JAYO FELONY “Crip Hop” Released October 23rd 2001
LABEL: AMC & Loco Records
01. Intro (1.30)
02. Gang Bangin’ Shit w/Spice 1 (2.38)
03. One Shot Kill (3.02)
04. Girls & Boys w/Tikki Diamonds (4.11)
05. What Ya Need (3.45)
06. Trued Up REMIX (Real Anthem) w/Baby Skar (3.25)
07. Swing (3.31)
08. Skit 1 (0.22)
09. Hurt That Nigga w/Soopafly (3.42)
10. Skit 2 (0.37)
11. Do You Love Life (4.53)
12. Please Believe It w/E-40 (4.39)
13. Sherm Sticc 111 (3.51)
14. Hotta Than Fish Grease w/Young Crook (3.45)
15. Catch Em’ In Da Mornin’ (Jay-Z Diss) (3.14)
16. You’s A Character (Snoop Diss) (3.52)
17. Came Round w/Baby Skar, Bay Loc & Chag-G from DuLow Gang (4.45)
18. C Walk & Skip (4.14)
19. She Love’s Me w/Young Nube from DuLow Gang (3.38)
PRODUCTION: Battlecat, Ric Rock, Tyrone Fyffe, Sandlofer Music, K-Def, Caviar, Overdose, Soopafly, DJ Silk, Chewy, Ecay Uno, Ghetto Warden & Flip Matrix.
BILLBOARD: Top Independant Albums 2001 No.10 “Crip Hop” Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums 2001 No.53 “Crip Hop”
The Westcoast’s San Diego-based rapper Jayo Felony aka Bullet Loco or Peer Pressure grew up as a member of the infamous Crip’s Gang during his teen years in LA and had often found himself in jail. Things changed for Bullet Loco in 1994 when RUN-DMC’s late Jam Master Jay (R.I.P) heard an underground single by the rapper entitled “Piss On Your Tombstone” which was being distributed to local record stores. Jam Master Jay quickly signed the rapper up that year under his JMJ Label and Jayo then released his first debut album “Take A Ride” in 1995. The album was a success in the underground scene on the Westcoast and featured the hit classic “Niggaz & *****es” and also saw Jam Master Jay assist in production. The future for Jayo Felony saw albums such as 1998’s “Watcha’ Gonna Do” hit charts with the single feature the likes of Eastcoast’s MethodMan & DMX which had the rapper on top of his game. As time went past he released “Underground” in 1999 off the Def Jam label, which actually stayed underground and failured to get any recognition. Although Jayo Felony’s role on Snoop Dogg’s Tha Eastsidaz “Got Beef” single also hit the charts giving Jayo more exposure after having a quite year things weren’t looking to good. Little did we realize that the next album to be released was to be the aftermath of his past dealings with certain artists and label Def Jam.
‘Crip Hop’ was a term Jayo Felony used in his lyrics in the past to describe his music and with his past relationships with artists such as Kokane, who later jumped ship to join Snoop Dogg who also used the term, Bullet Loco let out his anger in this gang bangin’ album in relation to these two words full of real street talk and real Westcoast “Crip Hop”. This album was a reality check for certain artists such as Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Kokane and also the Def Jam Recording Label as Jayo released all his fury and showcased true gangsta rap to it’s fullest. The production line up has a few well known Westcoast producers such as Battlecat, Ric Rock and Soopafly but notibly is kept underground with real hardcore tracks by a few unknown producers who help keep this album Gang Bangin’ from Intro. The return of Bullet Loco in 2001 had him come harder than ever and he even has the courtesy to explain his beef’s on the albums booklet to all his fans in question.
The album starts hard with Ric Rock’s produced “Gang Bangin’ Shit” featuring Spice 1 which has both rappers spit real game and the aggression in Jayo’s lyrics and flow can be felt throughout the song. The beat is bangin’ and the combination of Jayo Felony and Ric Rock is excellent making this track a highlight and its also good to see Spice 1 keeping it gangsta. A classic beat for the riders is “One Shot Kill” which is produced by Tyrone Fyffe and the track is a cross between a hard Eastcoast style mixed with some Westcoast gang bangin beats, as the production stays tight along with Bullet Loco’s rhymes. Tyronne Fyffe is also resposible for the classic sequel once again to “Sherm Sticc” as he touches up the beat to roll Jayo up with “Sherm Sticc 111”. The track is just as good as the other versions and its good to see Jayo keeping it real for the smokers and the layed back beat just makes you wanna blaze it up. The “Sherm Sticc” songs have Jayo a sure favourite with the smokers and they are used as a trademark these days by the rapper just like Mystikal’s “Still Smokin” tracks which are both a must on all the albums by both these artists. Jayo Felony still spits the hustle about drugs also as he funks up Sandlofer’s produced “Girls & Boys” with the lyrically talented Tikki Diamonds who tears the mic apart with real ghetto slang on a real phat ass beat thats wild wild west. Jayo kills the speakers with his flow and the hardcore lyrics have ghetto labelled all over it with funk added.
Super Westcoast producer Battlecat helps the LP with his contribution to “What Ya Need” which is also very funky and the synthersizers and tics and tacs of Battlecat’s instrumental samples keep the track stay g’d up. Jayo raps pretty ordinary in this track but the production keeps the listener boppin’. Other G’d up Westcoast funky beats are the hit “Hotter Than Fish Grease” produced by DJ Silk featuring Young Crook. The beat is bouncin’ and the raps are on point buy Jayo while Young Crook’s flow is a little off guard but manages to still sound good. Ecay Uno makes one of the dopest tracks for the West on this album as he touches his magic on “Came Round” featuring the DuLow Gang. The beat is Westcoasting all the way and the raps by the DL Gang and Jayo are the best in the album. A hot beat and great line up of rappers on this beat which has got to be in the top 5 of this album no doubt. The album continues with mad funk but also has the neccessary gangsta ingredients as rapper/producer Soopafly shows how its done on “Hurt That Nigga”. The Soopa beat is perfectly toned with gangsta shit that makes it something to cruise the block to real cool but gangsta as both rappers rap on point through out the song.
Tracks produced by Caviar & Overdose are good and keep Bullet Loco on his toes with his rapping flow and bring out some of his best rapping. Tracks such as “Swing” keep shit G-Funked out along with “Do You Love Life” which has a great beat to it and is a great lyrical test for Jayo, which he passes with ease. The E-40 featured “Please Believe It” is another good production by this dueo who have yet to break through the underground barrier, these beats keep this album representing the West to the fullest and help Jayo Felony’s lyrics sound much more hardcore along with E-40’s unique style of raps. Jayo Felony keeps his gang ties strong in this album, with not only his title “Crip Hop” but songs such as the Ghetto Warden’s produced “C-Walk & Skip” keeps the gang bangers Crip Walkin’ along their blocks. The song is also a diss to Jay-Z & Snoop Dogg as he explains to them that he’s the real gang banger in this rap game. “She Loves Me” composed by Flip Matrix has a tight beat and Bullet Loco raps very good to this hard track with a touch of bounce. The hook is a little out of wack but again the beat keeps the listener intrigued along with the rapping flow.
As the heads keep moving Jayo comes back with the remix version of his anthem “Trued Up” featuring Baby Skar. The beat is hard and produced by K-Def and has the bloods and crips throwin up their gang signs. The track is a diss to Jay-Z and the Roc-A-Fella Camp as Jayo feels that he had to step up for the WestCoast and the LA gangs against Jay-Z’s lyrics in certain songs. The beef started after Jayo Felony took offense to Jay-Z’s intro to “Streets Is Talkin” as Jay-Z sings: “Is he a Blood, is he Crip?/Is he that, Is he this?”. Another lyric taken from “Change The Game” was “I wear more bling to The Source & Soul Trains/More chains than rings, niggaz wont do a thing”. Bullet Loco also took offense to this as WestCoast gangs (Crips & Bloods) have been blammed for several robberies on celebrities when The Source & Soul Train Awards were being held in LA. As a strong Crip in his past and his ties to the gangs he felt the urge to rise to the occassion and put a stop to Jay-Z not only as a Crip member but for the Westcoast, which showed the real gangsta shit that this rapper is capable of…literally gangsta rapping. Jayo Felony rips the anthem up with pride in his Crip ties and calls out to all Bloods & Crips to step up as Jayo represents the Crips & Baby Skar the Bloods. Jayo spits: “Back in the day if i was Kane, cuz, i woulda’ been trippin’/like aint’-no-half-crippin’. When it comes to this C shit they gon’ learn out here/I have Al Sharpton C-walkin’ in his perm out here. Niggaz bangin’ in NY now? Cuz i dont knock it/this fool said he was a blood but had his rag in the wrong pocket. Crips wear it on the left and Damus wear it on the right/I’ma show you mother*****as how to gangbang right, ride back on the same night, how to slang caine right.” Now thats real gang bangin’. Along with these lyrics Jay-Z has rapped in these two songs Jayo Felony also blames Jay-Z for his album “Hotter Than Fish Grease” being pulled back and not released at all. Aparently Jayo Felony was due to release the album on Def Jam and had this song already complete but says that Jigga stopped the album from being released then causing Jayo Felony to leave the label. Jayo also states in his album booklet that Def Jam hasnt any love for WestCoast artists and names certain rappers who are held back. He also disses Jay-Z and the Roc-A-Fella crew on the Chewy produced “Catch Em’ In Da Mornin”. The beat is heavy and the raps and flow are also on target once again as Bullet lets his beef rip no holds barred.
As the beef gets deeper he comes strong on DJ Silk’s “You’s A Character” a diss to Snoop Dogg for taking his Crip Hop personna away along with Kokane. The track is pretty slow but the message is clear that Jayo Felony is the real Crip Hopper and that Snoop copied his style. The beef is also described in the booklet where Jayo mentions he was part of the “Up In Smoke Tour” but was taken off because of a certain rapper who paid to go along on the tour. Jayo then mentions that one of Tha Eastsidaz and himself nearly got into a fight with the artist and Dr Dre then put them back on the show’s roster. They were then given the news later that Snoop Dogg had taken them off the show and that was the final outcome.
Overall the album is very hardcore, Westcoast gangsta shit. The lyrics are real and the flow is pretty good all round. The album is one of the most realest albums out there that has been released and the agression once again from Jayo Felony can be felt throughout the album whether the beat is funky or just hardcore. This album represents the real gang bangers of the Westcoast and Bullet Loco did a great job in keeping the Westcoast gangsta. One of the few rappers who can rap lyrics that you can relate to and feel his emotion. At the same time the tracks are bumpin full of great production and one of Loco’s best to date. apart from the beef’s which were a little out of hand this is a great banger to ride to for all…
I rate it 3/5
1. Cop Killer