Reviews: Tha Alkaholiks - Firewater, The Notorious B.I.G. - Greatest Hits, Boot Camp Clik - Last Stand, Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth, Young Buck - Buck The World, Busta Rhymes - The Big Bang, Marc Cary - Abstrakt Blak, Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury, Coppershot - Issues, The Coup - Pick A Bigger Weapon', Dem Franchize Boyz - On Top of Our Game, Dilated Peoples - 20/20, DMX - Year of the Dog, E-40 - My Ghetto Report Card, Fat Joe - Me, Myself, and I, Lil' Flip - I Need Mine, The Game - The Doctor's Advocate, Ghostface - Fishscale, Ghostface - More Fish

Tha Alkaholiks - Firewater

Lyrics: B Content: B- Production: C

Creativity: C Quality %: C Bonus: N/A

Release Date: January 24th, 2006

"This ain't the same thing that you're used'ta \ I ain't selling dope or bragging about how many times I'ma shoot'cha". Indeed time and general Hip-hop content have changed, but for better or worse Tha Alkaholiks have not. One thing Tha Liks have always been is consistently good and always down for a party, even if slow on the release (this is their 5th album in their 15 year career and their first since 2001) and having limited commercial success. But success in some ways is relative term as Tha Alkaholiks have always been a West Coast underground act known for their hedonistic party anthems and free-wheeling style but not necessarily in heavy rotation on MTV. This time around the material sounds a little dated and is not nearly as inspired as previous LPs like "21 and Over" and "Coast to Coast", but Tha Liks' do manage to recapture the magic in small doses on songs like "The Flute Song", "On the Floor", and "Do It". "Poverty's Paradise" is also a solid cut though somewhat different that what fans have come to expect from Tha Alkaholiks. Though far from their best work Firewater is a respectable final chapter in the group recording career of group members J. Ro, E-Swift, and Tash. The album is also supposed to mark the beginnings of solo careers for the group members, though by my estimation there may not be enough room for all three to be successful.

Overall: C+ :Review by Eyecalone

The Notorious B.I.G. - Greatest Hits

Vocals: N/A Content: N/A Production: N/A

Originality: N/A Quality %: N/A Bonus: N/A

Release Date: March 6th, 2007

Bad Boy Records returns yet again to milk its only true cash cow. This time, it’s with a more appropriate excuse and project than 2005’s posthumous “DUETS: THE FINAL CHAPTER.” Ten years after his murder, the unmistakable voice of Christopher Wallace reminds us why he goes down as one of the best MC’s of all time with “Greatest Hits.” Wallace (aka NOTORIOUS B.I.G./Biggie Smalls) still tickles the back of the brain with his lyrical flow on classics like “Warning.” The infectious swagger of “One More Chance” can still inspire men too obese to see their penises to a Tony Soprano moment and to approach hot women in clubs. “Juicy” is still the lasting anthem for pulling oneself up by the bootstraps of their Timberlands. While the tracks feel like a burned CD of favorites that somebody you know has rocked for years, there are posthumous studio collaborations with some of his discarded rhymes and rap stalwarts like Busta Rhymes, Nate Dogg, Eminem, Nelly, and Ja Rule. They take some getting used to. Luckily, the tried and true prevail. Brooklyn’s illest shines, despite the questionable opportunism of Bad Boy Records to stay relevant.

Overall: N/A :Review by William Ashanti Hobbs - Guest Reviewer

Boot Camp Clik - Last Stand

Lyrics: B Content: B- Production: A-

Creativity: B Quality %: B+ Bonus: N/A

Release Date: July 18th, 2006

A lot of people make up the Boot Camp Click, too many for me to remember. I only know that they make one "helluva" team, at least on this LP, and that Smiff-N-Wessun shine on this album. I like most of the content of the lyrics, which are very real and truly representative of the streets. Last Stand is anti-Bling and anti-materialism, but very thuggish and gun happy. They may be trying to be somewhat positive but this is not church music. As a team some are more talented than others but they weave in and out so seamlessly that sometimes you can tell and other times you can’t. The production and chemistry is that good. Its hard to sum the album up, with so much talent but if we have to chose the member most representative, Sean Price is the guy. Sean Price verses are representative of the album’s commentary.

Yo, listen, hey yo, Dexter Manning, pull sket’s, wet your family / Overstand the underhanded ways of my Camp, B / Sean P the General, so generally speakin’ / I put ten in your body, your friends ‘ll be leakin’
Never chill on the weekend, the son don’t chill / Gat ‘ll spray on a Saturday ’cause I’m from the ‘Ville
Got no time for petty lines, rappin’ your stupid shit / You can get the fist in your face for fuckin’ with the pugilist / Sean ain’t new to this, rappin’ a while now / Happy drug dealer, sell crack with a smile now

There are lots of 5-Percenter and Islamic references in here in the form of skits and lyrics. It’s no wonder people get mixed up and think they are the same. Individually no one member talks about guns too much but as a team, they sound like they are lobbying for the NRA. After 30 minutes, I was expecting a guest appearance from Charlton Heston. Overall it’s a joy for those into lyrics and beats but new rap fans looking for singy-song choruses and catchy hooks might not appreciate the fire generated by this CD - Nuff Said.

Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth

Lyrics: B- Content: A Production: B-

Creativity: B Quality %: A Bonus: (He's an Albino)

Release Date: April 10th, 2007

If you wanted somebody who might seem like a gimmick in their initial appearance you would think that you had it in Brother Ali, who is white, Muslim, from Minnesota, and an Albino. If this was a Hollywood movie he would get cast in the customary villain role that Albino’s complain about being type cast into. If you made an assumption he was a gimmick you would be very wrong. One might think being a white guy in a genre dominated by Black artists would actually be an advantage, but if you hear what he is rapping about then you realize he has no advantage at all. He wants to be respected and its important to carve out a niche for him and his independent crew. Expect that from a guy heavily influenced by KRS-One. Ali is affiliated with the underground rap world spearheaded by the Rhyme Sayers collective that he is part of. This click includes such artists as Atmosphere, Musab, and DJ Abilities. This is an example of a vintage underground hip-hop movement.

Ali is on his second album and already has a place in the industry but since he is not interested in selling out to big corporations, there is no telling how popular he will become. To him “Success is not selling out. Ali's label, Rhymesayers Entertainment, has turned down inter label offers by Interscope and Red (a subsidiary of Sony), so it’s obvious they are not interested in being a commercial commodity and he knows the game, but as Ali says “The reality is that white people are more comfortable relating to white artists." He feels that "musicians are greedy, selfish fucks". Ali seems to do this because that's what he loves to do and he doesn’t try to justify it. I believe him. (Peep this video clip and you will also).

Ali offers Boots Riley Hip Hop. It’s peculiar coming from a white man, a really white man but lack of melanin ain't stopping nothing. Ali has already said "Being an albino has never really hurt him. It's the same as being an albino in life. It's something I have that gives me a distinctive look. People are always confused about what I am racially. And I let them think whatever it is they think. There are social connotations that go along with your racial background, and in that sense, it matters. Ali’s topics man against government, man against capitalism, man against woman. Sometimes he stalls on party hooks like “Walking Away” but the introspection he offers makes up for that.

Young Buck - Buck The World

Vocals: B- Content: C Production: B

Originality: C Quality %: C Bonus: N/A

Release Date: March 27th, 2007

Do not tell the other playahatas but I always had a preference for David Brown of Nashville, Tenn a.k.a. Young Buck of G Unit because although he seemed to have overkill on the thug stuff he was more unique than the rest, and more of his own man. For that reason I am kind of rooting for him to pull through as the other G-Unit acts have not done anywhere near as well as they expected. Hard to believe this is only his sophomore album. Unfortunately some of that bad luck might be following him as the entire G-Unit posse, including 50 Cent, is also on hand on numerous tracks and Buck doesn’t shine through independently. The two best tracks on this are the ones Dr. Dre did. Actually the track with "Curtiss" was kind of cool too. Rumor has it that this is the track where 50 initially talked about Cam'ron having AIDS an old rumor from his weight loss days.

Truth is it’s a hostile environment for gangsta rap right now, and who can be mad at that? It’s had its run, just ask Don Imus. Overall Jayson Greene sums it up best stating “Despite his basso profundo, anyone scanning Buck’s verses here for actual profundity will be disappointed; as an MC, he doesn’t have an original bone in his body. He’s an amalgam of Scarface-style paranoia and Tupac’s fatalism, and his workmanlike rhymes stay carefully inside the lines of the gangsta-rap template. This album is a sonic experience—on “Get Buck,” Polow Da Don’s hair-raising tuba blurts intermingle with Buck’s growl until both of them are nothing more than compelling sound effects rattling around in your headphones.”

Outside of the actual album I give him props for being a man in a boys world. His independence is clear in the fact that he has said his G-Unit “friend” Tony Yayo was wrong if he hit a 14 year old kid. In a highly publicized event and he has spoken with rivals of either 50 Cent or the G Unit posse. Young Buck told MTV.com, "I chose to have the conversation with Game because he'll never be able to have a conversation with 50. 50 feels like he did so much for Game to make Game's career happen and pulled so many strings. He feels like Game went too far to try to damage what he created. But I spoke on behalf of 50 and for the Unit and myself, and we just left the conversation on the note of, 'Look, you do you without involving us, and we'll do us without involving you, so that's where it at.'" Then Buck had a conversation with the Diplomats' Jim Jones. Buck said, Jim Jones reached out to him in the beginning of that whole thing (between Cam'ron and 50). And he told me, 'Buck, I don't think it's gonna last long between them, so I ain't messing with it,' and out of respect I gave him the same thing in return. I'm active enough in the streets where if it's beef then it's that. I'll play a part in a good battle if it's worth it. But as far as pushing the line to beef, this s**t ain't beef." To 50-Cent "Curtiss" Jackson those comments may not exercise the fatherly loyalty he demands.

Overall: C :Review by Ooh Papi

Busta Rhymes - The Big Bang

Lyrics: B Content: C Production: A

Creativity: B- Quality %: B- Bonus: N/A

Release Date: June 13th, 2006

I know this reviews is like 2 months late but you will wait because you know I am going to give it to you raw and with no chaser. Besides we are not trying to mimic the record industry style that a record should only be spoken of, reviewed etc in the first 2 weeks in which the album drops. That philosophy is part of what is wrong with the music industry. Besides Busta the human has dropped a few notches on my belt ever since Busta Rhymes refused to cooperate with the authorities after his bodyguard, Israel "Iz" Ramirez, was slain at a Brooklyn video shoot protecting him. However, this review will be based on Busta the rap artist.

To me Busta used to be the male version of Miss Elliot, hyper animated, loud, bouncing off walls and colorful but over night and from nowhere “boom boom” he set his gangsta drug lord mode into effect unnecessarily. I could appreciate the rough in your face provoking style if this was Treach but its forced coming from Buster Rhymes. He was always like a hype man with mad lyrical skills. He mad party music only but now he pushing weight with guns in every opening in his outfit and drinking liquor - WTF?!

Busta has good album production and has been able to get complementary guest appearances (Stevie Wonder, Nas, Rick James, Q-Tip, Marsha, Raekwon and Kelis, Will.I.Am, Missy Elliott and Latoya Jackson.) working for the machine called Aftermath. He seems comfortable in his new role maybe because his new steroid persona seems in tune with the new Busta affiliated G-Unit. I don’t recognize this Busta maybe cause he cut his dreads, increased the size of his entourage, gained 20lbs of muscle and he is mean mugging 24/7. But hey his album will get much radio play because he has 2 really radio friendly tracks with popular anthems. His ode to bring back Hip-hop to NYC especially increased his profile. The best work on this album is the collaborative efforts which feature rap and R&B artist in fact it raises the bar on an otherwise very mediocre album.

Marc Cary and Chance - Abstrakt Blak

Vocals: N/A Content: A Production: B

Originality: B Quality %: B- Bonus: N/A

Release Date: June 27th, 2006

The duo called Abstrakt Blak are Hip-hop artist but also classic musicians who happen to do Jazz. This is Hip-hop Jazz on a higher level than even Guru but not necessarily better. The duo bring a new sound to the music scene with piano’s , "Go-Go" synthetics and Hip-hop bravado incorporating part of the sound effect that rap producers use to make top notch beats. These odd entries into music were originally commissioned by the Studio Museum of Harlem. AbSTraKT BlaK is produced and performed by the XR Project, a group composed of Marc Cary and Chance Miller, whose MC Name is Chance. No relationship to the runner up on the “I Love New York Reality series”.

AbSTraKT BlaK is a musical exploration in the spirit of the Black Arts Movement, Black Power Movement and Free Jazz Movement. The opening track employs the human rights mantra of Malcolm X in his prelude to telling his audience “By any means Necessary”. The aim of the project was to create a sound unconfined by the constraints of commercial music, an AbSTraKT BlaK sound that draws on Jazz, Hip-Hop, Afro-Caribbean, Bebop, Ambient, Spoken Word, R&B, and Go-Go, unified throughout by the Clave beat as the soul constant.

Sometimes they are not lyrical enough and you are left hearing what appears to be an instrumental track. However at this time they are actually playing there instruments and not incorporating anything from a studio as most artist of there age and genre do today. Influenced by people like the late saxophonist Jackie McLean this album is really alive.  The understanding seems to be that many musicians bring their culture to the music in whatever they do, so why should they change or try to hide it because of market influences. If I had to label them I could not but the Jazz effect is so powerful it’s tempting. The compassion can be heard throughout each track. The tracks build momentum off of each other without having any relationship, the talent is there let’s just wait and see if they will merely be a one hit wonder picking up where Guru’s, Jazzamatazz left off.-Nuff Said

Overall: B- :Review by Bruce Banter

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The Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury

Lyrics: A Content: D Production: B+

Creativity: C Quality %: B Bonus: N/A

Release Date: November 28th, 2006

Seems like Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo saved their best beats for "The Clipse". Maybe that’s why the album took so long.  Hell Hath No Fury has been a long-delayed, album and although it dropped months ago, it took even longer for playahata.com to review it. However to ignore them and not review the album just because it’s late would give credibility to the corporate practice that an album is only worth its first week record sales. Right now this duo has stepped up their game very much like young Jay Z’s. They may be hip-hop's meanest, most vicious lyrical duo-it’s a shame they waste all of their talents rapping about cocaine and the love they receive from exotic, foreign White women as they travel the globe.

The Clipse are made up of Malice and Pusha who together have crafted an album that's sonically deep, hedonistic, tenacious, immoral and morally complex all at once. I couldn’t stop listening to the troubled lyrics which are of much higher quality than anything else they have ever done. The violence is not explicit but its blistering dialogue that can hurt those faint of heart. I want to loathe this genre of rap (cocaine rap) unfortunately their wit and nerve don’t allow me to dismiss them as if they were simple story tellers like Jewelz Santana or Lil' Wayne.

"What It Do (Wamp Wamp)" is a crazy addictive track just like the track “Mr. Me too”. The scenario becomes very identifiable even thou the listener has no history of drug dealing, the metaphor that repeats is that people are always joining in on stories that they have not really experienced.

Rhyming about being poor irresponsible fathers who sell drugs was never as ironic as it on the track “Hello New World”. Then you have very misogynous tracks like “Keys Open Doors” that will keep you listening because The Clipse brag about insane contradictory situations like comparing their peers to Mumia Abu Jamal simply because they are Black and locked up. They call for reparations in one breath and ask for chemicals to purify drugs in the next. One of the duo even brags on one track they are wondering if I am serious. The only lyrically simple track on the album is “Trill” and it may play well in clubs. Pure genius went in to this album too bad they see no problem in its direction. The track “Nightmare” like much The Clipse music taps into the most primal instinct inherit in all of us and exploit if for recreation and market it as a paranoia and fear your neighbor rhetoric. As much as I complain about the content, as the duo says “I got it for Cheap” - Nuff said

Release Date: April 25th, 2006

Producer Copperpot and emcee Longshot met as label mates on Chicago Hip-hop independent label EV Records around 2002 as they worked on solo albums, Open Mouths Fed (2003) and Chapter 7 (2005), respectively. Working through an awkward and sometimes tumultuous friendship but bound by their creative kinship they combined their talents for to form Coppershot and release 2006's Issues LP. Issues is an album with a true underground Hip-hop sound, filled with social commentary, and angst yet it's never preachy or inaccessible. "Forgive Me" takes a `Dear John Letter" approach to chastising the Bush administration and their policies and features guest appearances by hardly heard of acts like Akbar and KB, but also the legendary KRS-One. "Save Me" and "Culture Pop" are also strong cuts, the latter of the two featuring "Braintax" whose cultural observations aren't obscured by his heavy British accent. "Black Father's Day" is a poignant cut about fathers raising their children though the beat doesn't quite seem to match the seriousness of the words. The best characteristic of the album is its' ability to connect with average people and their everyday experiences which shines bright on the albums' first cut, "Issues". I'm not sure how either Copperpot or Longshot's work sounded independently but as a duo they seem to work well together, even if they're always arguing in the studio. Overall Issues a solid LP with enough bright spots to make it more than worth a listen.

Overall: B- :Review by Eyecalone

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The Coup - Pick A Bigger Weapon

Lyrics: A- Content: A+ Production: C

Creativity: B Quality %: B- Bonus: N/A

Release Date: April 25th, 2006

While most rappers try to figure out precisely how much of their soul and behind they need to sell to reach multi-platinum status, Boots Riley of the Hip-hop group, The Coup, is still plotting the revolution. For those of us familiar with The Coup’s music, we understand that, that’s just Boots Riley. In fact if another form of music would allow him to reach his target audience with his message of cultural and social revolution, and rejection of capitalist class exploitation, the “raptavist” Riley would probably be doing it and smirking the whole time. Pick A Bigger Weapon is the The Coup’s first release since 2001’s Party Music. Many who may not have even heard Party Music may remember the albums foreboding album cover that featured skyscrapers being blow up with Riley holding a mock detonator, months before the 9/11 attacks. The coincidence certainly helped draw some attention, attacks, and interviews from mainstream and Right-leaning political pundits and media until they realized that Riley is arguably the most politically astute rapper in the industry. Once they realized he wasn’t just another rapper, didn’t bite his tongue in public, and had more than a couple of ideas to rub together they probably figured it was better to ignore him than debate with him. 

Though the album cover for Pick a Bigger Weapon is less potentially inflammatory than it’s predecessor the music certainly isn’t. Delivered over group DJ, Pam "The Funkstress", signature funk rhythms and high horns, and Riley's own keyboard drum programming, Riley delivers with his trademark political and social poignancy, wit, and humor. Riley gives a radical history review of U.S. relations with Iraq and Iran that plays like a geopolitical nursery rhyme is “Head (Of State)”; he introduces us to his new product, an insurgency producing pill called “Ass-Breath Killers” (for their ability to prevent ass-kissing); and keeps the humor coming in both song and skit. “My Favorite Mutiny” which features Talib Kweli and Black Thought of The Roots, is a definite head-nodder and one of my favorite songs on the album while “Shoyoass” is another track that brings the heat, and adds some grit to an album that is at times a little too “bouncy” production-wise. "BabyLet'sHaveaBabyBeforeBushDoSomethin'Crazy" featuring singer Silk E, is seductive and a semi-slow jam but it still manages to make a political statement, which is evident in the title if you read it slow enough. “Mindfuck” revisits Dead Prez’s ‘Mind Sex’ with consequences that are just as pleasing though far less carnal. In Riley’s version from the album’s insert the “Mindfuck” is each one of us “in a daily struggle against a soulless system”, that “for many of us, is a solitary struggle with a never-ending rent race as a tactic, daily survival as a strategy, and guaranteed food, clothes, and shelter as a long-term goal”. According to Boots Riley our weapons in this struggle are “usually pitiful paychecks, hope-drenched hustles, mind-numbing medications, or frustrated fury that crashes and burns”. After listening to Pick A Bigger Weapon, you might want to add Hip-Hop to that list.

Overall: B :Review by Eyecalone

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Dem Franchize Boyz - On Top of Our Game

Lyrics: D Content: D Production: B-

Creativity: D Quality %: F Bonus: N/A

Release Date: February 6th, 2006

Outside of the hit "White Tees", Dem Franchize Boyz may be a one hit wonder, well maybe not one a hit wonder but a one album wonder. While some growth is evident on this LP it's like listening to the last album, only not as good. I generally don’t like “this type of rap music” anyway but having a lot of teenagers in my home all the time forces me to sit back and listen to the Franchize Boyz. The gangster lyrics and stories they get into with guest appearance by Jim Jones of the Harlem based Dipset is all fake and won't even be respected by their peers but they were probably were told by Jermaine Dupri to do it for the street credibility. This album sounds like 4 kids who have lost their way. There way was a fun loving, partying group of young people that just live in any neighborhood USA and had every day tales that were neither angelic nor demonic but part of life. But even their part of life lyrics have not shown the sort of growth that you might expect considering their exposure and station in the Hip-hop game. It's just too much of the same ole, same ole. They have maybe a few cuts that will be a hot at the clubs but overall this kind of  album is why people started bootlegging in the first place.-Yippie Kai Yai

Overall: D+ :Review by Ooh Papi

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Dilated Peoples - 20/20

Lyrics: B Content: B- Production: B-

Creativity: B+ Quality %: C Bonus: N/A

Release Date: February 21st, 2006

In my opinion Dilated Peoples are the west Coast's only mainstream soulful Hip-hop group. Although I doubt mainstream is a word which can be used to describe Dilated Peoples they seem to at least be above the Radar. It's not really in their look but their presence is soulful and organic with a stature similar to the Roots. Emcees "Rakaa" and "Evidence" provide the lyrics and DJ Babu is the cut creator. This is what hip hop sounds like when people are just being themselves. Their beats bang, the production is precise, and the rhymes are sharp.

Tracks like "Olde English" give me a new respect for them because I can see their versatility. Evidence is the strongest of the emcess but Rakaa is no slouch either. I actually only reviewed this album because a friend gave me a copy on the suggestion to review it and thankfully I did. The song "Back again" grabbed me right away and opened me up just like Go Go Music used to do to me. It's the feature track produced by Alchemist, "Back Again" finds Rakaa busting on Bush and Blair and I even think I heard Capleton heating up the anti-war joint Firepower even more so than he does on Sonic Jihad. Ultimately I like the fact that Dilated Peoples are not preachy, and it's actually one of the album's higher points. This album hit stores 1 month ago but its brand new to me. You might want to make it brand new to you.

Overall: B- :Review by Ooh Papi

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DMX - Year of the Dog

Lyrics: C+ Content: C Production: B

Creativity: C Quality %: C+ Bonus: N/A

Release Date: August 2nd, 2006

I have never disrespected DMX in any way so why is it, that he is always yelling at me? DMX returns with that same ole yelling, barking and gruff tone that is his trademark. His 6th album is completely expected and unveils little new in the way of creativity. His personal struggles and impromptu out of control interviews posted all throughout the internet have begun to overshadow him as an artist and after witnessing his reality show a few times, I feel little of what he says musically is authentic, but instead notice the influence of the white substance created “high talking”, to us. On this album even the better stuff comes up short of what we expect for him. Even X talks about the fire he used to possess on the album. This CD was supposed to come out last year but lots of legal problems and him switching labels held it up and although it doesn’t feel dated it doesn’t feel up to date either. DMX remains conflicted. He gets really preachy on about 5 cuts like “Lord Give Me a Sign” and then comes super misogynistic on “Baby Mother”, which is a really personal experience for him, considering the paternity suits pending. His wordplay is still slick but he is ironically outshined when he brings on Ruff Ryders like Styles P and Jadakiss for “It’s Personal”. Brilliance is flashed on “Blown away”, which features bars that beg to know if X is bragging or just telling it like it was. “The older cat robbed m/ when I was like 10/ if anybody wanted to help it should have been then, but they didn’t and all it did is release a beast/ and I’m a feast on whatever I come across in the streets.” I think DMX fans will be happy to hear The Year of the Dog (Again) because it is him after the hiatus but they may be disappointed in its lack of creativity and contradiction even for a conflicted man like DMX. In the end its all about whether or not you believe DMX after all he claims “I don’t make music to make songs,” “I make music to record my life.”

Overall: C+ :Review by Ooh Papi

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E-40 - My Ghetto Report Card

Lyrics: B- Content: C- Production: B

Creativity: B+ Quality %: C Bonus: N/A

Release Date: March 14th, 2006

Personally I have always liked E-40 because I thought he was really representative of his area, and his knack for new slang. For instance, "fo'shizzle" though often associated with Snoop Dog was actually coined by E-40, but those who credit E-40 with inventing the phrase "it's all good" are riding a Hyphy movement of their own. I may not pick up on any of it for my vocabulary but I was always interested in what E-40 might invent. Oddly enough E-40 had many songs whereby you had no idea what the heck he was saying unless you were from the Bay (Oakland, San Francisco, area). That's not the case anymore and now that I understand most of what E-40 is saying, I wish he wouldn't say so much of it. Granted he has a lot of versatile beats on the album done by producers Lil Jon, Droop-E, the Pharmaceuticals, Rick Rock, etc but this album has no identity. Despite his past creativity, E-40 is "swagger jacking" on the album, and I guess that's is ok because "to whom much has been given, much is also owed". His song "White Gurl" featuring Bun B, Pimp C of UGK & Juelz Santana swagger jacks the Old beat of a early rap group called the Boogie Boys who had a song called "Fly Girls". It's really hard to rate an E-40 album using the playahata.com grade scale. I realize E-40's only trying to have some fun but we need to handle some business also, though it was not business as usual on the video on his last video shoot where thousands of people showed up. E-40 says "everybody was "smokin' up the block, turning donuts and figure 8's. We had the Hyphy train crackin.' Just imagine 300 cars riding back to back after a party with every car, van, camper or truck with all they doors open, shakin' their dreads, showing their grill, sporting stunna shade glasses, dancing on top of the roofs and hoods of the whip, campaigning like the president, like a big parade. It's just a whole bunch of super energy. You gotta see it!." Well that is pretty much how the album turns out, its all over the place. I realize this album is E-40's chance for mainstream success but he is trying to appeal to every listener and that did not work for me.

Overall: C+ :Review by Ooh Papi

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Fat Joe - Me, Myself, and I

Lyrics: C+ Content: F Production: B-

Creativity: F Quality %: F Bonus: N/A

Release Date: November 14th, 2006

Fat Joe doesn't give a $%@&*, so "F*ck you, f*ck you too, f*ck you rappers, f*ck the industry, f*ck anybody who don't f*ck with [him]", and so begins Fat Joe's 7th studio album, the appropriately titled Me, Myself, and I. It's not clear what avenues Fat Joe traveled to get this album put out but he made it his business to highlight the fact that it's mostly his own effort and is executive produced by "Joe Crack and Absolutely No One Else". Me, Myself, and I continues in the vain of his previous LP All or Nothing, with a few differences, the content is far worse, it's even less creative, and Fat Joe seems far more frustrated with his position in the rap game. By "position" I'm referring to the fact that no matter what he does Fat Joe just can't seem to garner the rap megastar status he thinks he deserves. Personally I think it would take 3-4 more songs as big as "Lean Back" to make Fat Joe, or as he apparently prefers, Joe Crack, a legitimate star in the minds of most rap fans. I can't call what it is that makes certain personalities stick with the general public when they're heavily promoted, but we can be sure that Memphis Bleek and Joe Crack for example, don't have it. 

The album begins with "Pandemic" and "Damn" which aren't great songs by having gritty and aggressive beats where Joe tries to show off his tightest (most likely) ghostwritten lyrics. Part of the giveaway is the uneven nature of Joe's lyrics. Occasionally he says something witty but then moments later he's back to rhyming real words with verbalized gun sounds like, 'bbbbrrrattt', 'click clack', etc. Or it's possible, it's not that the lyrics are so often ghostwritten, it's just that Joe is just a terribly unoriginal rhyme author. It seems there are no less than one hundred references to Joe being in the kitchen (cooking crack), and even his slang sounds copied, i.e. referring to himself as "Big Homie" which if I didn't know better I could have sworn was Jay-Z's thing. I also wasn't too pleased two guest appearances by Lil' Wayne who last I checked wasn't part of the Terror Squad and a "guest" appearance by The Game on "Breathe and Stop" where The Game is only doing the hook, and where Joe sacrilegiously samples one of my favorite Bob Marley songs, "War". "She's My Mama" and "Story to Tell" are more ridiculous tunes that just continue the downward trajectory of this album. "Make It Rain" which features Lil' Wayne is likely planned as the album's star cut but it just further illustrates Joe's lack of creativity when Joe rhymes, "why is everybody mad at the South for / change your style up / switch to southpaw", and though he doesn't change "his" flow up on the song it's clear Joe is trying to take advantage of the relative popularity of many Southern rappers nowadays. Overall there aren't many good things I can say about this LP other than some of the beats are decent but it's entirely too derivative and, lyrically and conceptually, suspect to even keep on my I-pod any longer than I had to in order to review it.  

Overall: D- :Review by Eyecalone

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The Game - The Doctor's Advocate

Lyrics: B Content: C Production: B+

Creativity: C Quality %: B+ Bonus: N/A

Release Date: November 14th, 2006

Was The Game's arrest in NYC over impersonating a police officer a publicity stunt (a copycat DMX move) to get his first week sound scan numbers up? He promised 1 million sales in the first week but was lagging far behind that. I called The Game's (Jayceon Terell Taylor) father George Taylor to find out if this was some Hip-hop police hype or another WWF stunt. He said he was waiting to still hear back from his son and was unsure what was really going on. From the news reports it appears like The Game is guilty and if so, it’s a desperate cry for attention. I figured contacting the man he has rapped about as not giving him the attention that he needed growing up-would give me some insight. I wanted to know if his dad thought his album was the classic that I was hearing that it was, since he is not a Game fan 24-7 but more like 20-7 - he said it was a classic. Of course I was not going to rely on that and had to go on my own impression since I had heard so many different things. After listening to all the back and forth involving The Game, and mostly The Game, trying to decide if he was beefing with G –Unit or not, his credibility was taking a serious beating. It was hard to believe anything that he said. First The Game promised that Dr. Dre was working on his sophomore debut and 50-Cent swore the producer would not. A month before the album release he admitted 50 was right and he was fronting all along. Then he claimed he personally leaked the clean version of his album himself. But the explicit version was what was on line. He got a butterfly on his face and then changed it in a few months later. Then he himself mentioned he was at times suicidal over events that seemed minor. A lot of this seemed like a gimmick and gimmick rap was receiving media coverage but was not selling, we can take the examples of Flavor Flav Selling only 2000 Albums, Ice T Selling only 700 Albums, and Ron Artest Selling only 300 Albums as examples.

I was beginning to wonder if The Game was going to have a nervous breakdown. He might have had one too if he had not hurried up and put the finishing touches on what appears to have been a therapeutic album for him. After The Doctors Advocate was pushed back several times in the hopes that Game could get some production from the man that he named his album after, it finally sunk in that it was not going to happen. The result is that Game gets a lot off his chest and opens up about how he was feeling sad and blue. No surprises hear thou since The Game is as much of a fan of rappers as he is a rapper. In fact the New York Times noted that “In the course of 16 songs, he makes reference to no less than 44 different hip-hop stars, including two named Ice (Cube and -T), three named Lil (Jon, Kim and Wayne) and two named Young (Jeezy and M.C.). And no one comes up more often than Dr. Dre, whose name finds its way into nearly every song. By album’s end he has been invoked about 30 times; the absent mentor is everywhere. In hip-hop flawed protagonists rule; no one wants to hear a (purely) good guy rap. But the Game has an unusual flaw: his problem is that he really wants to be a hip-hop star, wants it so badly he can’t disguise it. He probably knows it’s a bad idea to call himself the “West Coast Rakim,” or to boast, “I’m B.I.G., I’m Cube, I’m Nas, I’m ’Pac,” or to obsequiously praise Snoop Dogg in nearly every song. He probably knows that thinly veiled criticisms of other rappers won’t earn him the respect he wants. (At one point he raps, “I don’t need no ‘Encore,’ no claps, no cheers,” alluding to the Jay-Z song.) He probably knows it’s embarrassing to release a whole CD about a guy who doesn’t seem to be returning his calls, but he is doing it anyway.” 

This album does not suffer from not having Dre on it and it’s lyrically better than his Dre produced freshman album. Game pours his heart out to Dre on certain lyrics and I began to wonder if I was speaking to the wrong father figure for The Game. If we are able to withstand Game’s, continued bragging and threats, we will be fortunate to see first hand the gap between the Game’s talent and his ego synchronizing. This album has some cuts delivered in poor taste like “Wouldn’t Get Too Far” a copycat tribute on video vixens and chicken head groupies that was jacked from an obvious known Tupac track. However the bad tracks are in the minority and I can understand why fans are “jocking” this album release. He’s even making other new alliances in Hip-hop. It’s good not great and no matter what you feel about The Game you have to recognize his last stop honesty and maturation but he still lacks a lot of creativity and if he is already getting so lazy that we can barely tell the first album cover from his second, he may have already peaked. -Nuff Said!

Overall: B- :Review by Bruce Banter

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Lil Flip - I Need Mine

Vocals: C Content: C- Production: C

Originality: C Quality %: C Bonus: N/A

Release Date: February 6th, 2007

Lil Flip represents Texas rap nowadays, more specifically he reps for Houston's Cloverland neighborhood. He has matured lyrically, emotionally, and content wise. As an artist he is at the next level now, which has him making beats. He produced 5 tracks on the album. In commercial rap it’s very unusual for a rapper to produce their own beats. He is good at it considering the competition, so good in fact he says “If I hear a beat and I feel like I can make it I won’t buy it.” Maybe he does his beats for another reason; maybe he just wanted less people around him after this same album was sabotaged.

This album was leaked on July 14, 2006 by Sony Records, causing Flip to decide to record new songs with J. Steve from PKY for the album. The new album has 16 tracks that were on the leaked version, and twenty-one which were not on the leaked version. So some of this you may have heard before. Its 37 all together. As far as lyrics Lil Flip has stepped it up. He says that was the intent simply because a lot of people criticize down south rappers for not being lyrical. However Flip can play the piano and is a bit more musical. These talents parlay into other areas of his album and music career. He needed to come back strong after T.I. dealt a crushing blow to Flip’s credibility with a slew of scathing diss records, including the infamous "Gangsta Grillz: Down With the King" mixtape, but he does not. Flip delivers impotent pickup lines over the misplaced sounds of the south leaving inorganic rhythms.

He is already diversifying his branding in case this album doesn’t sell to much after my lukewarm review. He has written a movie. Is writing another movie. Has a brand liquor in stores right now, "Lucky Nites." He has Clover G watches coming out in December with the next album nx also a clothing line, Clover G Apparel Limited. "Clover Kids" for the kids, "Clover Girls" for the girls. The money will be flowing for him still but the album is nothing to write home about, lucky he has other things going for him.

Overall: C :Review by Ooh Papi

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Ghostface - Fishscale

Lyrics: B Content: B Production: A

Creativity: A Quality %: A- Bonus: N/A

Release Date: March 28th, 2006

Ghostface is back, gone is the commercial crossover attempt that was exemplified on his last album. Initially I thought that the Ghostface which had became the talk of the hood was gone to fans forever. It seemed that his desire to sell millions of units was going to forever mar the quality of work that he was going to put out. My fears were heightened when I heard that Ghostface was giving up weed which sometimes stifles artist creativity and has been a not so subtle trademark of his art. Glad I was wrong on both these fronts.

Ghostface gives us vintage Wu Tang work. A supreme offering for his true school clientele that keep their fingers on the rewind button while Ghostface talks. We get over 20 tracks of serious quality work and the disc is going for a mere 11 bucks or less. Tony Starks is not an artist I would get the bootleg album of anyway but even the diehard bootleg consumer should realize that it’s a crime to not support quality work like this for a proven artist. There’s something on here for everybody starting with the return of the infamous “fiddy sense” intimidator Clyde Smith, "Shakey Dog", "Momma", "Back Like" and all the various tracks in which former Wu Tang members are enlisted to contribute skills.

I must admit I am a reluctant die hard fan of GhostFace’s music so the microscope I judge his work under may be different from the average consumer. I Haven’t missed an album of his solo creativity yet and this is as good as it gets , its not on the level of Supreme Clientele but best believe Michelangelo could not recreate the Sistine Chapel ceiling five years later either. The skits are classic Ghostface. It seems that his recent discovery of his diabetic condition has caused him to focus on who he is an artist and the type of legacy he wants to leave to his true fans. Fishscale is guaranteed satisfaction for Wu Tang Fans although he leaves us short with superhero references or visual lyricism that Tony Starks a.k.a. Ironman is known for it still hits the spot. It flows, it often won’t make practical sense, the lyrics he spits are so crazy you have to just smile and it’s full of Jewels as well as misnomers. He is still with his “lessons” that’s for sure and he still has a fascination with the underworld and it’s still best described by him. .

Ghostface eccentric and eclectic style makes him somewhat of a Pablo Picasso in hip hop. As Picasso’s work is often categorized into “3 periods”. Blue Period (1901–1904), Rose Period (1905–1907), African-influenced Period (1908–1909), I expect that when its all over we will see Ghostface music viewed with such a trajectory. Wu-Period (heavy drug influenced and really cutting edge), Post Wu-Period (watered down, vivid and redundant) and Ghost Period (no drugs, evolving, secure and pioneering). - Nuff Said

Overall: B+ :Review by Bruce Banter

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Ghostface - More Fish

Lyrics: B Content: B- Production: B

Creativity: B Quality %: B Bonus: N/A

Release Date: December 29th, 2006

I don’t usually review Ghost Face albums but I heard so much about this one, mostly good. Besides the fact that in my opinion he is The Wu-Tang Clan’s most reliable warrior. This is the sequel to his March release, Fishscale. And yes, More Fish is a vessel for leftovers from Ghostface’s March album Fishscale. Six discs into his solo career, Ghostface Killah handily delivers everything that his fans expect: nostalgic soul samples, richly detailed scenes of street life, and an abundance of inventive wordplay that takes a few listens to catch for most of us. Theodore Unit cronies contribute in their debut and are ok. Ironically he is bringing them in but as talented as he is, he’s never broken through into the mainstream. Ghostface is consistent, stylish and still doing the abstract thing his followers love. Truth is that no matter how good and entertaining he is, he isn’t going to reach platinum sales unless somebody kills him. Even at the low price of $8-9.99 most people who regularly purchase rap are looking for somebody who is just not Ghostface. That is why his namesake a.k.a. Tony Starks turned to the bottle.

Ask yourself right now, who out there does it like Ghost does? Talking about cartoons, science fiction, singing over Delfonics songs and still be a total hood manifestation. Hip-hop is not dead to Ghost Fans. Ghost creativity really comes out when he does skits that show that his ability to paint pictures in unparalleled. “Greedy Bitches” and “Ghost Is Back” recycle classic ‘90s beats, a peeve of mine but its Ghost face so nobody is willing to jab on him for that. This is one of the better album of 2006 but its not going to sell much. He is the Ray Charles of hip hop - he’s gonna make it do what it do baby! That means everything except fly off the shelves.

Overall: B :Review by Ooh Papi

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