11.) Kept It Too Real
Unfortunatley, the song doesn’t do the previous two justice, as production (sounding like it’s straight from Soundclick) really lacks any punch. Backstabbing friends is the subject here, but Plies suprisingly makes it work. While not the most lyrical, the emotion and delivery make for a good track (even though Plies dropped the word “nigga” a staggering 30 plus times), with production being the only drawback.
12.) You
This song is a complete mess. More of a “snap ya fingers” type of beat is used here, and Plies same monotonous flow is used, making for a lackluster track. Wack punchlines, and even worse production (and hook for that matter) drag this song down. Skip it.
13.) Money Straight
This is more of what I was expecting out of this album. While it’s clear that Plies lacks any lyrical greatness, songs like this show off his charisma in the best way. Much like “I Am The Club”, this track features upbeat production for Plies to get live to. Although the subject matter (“I’m in the mall everyday [cause my money straight!]”) has been done time and time again, Plies puts his own Ft. Myers twist on it, making for a good track.
14.) Hypnotized feat. Akon
Much like “Shawty”, this song features Plies spitting game to another female, this time with another Konvict artist – Akon. Over more uptempo production, Plies lyrics and delivery are completely effortless. Akon does a good job providing another one of his signature hooks, but unfortunatley can’t save this mess of a song.
15.) Murkin Season
Keeping in context with the rest of the album, Plies chooses to close out the album almost the same way he opened it. “Murkin Season” lacks the entertainment of “Chopper Zone”, with Plies explaining its that time of the year to get murked. Decent way to end the album.
This album, although anticipated by a lot of southern heads, is unfortunatley nothing special. Plies flow stays the exact same throughout the whole album, and his lyrics need a drastic improvement. However, on the flip side, this album is built for car systems, song for song. Hopefully Plies will follow up his debut with a better choice of beats, and a little diversity, when it comes to subject matter.
Overall Rating: 2.5/5