Alchemist - 1st Infantry, Lloyd Banks - The Hunger for More, Cam'ron - Purple Haze, C-Lo Green - The Soul Machine, D-12 - D-12 World, De La Soul - The Grind Date, Dead Prez - Revolutionary But Gangsta, Eminem - Encore, Fabolous - Real Talk, Ghostface - The Pretty Toney Album, Guerilla Black - Guerilla City Jadakiss - Kiss of Death, Ja Rule - R.U.L.E., Jim Jones - On My Way to Church, J-Kwon - Hood-Hop, Kool Keith - Diesel Truckers, KRS-1 - Keep Right, Talib Kweli - The Beautiful Struggle, Ludacris - The Red Light District, Mase - Welcome Back, Method Man - Tical 0: The Prequel, Mobb Deep - Americaz Nightmare, Mos Def - The New Danger, Nas - Street's Disciple Nelly - Sweat/Suit, NERD - Fly or Die, The Roots - The Tipping Point, Saigon - Warning Shots, Ali Shaheed Muhammad - Shaheedullah Stereotypes, Shawnna -Worth the Weight, Shyne - Godfather Buried Alive, Snoop Dog - Rhythm & Gangsta: The Masterpiece, T.I. - Urban Legend, Trick Daddy - Thug Matrimony, Twista - Kamikaze, Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter, Kanye West - The College Dropout, Young Buck - Straight Outta Cashville, Young Gunz - Tough Luv

Release Date: September 29th, 2004

Approximately 10 years after he truly began appearing on the rap radar, hardworking, underground,, producer Alchemist has finally thrown his hat into the ring of producers and DJs releasing compilation albums featuring their beat-work and a host of guest Lyricist. If you're not in the habit of reading album credits, it's likely you've hardly heard of the Alchemist, but if you've been listening to the "hardcore" East Coast rap of the late '90s and early 2000s (Nas, Mobb Deep, the LOX, etc.), chances are you've heard his work. Though New York focused with Mobb Deep, The LOX, and their respective memberships appearing multiple times, the MC appearances include representatives from many areas of the country, with "Game" and "Cypress Hill" holding down the west side, and "T.I." and the "The P$C" holding down the South. As should be expected due to his associations and the rappers he's done production work for, the Alchemist debut 1st Infantry is filled with the likes of the "hardcore". And therein lie the biggest problem with 1st Infantry. While the production work is solid and shines on cuts like "Hold You Down" (featuring Prodigy, Nina Sky, and Illa Ghee), "Stop The Show" (featuring MOP and Status Quo), and Alchemist penchant for creating brooding and dark beat landscapes vibes well with the choice of featured artist, the share monotony and uninspired recital of the guest rappers drags down the entire effort. How many times are the likes of Mobb Deep, The LOX, J-Hood, et al going to record the same rhymes of WWF-style simulated and exaggerated violence? The album's songs are not very strong in the area of hooks either so it forces listeners to focus on rhymes and beats alone, which makes the tired song concepts and sub-par lyricism, even from the bigger named rappers, all the more glaring. Just by the nature of the effort it's difficult to gauge 1st Infantry, as it almost seems unfair to chastise the producer for the efforts of the rappers, but if I anybody believed all people wanted to hear was the beats then this should just as well been an instrumental album. Come to think of it that might have been a good idea.

Release Date: June 29th, 2004

Lloyd Banks is a man on a mission. And even though it is never clearly stated on his solo debut album, The Hunger For More, I think that mission has something to do with getting more money and "pimping more hoes" (or at least talking like it). If Lloyd Banks new what was good for him however, that mission would also include stepping out of the shadow of 50 Cent. Though 50 Cent, on the surface, keeps a low profile in terms of guest appearances for Bank's debut, 50 Cent's fingerprints are all over the album. Whether it's the hooks on songs like "Warrior", "If You So Gangsta", and "On Fire", the arrangements of the songs, or even Banks almost slurred delivery The Hunger For More takes on the sound and feel of something that you've heard before. And considering their isn't an original thought on the entire album and the overexposure of 50 Cent and the G-Unit, you probably have. The criticism and numerous shortcomings of Banks debut are for the most part, identical to those that can be leveled and most of commercial rap coming out these days; it's uncreative, unoriginal, ultra-misogynistic, ignorant, and damn it, it just plain doesn't sound good! How long does it take to come up with song concepts like "I'm So Fly" and "I Get High" and to lay them down over such suspect beats? Sure some of the beats save songs or at least make them bearable such as the cuts, "Work Magic", "South Side Story", and "Warrior Pt 2" but for overall the production is not quite consistent. In the months leading up to his debut LP, Banks generated a buzz for himself, by simply being a member of the G-unit, but also by laying down a number of verses on mix-tapes that were well received on the streets. Since then, the wittiness and punch, of Bank's punch lines must have dulled considerably because lyrically he's no longer all that impressive, assuming he ever was. Though apparently "hungry for more", this album won't leave listeners feeling that way, and even this early in his career, Banks is a lot closer to a man out of gas than a "Man on Fire".  

Release Date: December 7th, 2004

Originally written in 2001, as announced in the intro, Purple Haze seemed to be the album that kept getting pushed back, and back, and back. This was mostly due to label politics and reorganizations, but whatever the reason after hearing Purple Haze I've concluded it probably should have been pushed back a little more to '05; I figured that barring a miracle by 2105 I would have been long gone and would not have been subjected to the auditory abuse that is often the Cam'ron rhyme. The only thing more disturbing than Cam'ron's knack for spitting nonsensical lyrics is the fact that he actually believes he "is nice"; undoubtedly this is due to the reinforcement of his lyrically challenged underlings better known as "Dipset". As usual the one saving grace of Cam'ron, The Diplomats, et al is the beat production which is hard-hitting as usual on this LP. However, even that falls short on Purple Haze. Songs like the "Killa Cam" and the infectious "Down and Out" which features Kanye West on the vocals and on the boards will probably go over well with most listeners, but coming out on the heels of Jim Jones' On My Way to Church and the second volume of the Diplomats' Diplomatic Immunity, and all the "Dipset" related stuff that's been on mix-tapes even the most faithful "Dipset" devotees risk an overdose. Furthermore while solid some at times, the production and song concepts on the album are extremely unimaginative in addition to being as ignorant as expected. Purple Haze relies heavily on samples of the worst kind, using famous hit songs that everyone knows and hardly re-engineering them. Cyndi Lauper's "Just Wanna Have Fun," is plundered into an embarrassment for Cam'ron's, "Girls" and the "Hill Street Blues" TV show theme is abused to similar effect for "Harlem Streets".  Smokey Robinson's "Merry-Go-Round", Earth, Wind, and Fire's "Reasons", and Bob Marley's "Rebel Music" also fall victim to abuse for the cuts "Soap Opera", "More Reasons", and "Bubble Music" respectively. Yes believe it or not Cam'ron attempts to defile "Rebel Music" into a tune about selling drugs. Add the aforementioned shortcomings to a gratuitous running time of nearly 80 minutes and a complete lack of hip-hop craftsmanship that drips all the way down to the skits, and Purple Haze has all the makings of a bad album. It troubles me to think that this LP could be considered good listening to anyone other than the devoted "Dipset" fan.

Release Date: March 2nd, 2004

Before Andre 3000 of Outkast was winning critical acclaim and Grammy awards for shattering the boundaries of what a hip-hop artist was supposed to be, there was another dirty south denizen who had already broken a similar mold. Back for his sophomore solo release, C-Lo Green formerly (maybe currently, it’s not really clear) of the Southside rap quartet Goodie MOB, has returned as the “Soul Machine”. Forever eclectic, C-Lo's sophomore solo effort is more balanced with regard to rap and R&B with both styles getting almost equal time. But Soul Machine is more than some wannabe rap/R&B hybrid album. C-Lo successfully employs elements of gospel and some spoken word ("Selling Soul", "Sometimes"). When C-Lo isn't crooning soulful on cuts like "All Day Love Affair" and "Let's Stay Together", he takes time to remind listeners that his lyrical skills are still outstanding, if  3 Goodie Mob albums and a one solo LP wasn't proof enough. Speaking of Goodie MOB I am unsure whether C-Lo is officially not with the group anymore, but it seems like the song "Glockapella" is directed as a diss against his former group members, even the references are so non-specific it could be about anybody. Soul Machine also makes the most of the presence of it's big name producers, as C-Lo enlist the help of Timbaland for "I'll Be Around", the Neptunes on "The Art of Noise", and even DJ Premier for "Evening News", but even less known producers shine on this album, namely C-Lo himself. For those able to deal with his thick southern drawl and willing to really give the album a chance you will likely find something you can appreciate in the Soul Machine, and if nothing else this album is a welcome departure from the dry, predictable, and ignorant conveyor belt rap/R&B being produced by the industry.

Release Date: April 27th, 2004

My Music reviews are different from others on Playahata.com. My guess is that Bruce gets much of his music by buying 3 dollar bootlegs, Eyecalone buys everything from a black owned music store in his neighborhood, Gumby borrows albums to review, and me I review music when I see young family members who are interested in downloading a new album. I listen in a few times after they download it. I have to know what they are being entertained by when it is happening right under me. 

The streets say Eminem puts out a D12 record every time he wants to experiment; this time he is really testing the waters. By not coming all the way out solo, instead releasing a group effort with his boys before he fully reappears. EM may just want to see if the audience is still heated with him after The Source gave away a CD with him dissin' Black women. Absent from the track was the N-word, and if he did say Ni#@%, it was bleeped out by Em's management. In case you don't know D12 is Eminem and 5 anonymous gimmicky ridden black men doing crazy things and talking crazier. I initially suspected the album wouldn't t get much airplay with the FCC monitoring radio waves for the next year but there is not much to censor. This record is rowdy and a little bit absurd. In seems like every other track is about to go into a rendition of "Lose Yourself". Much of what I heard was crossover, sing a long stuff, easy stuff to rhyme to. Probably left over G-Unit tracks. In fact I do hear 50-Cent's signature voice on the album. On the album there is some rhyming about the lack of credit they get for being great MC's in the shadow of Eminem. But most of it is sounds like a prelude to a crunk style comedy act. The best track requires fast forwarding all the way to cut number 19. If I was still smoking trees this might have sounded ok to me but I am not, so I can't "C" me rating this higher than a anybody else would who is sober.

Bonus - No Obie Trice and no other Jimmy Lovine owned artist, I am not fond of Eminem's record label Interscope

Release Date: October 12th, 2004

"Do ya'll care any more, about this Hip-hop man...?" - growls Dave (a.k.a. Trugoy) of the veteran rap trio - De La Soul. Considering the state of the music formally known as Hip-hop, it's a damn good question, though I'm personally a little afraid of the answer. Now I'm going to share a little secret with you, as a dedicated, though often disappointed, Hip-Hop head I know people try to put one me in a box regarding which solo MCs and groups I am "supposed" to like. Though De La Soul would probably fit into the category of MC groups I'm "supposed" to like, truthfully I've never been a big fan though I've always respected their work and may have purchased their albums on several occasions.  De La Soul was supposed to be releasing the 3rd volume in their AOI series which was rumored to be a "DJ album", but an apparent label dispute (possibly caused by attempting to release such a likely, commercially unfriendly LP) caused that album to be shelved. Instead the 15-year veteran, Hip-Hop trio, released their seventh studio LP, The Grind Date. I don't know what that other album sounded like but It's hard to imagine that it could have been more sonically pleasing than this one. 

Rarely does an album reach out and grab you so thoroughly on the first listen, but from the first cut "The Future" to the last "Rock Co.Cane Flow", The Grind Date will likely have your undivided attention. It's almost silly to single any producer out for their work on this LP because the entire cast of characters, Supa Dave West, Jay Dee, 9th Wonder, Madlib, Jake One, J-Dilla, are on top of their games. The tracks on this album are stellar and the fit fist-in-glove with De La Soul's flows. The title cut, "The Grind Date", and "Church" bring a soulful flavor to the soundscape. "He Comes" featuring Ghostface has all the energy you would expect and "Come on Down" manages to do the impossible, find a musical use for Flava Flav, post-Public Enemy. The Grind Date manages to drop verbal gems and adult words of wisdom subtly throughout the album, but never sounds preachy, whether it's on a song intro, a rhyme, or an entire cut like "Days of our Lives" featuring Common, "Shopping Bags", or "The Grind Date". Something about the whole sound and feel of this album is very adult, almost reminiscent of a parent (the MC) looking after it's offspring (Hip-Hop music). It's hard to believe that a group that's been in the game 15 years could manage to stay this relevant, consistent (a theme they repeat throughout the LP), and even after 7 LPs attack an album with the vigor witnessed on The Grind Date. De La Soul asked if anyone still cared about Hip-Hop. I'm not sure how many people do, but after hearing this album I think I can think of at least three.

Overall: A :Review by Eyecalone

Release Date: March 30th, 2004

After what must have seemed like an eternity, to all those involved and all those who waited in anticipation, Dead Prez has finally returned with another "official" full length LP. Actually, that statement is more than a little misleading, because in the 4 years that passed between their debut, Let's Get Free and the release of Revolutionary but Gangsta, Dead Prez wasn't exactly been off the scene as they managed to drop albums somewhat independently in 2002 and 2003, while this album was more or less shelved. The long wait allowed a lot of anticipation to build up for me, which made actually hearing the album a bit anti-climatic. Be clear, musically the album is solid, but more of the production probably should have been outsourced (though that's not probably the best financial decision) to get a better variety of production styles. Gems like "Walk like a Warrior" make you want to do just that, but some of the material seems somewhat dated, especially since I personally heard many of these songs over a year ago (I have my sources). A lot happens in the world in a month, much less a few years and with a group that deals so heavy in politics and social issues some of the content just seemed in need of updating, although some issues are timeless. But I guess that's a minor gripe considering most recognizable rappers wouldn't have a useful political or social comment to make if Nazi's blew up their house. "I Have a Dream, too" is a slick cut that turns the tables on police brutality (I've been waiting for someone to shoot a video like this for a few years now), as is "Way of Life" which reminds me of something that DMX might have done (not necessarily the lyrics, but the song). "W-4", an ode to the poor and/or working man/woman, is another standout cut which is followed on the album on by the track "Hell Yeah", which is sure to be a conversation piece since the re-mix of "Hell Yeah", which appears later on the album also features Jay-Z. While such a pairing probably wrinkled more than a couple of eyebrows, I don't really have a problem with it since it was Jay-Z who made his verse conform to Dead Prez's sensibilities, and not the other way around. What I do sometimes have a problem with however, is DPs occasionally jaded political perspectives. Most times they drive home serious political points and bring up relevant information, but too often they find themselves backsliding into trite and overly broad diatribes against "the white man" and "the system", and embracing anything that seems to reject mainstream political and social orthodoxy, especially since both group members claim to identify with "socialist" philosophies. Let's keep it really "gangsta", credit card scams, con-games, and robbing the pizza man is not revolutionary and when / if "the revolution" does come it's going to have to be built, at least partially, on the backs of  9-5 working and middle class people, not petty thieves and con-artist. Revolutionary but Gangsta? Is this an oxymoron? Is such a situation really possible? Well that would probably depend on how you define 'gangsta'. If being 'gangsta' means "being absolute and true to yourself", being a "man who uses his brain, is organized, controls his destiny, handles his business, and is productive, as M-1 and Sticman of Dead Prez define it then there is no contradiction there at all. But sometimes, I'm not so sure.

Release Date: November 12th, 2004

In terms of notoriety and album sales, Eminem is hands down the biggest thing in rap. With Eminem's often Jekyll and Hyde rap persona, it's sometimes not clear what that "thing" is. On Encore, his fourth album, he offers little in the way of surprises sonically as Eminem relies on production that is often "dark and brooding", as is becoming his trademark, for better or worse. Mr. Mathers also continues exploiting his hide-n-seek personas as he bounces from the thoughtful and sincere on songs like "Mockingbird", "Toy Soldiers", "Yellow Brick Road", and "Mosh" to the humorous and ridiculous ("Just Lose It", "Rain Man", and "Big Winnie"). The album starts off pretty strong and Eminem expresses a certain level of maturity as he attempts to do something unprecedented in commercial rap on the song "Toy Soldiers", attempt to explain and diffuse the beef between The Source Magazine/Benzino/Murder Inc/Ja-Rule and 50-Cent, himself, and Dr. Dre's Aftermath record label. He also attempts to address and explain the audio tapes of him delivering racist rhymes as an adolescent on "Yellow Brick Road", and gets political on the pre-election, pro-voting "Mosh". Eminem's experiences and role as a father also seems to have deeply affected him as he reflects on his love for his daughter throughout the album. But after much early success, Encore begins to backslide both musically and in terms of subject matter as the material ranges between funny and just plain ol' juvenile. One thing that can never be said about Eminem though, is that he is always himself, in that he basically sticks to rapping about things he knows about and his own life and experiences, which makes him very unique in the industry. If something happens to Eminem the week before his album drops there is a chance it could be on a record, but what you never find is Mr. Mathers bragging about his enormous wealth or a possible assortment of automobiles. It's not groundbreaking but with enough thoughtful and mature material, Encore, is a solid effort and pretty much picks up where his previous LP left off.

Overall: B- :Review by Eyecalone

Release Date: November 9th, 2004

Looking over Fabolous' relatively short career it was pretty safe to assume that the first single from his latest album would be something aimed at the club scene, probably featuring a female R&B singer. Fortunately for Fabolous, the album's first single, "Breathe", which courtesy of superior board work by Just Blaze is the best cut on the album hands down, doesn't exactly fit that mode. Although with the increased grittiness and base-heavy  focus of today's club scene "Breathe" is more of a club track than many realize. In small doses Fabolous' music can make for a decent listen. You rarely get anything groundbreaking or creative as illustrated on this album by songs like "Baby", "Gansta", "Can You Hear Me", and "Girls" which is reminiscent of Jay-Z's girls, but without the good feelings the latter track may have evoked. You also won't get any surprises in terms of subject matter or the manner in which Fabolous delivers it. But with Fabolous you do get a confident lyricist and a bunch of punch-lines rhymes - some witty, some not so slick. Real Talk doesn't find Fabolous breaking out of his box and for the most part it's a typical Fabolous album; he's still verbally flossin' as he raps about his alleged wealth, colorful jewelry, exotic cars, and stable of models. In fact the realest talk on the album is probably the album's intro done by spoken word artist "Black Ice". In addition there are a number of tracks that apparently attempt to improve the albums overall appeal by pandering to different listener taste; as "It's All Right" features an uninspiring Sean Paul appearance, "Do the Damn Thang" shamelessly attempts to appeal to the south, and "Holla at Somebody Real", which features Lil' Mo, tries unsuccessfully to rekindle the magic of "Can't Let You Go". Track for track, Real Talk is not all bad,  but it's inconsistent and neither convincing nor satisfying. There's enough decent quality material on Real Talk to make it worth a listen but not enough to distinguish it from being just another "Ghetto-fabolous, street dream".

Release Date: April 20th, 2004

I made sure to purchase a legitimate Ghostface album because he is trying to build a school for kids in Africa. Plus if you get the bootleg you can't see what type of zany artwork, photos, and messages he has inside, and you anticipate its going to be wilder than 90% of the artist out there. Ghostface is gonna be Ghostface, he doesn't care what everybody else is doing, he is going to do him. That's why Ghostface album is highly anticipated. I was wondering if he was going to be able to keep it creative and gully under the Def Jam Label. Ghost is part black exploitation era; part 2004.Usually dressed in ridiculous jewelry from head to pinky he figures that if he is going to cross over it will be with his wild attire not his lyrics. Cause you can still hear the gully Wu Tang Clan in him. You know how the Wu do, just inventing street slang and saying whatever comes authentic to them, the stuff you say to your friends only in a cipher of really close homies', which is why sometimes he needs to edit himself some. He is at times unnecessarily raw. He's not dry snitching on people lyrically or anything like that but Ghost has been removed from the Shaolin for so long that a lot of the creativity that spawned him is missing. Ghost lives in Miami now, why else do you think he put Jackie-O on the album. Then again maybe he put her on there because she talks like a freak. Don't get it twisted his track with her is hot and so is his track with Missy - with both of them talking erotic fantasies. I must admit I was laughing at the continued outrageousness of Ghostface more than I was marveling at his creativity. Ghostface is to New York City what NWA was to Los Angeles back in 1992 in that if you ain't from dem parts, you might be saying to yourself what the phuck is he talking about. Ghostface is just mad funny, mad funny if you can understand his flow and style. I may be in Philly right now but I am thinking about my life NYC each time I hear Ghost. The problem is I don't hear enough Ghost ..its too many long skits and too many guest features to really be on par with any of his past albums. In fact other artist shine over Ghostface in lyrics, it's his most sub par effort ever, the creativity is lacking but it's a different type of measurement and judgment for Ghost, all Wu fans know that - so I'll be a lil' easier on him today.- Nuff said.

Release Date: September 28th, 2004

When the rapper Shyne debuted many people remarked how much he sounded like the Notorious B.I.G.. The similarity was mostly in the voice but since those early days of comparison the gaping chasm in talent between the aforementioned parties has become more than apparent, elevating the late Christopher Wallace (B.I.G.) to a virtual Hip-Hop sainthood, and relegating Shyne to a position of relative prominence kept alive only by the controversy surrounding his jail sentence. It's rather ironic then that Guerilla City opens with a cut, Hearts of Fire, that samples the same Bob Marley song, "No More Trouble", that Shyne sampled on the opening song of his sophomore album, Godfather Buried Alive. I know some of you may be thinking, "isn't it kind of disrespectful to start to talk about 2 other rappers when I'm supposed to reviewing Guerrilla Black's debut LP, Guerilla City"? And actually, it is rather disrespectful, but to be honest Guerrilla Black and whomever is responsible for putting him out probably deserve at least that much disrespect if not something far worse. It's not that Guerilla Black's debut is really that bad. Actually the production is solid as this Compton, California newcomer seemingly affiliated with no one has managed to enlist, if not the "A-List" then at least some of the "B-List" of today's hot producers, boasting names like Jazze Pha, Carlos"6 July" Broady, Red Spyda, Mario Winans, and Rodney Jenkins among others on the production credits.

But so much of this album comes off like a knockoff Louis-Vuitton purse - NOT authentic. "Guerrilla Nasty" tries to be reminiscent of Biggie's "Nasty Boy". "You're the One" has hit potential but I'll be damned if "112" formerly of Bad Boy Records wasn't supposed to be on that song (I guess it's a case of "insert your favorite current or former Bad Boy artist here", as it's actually Mario Winans). "What We Gonna Do" is one of the few songs that actually has a West Coast sound and even a hook by Nate Dogg, but overall this LP just leave one wondering "who is really pulling the strings". In all fairness, as far as albums go, I've heard far worse but everything about Guerilla Black and this album violates a cardinal rule of Hip-hop, as KRS-1 once said, "You got to have style and learn to be original, or else everybody's gonna dis you". Now Guerilla Black certainly isn't the first person to bite another rappers style or rhymes for that matter, but the extent of the copying of of the late Christopher Wallace is a ridiculous violation, albeit, an extremely uncanny one. No the Biggie impersonation is not reduced to just first single from the album, the dancehall tinged "Compton" that builds itself on a popular reggae cut, but it is in EVERY facet of Guerilla Black. Though lyrically not as strong, Guerilla Black has copied B.I.G.'s delivery, his cadence, his voice, his subject matter, his playboy persona, his laugh, he even looks a little like him, though a slightly slimmed down version. If this was standup comedy many would be giving Guerilla Black a round of applause for a wonderful impersonation of the late B.I.G., but this isn't standup comedy; it's Hip-hop (at least it's supposed to be) and being so unoriginal still matters to some people.

Overall: C :Review by Gumby Dammitt

Release Date: June 22nd, 2004

Jadakiss' debut album, Kiss the Game Goodbye was one of the most heavily anticipated albums of 2001. Fans and listeners had seemingly been waiting on the solo release of the most polished member of the rap trio, The LOX, since the group came on the seen. When the album finally did drop, it was everything, but worth the wait and on top of that sales figures simply didn't seem to match the hype and promotion that had gone into the project. Well it's 2004, and the self-proclaimed, "rapper with the perpetual Oyster bars/ mother of pearl delivery/ voice of God" is back for a second helping. Jadakiss' sophomore effort is significantly better in very facet, and even the content is slightly improved. Granted Jadakiss' rhyme foundations are still built mostly on references to guns, cars, and the drug game but this album he's lyrically wittier and tries to expand his boundaries a little, such as the cut "Why", which finds Jadakiss asking open-ended questions, many of them with a socio-political relevance, of the world and the rap-game (including asking "why did Bush knock down the towers"). I guess this is a taste of what Jadakiss was referring to when, he indicated that he thought the "Bling-era" of hip-hop was ending and people were ready for more relevant lyrics, when asked during the filming of the video to "Why". Other times Jadakiss' unmistakable delivery and voice, "parallel parking" on some stellar tracks and production work, force head nods even from the reluctant. There are a few missteps such as "Shine" (featuring Dj Quick and Snoop) and "U Make Me Wanna" featuring a misplaced Mariah Carey, but there are a far less outright mistakes this time around and the album doesn't sound rushed like Jadakiss' debut. Some of the production will make listeners put up with songs whose content they might find objectionable, such as "Shoot Outs", "Times Up", and the title track, "Kiss of Death" which is infectious enough to land you in the back of a police squad-car. Other standouts include "By Your Side"  and the Eminem produced "Welcome to D-Block". As an artist Kiss of Death shows some baby steps of growth for Jadakiss, and a leap forward as an album. Much of this probably comes from the fact that, by his own admission Jadakiss feels his prominence and finances don't match his skill level, as he says, "a lot of #i@@s is thousand-aires, walking around town frontin' like they got $Mils/ for what it's worth I'm one myself" and "why I say the hottest shit but be selling the least?". At some level Jadakiss probably realizes that he isn't going to sell anything more than a respectable amount of records, in his best case scenario, and with that in mind some of the pressure and expectations that made his debut so poor and such a disappointment seem to have dissipated. In the end it's probably a "catch-22", perhaps if Jadakiss' debut album would have sounded something like this he might be a megastar and a multi-platinum selling artist, but if he were a multi-platinum selling, megastar Kiss of Death probably wouldn't sound like this. 

After listening to R,U.L.E. I've come to the conclusion that Ja Rule, believes himself to be a martyr. Exactly what cause he is sacrificing himself for is yet to be determined. With a very public and grueling feud with fellow Queens rapper 50-Cent hardly in his rearview mirror Ja Rule has returned with his 6th LP. This album also marks the return of Ja Rule, as ...well, Ja Rule - the pop-gangster who gives "ice-grills", writes threatening "gangsta" raps, but still can't resist a duet with a female singer. Unlike his previous album, where it was clear his record industry "Beefs" were getting the best of him Ja Rule returns to doing the things that once made him a megastar while at the same time threatened to ruin his recording career. R.U.L.E. is filled with what more or less have become standard Ja Rule cuts; danceable, hybrid rap/R&B, duets with female singers; pseudo-autobiographical stories about street life; and "gangsta", crew records featuring label affiliates such as "Black Child" whose toughness on record is beyond reason. As a standard Ja Rule album, R.U.L.E. is not a complete failure however, and the strength of the singles should be enough to at least keep a buzz about this LP going. The cut "Wonderful" which features R.Kelly is an easy winner, as is "New York" which is a forceful collaboration with Fat Joe and Jadakiss, and features a verse by Ja Rule that many may interpret as a veiled attack on 50-Cent and Co. "Where I'm From" and "Never Thought" are also strong cuts though in the case of latter song it's only fair to assume that he would get it right at least once this album considering how many times he's applied that formula and subject matter. If you've liked Ja Rule albums put out since his debut LP, then you'll probably like this one as it's certainly at least as good as most of them, but if you've never been a fan I doubt this LP will change your mind.

Minister Ben Chavis opens up this "On My Way To Church" album with a speech that seems to be a pre-apology for the nonsense that is going to be passed off as entertainment. He also closes out the album with a speech very similar to the one he was using when he played a Minister in the movie Belly. You never know how to take this new apologist version of Ben Chavis, but during his sermon, I could not help but wonder whether she was acting like his character in "Belly" or had he actually listened to the LP before he got down with the project. It probably would not have made a difference though; even ministers want the pop culture love.

Jim Jones still can't rap to save his life (Goonie Googoo) but add Cam'ron rapping using nonsensical words (Goonie Googoo) and that makes this CD hard to listen to. Jim Jones is not talented enough as a lyricist or rapper to really produce an album by his self, so in come the many guest appearances by Dipset/Diplomats and others that help the album's presentation, but not nearly enough for me to recommend it to anybody. I got the CD on bootleg from some "hustlers" who were selling it for 2 bucks in Jim Jones back yard.

Snoop recently made some misguided comments about New Yorker rappers stealing West Coast rappers sound while profiting and giving no love back. While I totally disagree with Snoop once again, I would have to say that this album would fit that bill. Somebody affiliated with this project was studying Tupac and other rappers who ride in sunny landscapes while producing this album. One lyric on the album has Dipset calls themselves "the New Black Panthers". When I heard that I had to wonder did they write that line with a straight face in the studio. The songs about "good crack" and other nonsense makes it almost sacrilegious to call this LP "On My Way To Church", which may be a snipe at fellow Harlem rapper, Mase. The lead track "Certified Gangsta" is commercially viable and will have mass appeal, and "Crunk Musik" may go over well in the south, but as for the rest of the LP, I say thank god for bootleg.- Nuff said

Don't buy this album! Not just because it's wack, but because So So Def put that annoying anti-piracy software on the album, which makes it almost impossible to play on your pc. It is the most annoying experience that you will have with a CD , I had to listen to the CD on my DVD player. I was thinking that it might be because I had the 2 dollar bootleg copy but further research let me know that everybody is complaining about that feature on this CD. I am going to give my copy away anyway but it's the principle of it all, which is that a person can pay 15 bucks and an album and they are limited as to where they can play it. I feel sorry if you paid for this and you can't even play it on your pc at home or work. If I had paid for it, I would have taken it back. In fact consumers better boycott any technology that prevents you from playing a CD on your pc. As far as the music, okay we got a "20%" center here, meaning 3 out of 15 tracks are worth hearing over and over. I am counting the album interludes as tracks and they are real corny but a lot of rappers have weak interludes. This debut album shows the rap skills of a 17-year old from St. Louis but J-Kwon is not really a good rapper, most of his beats are simple and he ends the verse at the end of each beat, its really syncopated timing with a lyrical southern drawl. He displays some wittiness on his best tracks "My Enemies" and "Welcome to the Hood". "Tipsy" is all over the radio so you won't want to hear it too much more on the album. As should be expected this album is very immature but that is to be expected since he is only 17, or at least that is what the label claims, but we all know 17 is usually 20. I sure hope he grows up fast because he is already a father of two. Yep he's oversexed and his lyrics prove it, in fact even though its 2004 much of his lyrics are a bit much for somebody who is only 17. I was horny at 17 but this kid is like horny to the tenth power and its obvious that this minor has no problems with any of his family elders hearing it. Hey, he ran away from home early on, so family isn't really a big deal at all. It's all about the money and he learned early on that to get radio play he better talk about "bitches. sucking, fucking and weed smoking". But even for a 17-year old crowd most of this dialogue is played out.  - Nuff said

Kool Keith has been on the rap scene for a long time so its possible that with his music some may detect a real "old school" style in some of his tracks. It's a real NYC street style with a take no prisoners attitude behind much of it. Although Kool Kieth has moved west to work with Kutmasta Kurt it doesn't change the feel of this album. It's very street without the grandstanding announcements of drug sales and other negative behaviors that happen in inner cities. If you were ever a fan of Ultramagnetic MC's this album won't let you down. Those familiar with former Harlem crime lord AZ whose life was chronicled in the movie "Paid In Full" may recall that he had put out a street record last year which was very hardcore in its presentation and much of it likely came from his truest sentiment; well it's the same for Kool Kieth who is making music to stay true to himself. It's obvious to me that this album came right from his heart.

In making this album Kieth maintains his serious sense of humor, on track 13 -"Serve Em a Sentence" with Kieth and Bay Area based producer Motion man. the two trade versus on how they would handle criminals, if they were in charge: you don't pay child support? Cut your hands off. Robbery? Castration and 3 weeks in jail for smoking cigarettes in public. There are just a lot of funny lyrics here, it's that Wu-Tang clan type of humor - whereby you either know what he is talking about or you don't. It's not just bay area production that comes together with this hard lyricist but this Diesel Truckers LP even has a southern "crunked" track called "Mane". You don't totally have to listen to me on this one because I love straight non-commercial rap like this, but for those of you new to Kool Keith, you can check out some of his music right here.  http://www.threshrecs.com/Diesel_Small.mov - Nuff Said

KRS-One is literally pushing his “I am Hiphop” philosophy on this 2004 album “Keep Right”. In a metaphoric sense KRS-One is a like a Bill presenting himself before the Committee Hearings (listening public that means you) to eventually be introduced as a Law - Hip-hop Law in this case. Those that pay careful attention will notice the packaging of this album is intended to present Hip-hop as more than a encompassing art form and more of a lifestyle. A way of life, laid out by KRS-One and those that follow The Temple Of Hip-hop. It’s also a call to join his movement against the commercialization of Hip-hop. The legendary Afrika Bambaattaa is helping co–sign much of KRS-One's philosophy by talking over beats about these Hip-hop ideas. Bam does not rhyme but there are a few guest appearances by unknown artist on the album. In the past KRS-One would usually have employed well known artist on his album even if they were not people who epitomized what he is about like Fat Joe and Buster Rhymes, but it seems that the future of KRS-One albums will rely on those of like minds.

KRS1 embodies the true Hip-hop spirit in the presentation of this album and you can easily see that he is not trying to push a “rap album” sound or feel, he treats this albums like he does his live performances by coming to the stage with more than just a Mic and bootie dancers. He gives fans a free DVD On KRS-One, multiple free hip-hop interviews ranging from philosophy to a talk with Chuck D, pictures, and a Declaration of Peace that many rappers signed a few years ago. Other tidbits that are part of the music CD and show up as separate accessible files when you put it into your pc. This packaging was crafty and intended to give back something more like he does when he performs and utilizes Break dancers and graffiti art as a backdrop. This makes him a BLAST (pun intended) to see in live performances. In my opinion he’s the second greatest live performer after Dougie Fresh but the energy he brings to a live performance does not necessarily translate into album success. Keep Right is worth the 17 bucks just because of the extra free electronic content.

However, Keep Right doesn’t push me too much in any direction right or left, but leaves me more in the center. I never heard KRS-One's prior album when he was on KOCH because he asked the world not to buy that album. However this 13th album which debuts on Gritrecords seems to speak more directly to die hard KRS-One fans, Temple of Hiphop members, and fans who really enjoy live albums. Some fans might like to hear KRS-One doing some remixes of his old classics but some like me expect all new vibrant stuff on a new album. KRS1 is too creative to have to remake anything that has already worked for him. In conclusion I guess it all depends on what you expect from KRS-One and those that still care who are not in any of the previously mentioned niches will probably expect more from him lyrically than he gives this time around. Great tracks like "My Mind is Racing" don’t have matching hooks, other great tracks like "Feel Me" are lyrically tight but use familiar beats. You will get your moneys worth but the production on this album drops the album down a notch.

"If lyrics sold / then truth be told / I'd probably be / as rich and famous as Jay-Z" - so raps Talib Kweli on "Ghetto Show" one of several bright spots on his third solo LP, The Beautiful Struggle, (counting Eternal Reflection which wasn't a solo LP in only the most technical sense of the term). It's not clear whether that line was simply an acknowledgement of the name-dropping compliment Jay-Z paid Kweli, on Jay-Z's cut "Moment of Clarity" from the Black Album, or simply being offered as evidence of Kweli's lyrical skills, but what is clear from listening to this LP is that Talib Kweli is a man existing between at least two worlds. Kweli is an artist on the brink in some ways. He will likely never sell as many albums as a Jay-Z or Eminem but he has garnered some mainstream acceptance, which has probably been bolstered even further as of late, due to his affiliation/friendship with Kanye West (and by association Rocafella Records), an artist/producer that Kweli helped break into the rap scene.  In fact much of The Beautiful Struggle was revamped production-wise because the original album had begun being bootlegged via the internet, which ironically could be seen as a sign that one has "arrived", at least commercially. With his steady growing notoriety, and apparent record label push, Kweli now has more access to "big name producers" like the Neptunes, Kanye West (though he'll probably always have access to West), and Just Blaze, and his guest appearances for this album feature names like Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, and the rising star, Anthony Hamilton. In the business of rap, the "big name" guest spots don't necessarily improve the music, but they at least improve the sales receipts. Kweli hasn't completely abandoned his roots though, as he returns to production by Dj Hi-Tek for 3 tracks, and some other not as well known producers. He also gives some singers like "Res", and the dopest female MC, nobody has ever heard of, Jean Grae (you can only hope one day she will have her time in the sun) a chance to shine, as Grae takes full advantage on one of the album's best tracks, "Black Girl Pain".  The Beautiful Struggle in many ways is about Kweli seemingly trying to reconcile his positions in the underground and the mainstream, and at times, "A Game", "We Got The Beat", and "Back Up Offa Me", the album truly is a struggle. At other times it sounds good (may have been better before it was revamped due to bootlegging), though a bit contrived i.e., "I Try", "Around My Way". And at other times it's stellar, such as the title cut "Beautiful Struggle", "Going Hard", and "Black Girl Pain".

Listening to the The Beautiful Struggle, it is nothing short of obvious that Kweli loathes descriptions of himself that categorize him as underground, "conscious", or a "backpack rapper", and in interview and song he struggles against these labels as if they were a police choke hold. At the same time the social relevance, poignancy, and artistic responsibility expressed in many of Kweli's rhymes is undeniable and makes such labels almost inescapable. It's a strange and sad time we live in when rap artist feel they have to run from being called "conscious"; I have seen relatively few rappers run from being labeled a "gangsta". Overall The Beautiful Struggle hits more than it misses and Kweli's adventure further into the mainstream of airplay and recognition can hopefully be attributed more to a desire to try something new, than to an attempt to "crossover", but only time will tell. 

Knowing Ludacris' history as a rapper you would think that with an album title like "The Red Light District", that the album might be filled with some of his more lewd material, along the lines of songs like "Pussy Poppin'" and "Splash Waterfalls" (the unedited version). In actuality the album title seems a poor choice as this is probably his most sexually tame LP, only time will tell if that carries over to the album's song videos. For The Red Light District, the southern king of song hooks, still wins in the departments that he always has, those being charisma, lyrical wit, humor, and catchy song hooks. Who else could turn a string of Austin Power's punch-lines into a slick verse and sample the Austin Power's theme song for "Number One Spot", and not come across as corny. And few rappers come up with skits and lyrics as hilarious as Ludacris who might be doing standup if he wasn't rapping. Seemingly, slightly more mature and a little less hungry, the Ludacris featured on this album comes across as content personally and financially, as he delivers financial wisdom learned the hard way on "Large Amounts", boast about his travels on "Pimpin' All Over the World", and laments on the struggles of the street on "Child of the Night" which features a subtle but slick Tina Marie voice sample. Indeed the album's best songs are probably the least likely to be heard on the radio as they aren't single material in today's market. "Virgo" which features Nas and Doug E. Fresh and is on both Nas' Street's Disciple LP and this album, will likely be a single for at least one of the parties and the up-tempo "Get Back" is already the lead single, but overall too many of the other songs come off as filler. Overall The Red Light District isn't bad but it is inconsistent and at times comes across as a bit uninspired. For Ludacris' fans, you probably won't hate him for this one, in fact you'll probably like him just the same, because for the most part Ludacris sticks to what works for him.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I was never a fan of Mase, particularly his first incarnation. I guess that means I was a playahata before there was a playahata.com. I’m big on lyrics, content, and delivery among other things, and Mase’s laid back, slurred, and flossed out flow never did anything for me. However, a lot has changed since Mase’s initial shiny suit incarnation roughly 5 years ago, and now at some level, I feel myself quietly rooting for him, not because I necessarily believes what he believes but because he was actually willing to try and change the way he was living and rapping, for the better and on his own. Crash course for anyone who somehow missed it, approximately 5 years ago Mase left a seemingly lucrative rap career on Bad Boy, to join the ministry and became a born again Christian. This made the recent announcement that he was returning to rap and his subsequent album, Welcome Back, all the more interesting.

If you liked Mase before, well then I guess he is back in a sense, just minus most references to sex, drugs, and/or violence. In fact on the cut “Keep It On” Mase even advocates for young women to keep their clothes on and legs closed, as the hook goes “we don’t have to take our clothes off / to have a good time”. Even with his newfound faith Mase doesn’t come across as preachy or overbearing, which if he is truly trying to spread his gospel, is probably a good thing. “Gotta Survive”, is in my opinion, the strongest cuts on the album and though he doesn’t really make any religious references in it until the song has basically ended, it still lacks the punch, appeal, or catchiness of cut like Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks”. I know Mase wasn’t attempting to release a “Christian rap” album, but “going straight” shouldn’t mean your music has to be bland. I’ve actually heard “Christian Rap” that has more punch and more of an edge than the “Welcome Back” LP. Besides “Gotta Survive”, there are a few other cuts worth checking out even if you thought the “Welcome Back Carter” themed first single, “Welcome Back” was a bit corny. The second single “Breathe, Stretch, Shake” is entertaining and has some club potential, and songs like “Wasting My Time”, “The Love You Need”, and “Do You Remember (featuring Nelly)” may earn a second listen but for the most part even these songs are completely interchangeable and somewhat repetitive. Mase’s self-imposed restriction on content about sex, drugs, and violence still leaves him stuck in a pretty small box. Rather than expand his subject matter, get creative, or get really introspective about his past life experiences, he is simply reduced to talking about money, Bling, and male/female relationships in a mostly superficial way. The production and song hooks on Welcome Back are also somewhat suspect, at times resembling an R&B album more than rap, though that may have been the affect he was going for. The new G-rated Mase has released a “Rated G” album primed for general public consumption, that even parents can listen to, and I guess for even attempting such he should be commended, particularly in today’s music industry climate. This album might hit the spot for teenage girls and parents who monitor what music their kids buy, but I’d be lying to you if I said “Welcome Back” was something I was going to putting in my heavy rotation.

He's been off for almost 5 years doing movies and can usually be found talking about smoking blunts. Even before the corny comical release of Soul Plane fans were saying that Mr. Mef was turning into a clown. Roles in Belly, Oz, and The Wire, were supported by Wu-Tang fans but the crossover comedy attempts while earning him extra money, hurt his overall image. Method Man latest release is proof that he is no longer that gully Wu-Tang Clan lyricist that was rhyming pure to the art. Method man is a commercial caricature in the middle of an identity crisis. Not sure who he is or what he wants to do. Tical is somehow able to allude that identity crisis for much of the album, but his rhyme flow is still witty and wicked. Content areas are lacking and the tracks are hurt by others, but the rhyme skills of Mr. Mef have not diminished. Too bad he uses all his creativity to explore mainly 1 topic, "getting sum pussy". Actually Meth gets to track 17 (last one) he decides to implement some socio political conversation. However he does talk about other things after like the first 10 tracks, if you don't turn it off over the albums monotone nature you will be surprised to hear his other thoughts.

Mr. Mef feels this is some of his best works ever and says the album is designed "to get people to bust off. I'm trying to get people to make babies to my shit." Sounds Like an R&B singer being quoted. In the image of comic relief and mind of a singer most might say Mef is hardly keeping it pure to his roots. With 2 albums under his belt Tical, (1994, 1.5 Million sold), Tical 2000 (1998, 1.5 Million Sold) it will be interesting to see what this one does in sales. Outside of Raekwon, Mef is the only platinum selling Wu Member. Most fans enjoy them better as a group or better yet a clan maybe that is why there are so many guest artist appearances on this album. That also makes it harder to use the Playahata.com rating scale. This is a real hip hop album but it can't get more than a B in the end because its problem areas are major. At least he hasn't lost his rhyme skills. They may have even gotten better. - Nuff said.

I Never really paid attention to Mobb Deep until they had a public feud with Jay-Z. I Often heard that their music was exceptional from some "wannabee thugs" but considering the source I never felt compelled to pick up the Queensbridge boys CD. Then I saw the Beef DVD with the segment on Mobb Deep Vs True Life, and my suspicions were confirmed - Mobb Deep are studio gangsters. However, Since that time their single "Got it twisted" was released and the beat and flow blew me away. I couldn't stop playing it on my computer. For 2 weeks I played it daily and never grew tired of it. I rarely like something the first time I hear it but I was feeling guilty about my addiction to the original "Got It Twisted" track before they put Twista on it, so I call up my bootleg connect and was like "yo you getting the bootleg of Mobb Deep album?". To which he responded, "I already got it". That was music to my ears, plus you can't beat the 2 CDs for five bucks on bootleg. No need to try to download it and get a computer virus when its on bootleg before the release date. All the artist who magnify guns and drugs get bootlegged. I don't feel guilty either, after all if you can make music glorifying ignorance you obviously care little about community, and its all about you, so why would I feel guilty about getting your album off bootleg? Anyway I have to admit the beats on this album are ALL dope and the production is superior. The lyrics on the other hand ain't talking about nothing worth hearing. Track 3 "Flood the Block" has a nice beat but its talking about "Flooding My Block" with cocaine, so its hard to stomach too much of that nonsense. This is the case with much of the LP; the content of the lyrics and the creativity are lacking. I try to block the words out but too many tracks are doing some fake reporting about drugs wars and drug violence. If the industry wasn't overwhelmed with such messages I might be able to appreciate this tightly produced LP but lyrically we've heard it all before. In a rare circumstance all guest appearances flow right with the albums melancholy. It's a shame that such a brilliantly produced LP spends the majority of its time trying to prove how gangsta it is but I am still going to play it when nobody is watching, the production is too tight to totally ignore and I can at least work out to this "gangsta" album if nothing else . - Nuff said.

Does anyone want to rap any more? Well that's probably a bad question, since there are obviously legions of hungry and not so hungry rappers in hoods across urban America just waiting for Rap to write their ticket out the ghetto. So let me re-ask that question; does anyone who raps with a recording contract, that doesn't leave me cringing when I see a microphone in front of them, want to rap anymore? It's been 5 long years since Mos Def's well received debut solo LP Black on Both Sides. In the in between time Mos Def has busied himself with a number of other non-rap ventures; namely launching and performing with his Rock group Black Jack Johnson and he re-embarking on a career in acting (which he has been doing probably as long as he's been rapping), that has taken him to Broadway, to the big screen in major motion pictures, and brought him mostly deserved critical acclaim. Unlike most rappers who take movie roles, Mos Def can actually act. 

With all his apparent other interest and talents the five years in which he didn't release an album, solo or as part of the duo Blackstar (Mos Def & Talib Kweli), that must have seemed like the blink of an eye to him probably seemed like an eternity to fans. But for those paying attention you kind of had to know that if he ever did drop another solo album, it would be more than rap on it. This possibly explains the title of Mos Def's sophomore release, The New Danger. Drawing from the worlds of Hip-Hop, Rock & Roll (Metal), Blues, and R&B, The New Danger is an adventurous and risky offering that is eclectic and creative if nothing else. Cuts like "Freaky Black" and "Zimzallabim" draw from Rock with their Heavy Metal baselines; "Modern Marvel" is a Marvin Gaye inspired continuation on the "What's Going On?" theme; "The Beggar" is somehow reminiscent of Donny Hathaway's "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know"; and "Bedstuy Parade" is heavily influence by the "Blues". None of the R&B, Soul, or Blues inspired songs are able to match the emotion or power of the classic groove "Umi Says", off his debut LP however. Even with all the ambitious attempts to branch out, it's almost undeniable that Mos Def is still at his best, most witty, and most charismatic when he's rapping. The biggest gems of the album are probably "Life is Real", "Champion Requiem", and "Sunshine" all of which he rhymes on. There are also some other notable cuts such as "The Rape Over" where he flips the track and concept from Jay'-Z "The Takeover" and applies it to the hostile and corporate control of rap; "Ghetto Rock" which is not really Rock & Roll, but is slick in it's understatedness and simplicity, as well as "Grown Man Business" which is an eyebrow raiser lyrically, and features newcomer 'Minnesota' (who by the way handled much of the production on the album).  But even on the rap cuts there is simply too much rehashed material that seems more fitting a mix-tape than an actual album for it to score truly high marks with me. Indeed the aforementioned, "Grown Man Business", is performed over the same track Nas used on "No Ideas Original" (Lost Tapes album), while "Close Edge" and "Sunshine" both contain verses Mos Def performed on the "Dave Chappelle Show". Overall The New Danger comes off as somewhat experimental, as well as unpolished and raw, which isn't always a good thing. It's clear Mos Def is establishing himself as a sort of "renaissance rap man", with his multiple talents and interest, and perhaps "The New Danger" is that he will go way beyond rap is he hasn't done that already, but musically I think I liked "The Old Danger" better - at least it was a finished product. 

Overall: C+ :Review by Eyecalone

When the Queens, New York bred-MC, Nas debuted on the rap scene circa 1994 he was hailed as Hip-Hop's version of "the second coming"; an MC that would change the game in a sense, in the same fashion that Rakim had done almost 10 years prior to Nas's debut. But as the saying goes "when you dance with the devil, the devil doesn't change, the devil changes you", and so it was that as rap entered it's "Bling" era (error) to some degree so did Nas. Instead of changing the rap game it seemed the rap game had changed Nas into his alter-ego "Nas Escobar" who was at times odious but undeniably talented. Since those musically troubled days in the late 1990's Nas has come a long way back towards being that MC so many hoped he would become when he originally stepped on the scene', and Street's Disciple is yet another step in that direction. With the death of his mother and his well-publicized feud with fellow rap giant, Jay-Z, now squared away in the past it was unclear what Nas would draw on for the fuel and fire for this album. Instead of relying on outside forces to motivate him this time, Nas' is clearly driven by inner forces on this album as well as a little more maturity and events going on in his personal life, namely his pending marriage to the often eclectic but sometimes strange, R&B/Rock singer Kelis and his relationship with his father and daughter. Ten years and 8 albums deep in the rap game, it appears Nas is more concerned about his legacy and what makes him happy than anything, as Street's Disciple which sprawls across 2 disc, is an album clearly crafted to Nas' own sensibilities hoping everyone else will simply follow along as there is hardly an attempt at a commercial "hit single" on the album.

For those willing to follow you will duly be rewarded as Street's Disciple delivers, and continues the legacy of Nas minus the "Escobar" persona which it now seems is dead forever. In fact Street's Disciple is probably his most overtly "political" album to date as it opens with his "message to the Feds from we the people", and is followed up later by the "American Way" as seen through the eyes of Nas and continues with "These Are Our Eyes Heroes", a scathing and sarcastic attack on black entertainment personalities, such as Kobe Bryant, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Taye Diggs. Many of the songs on this LP are crafted as is they were freestyles (not freestyle as in being completely off the 'top of the head' but as in going where the rhyme takes you) and this works well for the most part as Nas benefits from outstanding productions, courtesy of longtime Nas collaborators such as Salaam Remi, Chucky Thompson, and L.E.S.. The hardcore, grittiness of the tracks for songs like "Nazareth Savvage", "Disciple", "Street's Disciple", and "Thief's Theme" mesh perfectly with the Nas's agressive delivery on those tracks, as well as the free wielding nature of the album. Mining his present, past, and future Nas manages to find a way to incorporate his Jazz-musician father and a little "Muddy Waters" usefully on "Bridging the Gap"; pay's respect to musical influences and the "old school", on "U.B.R." (the Unauthorized Biography of Rakim) and "Virgo" which features Dougie Fresh; and still finds time to playfully "shout out" his most memorable female conquests on "Remember the Times". He even manages to get the elusive Maxwell to sign on for a track with "No One Else In the Room". Besides a few throw away cuts mostly on the first disc, Street's Disciple amounts to a impressive album sure to dazzle "true B-boys and hip-hop heads". At the same time this also amounts to an album that might prove hard to fully appreciate to those not orientated in such fashion - guess which one I am.

I started to write a review of both Sweat and Suit separately because my assumption was that this was not a double album, but instead 2 separate albums by Nelly, that came out on the same day and sold about the same amount of units. My confusion stems from the fact that I have the bootleg albums and don't know if this was sold in the stores as 2 separate CDs or just one double CD?

However, after listening to both CDs I decided to rate them together since there is not much difference in terms of the level of artistic expression between the albums. In addition it's not like you actually have a differential value between a rap album and an R&B album by Nelly. He has been trying to sing on all his rap albums since he came in the game, and everybody has noticed that Nelly has been trying to mimic R&B singers for a long time. He is to rap what R. Kelley is to R&B in terms of almost on crossing into another genre. Now that Nelly is rumored to be dating Ashanti he has apparently picked up her penchant for using heavy samples of popular albums and remaking "already great" R&B singles under vocals that sound nowhere near as good as the originals.

Nelly enlists the help of about 100 guest appearances to try to get this album at the next level. The best thing to like about this album is that somebody in his Public relations group warned him to leave the "Tip Drill" single off the double album and it was time to get rid of the band-aid. It won't make any difference that this album is an artistic failure because Nelly has a loyal fan base of millions of white suburban kids that worship the ground that he walks on, and going platinum will not be a problem for him as long as he continues to make "hip pop" albums. Cuts like "Flap your Wings" will dominate the club scene and a single like that can carry an album in sales. When your fan base has plenty of disposable income they will buy an album for one song. But even his mostly pre-pubescent fan base will not rally around this album as they have done his past albums. There is too much obviously wrong on the CD, like Nelly dropping the F-bomb on his melodic R&B tracks on the Suit disk. You just don't do that even if it has parental guidance stickers on the album. Maybe that is his version of Country Grammar. If you are a typical Nelly fan you might be too young to notice that there is little new or original on this album and may be attracted to the idea that he only has about 2 songs out of 20 that he does by his self. Overall I didn't like any tracks on the Suit CD, and I only liked 3 tracks on the Sweat disk, which featured some club songs that seemed perfect for the nightclub scene. It simply felt like a album that we all heard before, and I didn't like it the first time either. - Nuff said.

The last time I reviewed a NERD album called Clones it was part rap and part "other", this album is not meant to be confused with rap at all. It is all "other". It is part Andre3000, part Jimmie Hendricks and part Prince. I don' t usually listen to this sort of music unless it is Jimmie, Andre or Prince so I may be the wrong person to review this album but since they bootlegging it in my hood, I might as well cop it. After all you can't beat the three CD for $5 deal. Some friends of mine really loved this album but at first I wasn't really feeling it. At the same time there wasn't anything to hate about it, it's just not my thing. After their last album I was unsure of what to expect but this was not it. I mean next time I will expect this from them but this album here seemed like they are just doing some "what's in their heart" music, and what was in their heart was inspired by Jimmie Hendricks and Price. If you're into a real Band, no disrespect to the crew from Bad Boy, then you probably should pick this up. These dudes are playing instruments and everything a band does. Although I only picked it up because of the discount price it's not a bad album to have available for those days when I want to hear something different. - Nuff Said

"Star/Pointro" starts off the album; it’s a dope track. I was thinking, ok they think they're slick, putting the hottest track to lead off the album. But  every album has at least 1 dope track, so I readied my trigger finger by the fast forward and figured I would have to fast forward at least by the time I got to track 4 (Guns Drawn). Then I realized that I better “Stay Cool” because I was dealing with a potential throwback classic. I never once hit the fast forward button and I have a low tolerance level. Most people in Philly have low tolerance whether it is sports or music. Maybe the low tolerance atmosphere of Philadelphia forced The Roots to put out such a stellar product. The Tipping Point is the Roots 7TH Album and my 5th straight Roots purchase. I used to just listen to them until they totally convinced me that they were the 1st Hip-hop band. Now they're apparently trying to tell us that society is at The Tipping Point. The album takes its name from the Malcolm Gladwell book about how ideas, trends, and social behaviors reach a point where they "tip" and cross into the mainstream. By calling this album The Tipping Point, it suggest to me that The Roots have just decided to do the damn music and continue not listening to critics both good and bad, and that The Roots hope this album helps speed the change we are seeing in rap, tipping the scales in favor of a legitimate street sound and accurate urban depiction of the social landscape. This a partial throwback album to the Melle Mel era where lyrics created non exploitive imagery for non-commercial reasons. There are plenty of brief notes about today’s social epidemics, and this is a social album, as well as a street album that doesn’t try to be street. The timing of this current release is good for Hip-hop because its creative, broad and mature. My only knock on the album is its relative shortness at only about 10 real tracks and minus the normal spoken word poetry or hidden tracks at the end. The Tipping Point incorporates socio-political topics in a subtle and subconscious manner. The albums diversity incorporates party tracks, workout tracks, chill out tracks and most importantly straight lyricism via Black Thought. His impersonations of Big Daddy Kane and Kool G rap are so sick on the track "Boom" that you will have to check the album credits. It's hard to believe that, that song was sonly a tribute and not the actual rappers, but "Boom" is just the beginning, this entire album is a tribute to hip-hop - what it was, what it should be. - Nuff said

The mix-tape and independent label route is becoming more popular for rappers these days, as the overcrowded field of "MCs" trying to get noticed continues to expand. For Saigon, Warning Shots, is not quite supposed to be the "real album", but something he released in the meantime to increase the buzz for his actual LP - thus the title Warning Shots. The album is a collection of previously, "street released" (mix-tape ) songs, mix-tape and radio "free-styles", and a some apparently more recent studio material. After hearing the Warning Shots, my buzz hasn't increased any, though I may be a little intrigued. The small amount of interest I may have in at least hearing any future Saigon albums comes mainly from 2 songs on this album, "Kiss the Babies" and "Pop Quiz" which indicate to me that Saigon can be a little stronger lyrically, than he lets on for most of the album and that he can rhyme about something other than his pre-rap, thug life. Perhaps Saigon is telling the truth on the song "Come Again" where he delivers his lyrics like an early 1980's KRS-1 song (problem being that it's 2004), as he rhymes "you know why I'm rhyming simple as tic-tac-toe /cause ni@@as is stupid and that's the shit that blow", but the "sometimes your hot/ most times your not" lyricism of the album makes him almost seem schizophrenic. Another black eye on Warning Shots is the production, which is kind of weak even for a small budget independent project such as this one, and the fact that Saigon seems to be searching for a identity in terms of his delivery. At times he is a little reminiscent of 50-Cent, minus 50-Cent's southern sounding drawl, but on a song or two he delivers a little like Jay-Z. Saigon is obviously a man with a chip on his shoulder, now that he has been released from what was an alleged 7 years prison bid. He feels like studio gangster rappers are getting famous, and some of them rich, by telling fables about the criminal life people like him used to live, but with so many rappers singing the same tired and bogus song of "street life" who is real and who isn't hardly matters anymore. Most people can't tell the difference between a Warning Shot and a real one. 

Ali Shaheed Muhammed fools people into thinking that he has made the full transition from DJ to pure MC but that is not the case from what I can tell. This album markets itself as such but I could not tell when Ali rhymed and when the guest MCs rhymed, nor could I tell when Ali was singing and guest singers were singing unless they were female. Ali Shaheed gets too humble and makes the mistake of not allowing his voice to distinguish itself from the guest artist enough, especially because this is the first time audiences get to hear his voice as an MC. Then again this album is not totally a rap album, there is an awful lot of r&b music, but then again so was that last Outkast double album and that sold about 10 million. Since the r&b tracks are solid I wont penalize him for false advertising. Although consumers are likely to assume that they will be purchasing a album to listen to Ali rapping, when in reality he is more like executive producing this album in a less than prominent way, and lending his voice on other tracks. One would expect after he has been below the radar for so long that he would be less humble. I am not sure if that is an manifestation of his Muslim religious background, or just his personality, but more Ali and less other artist would have been nice.

Luckily the singers and rappers that he features are very talented and in line with his temperament, they just are not him. Most importantly the LP has subject matter that most anybody can appreciate be it thugs, club goers or backpackers, if you will. Its just like rap music produced in 1989, there is no specific audience in mind. The LP just seems to come from his experience as a person and that comes across in his art. Shaheedullah and Stereotypes captures his extensive musical influences and his DJ and producing skills. There is no sampling on this album and the use of live instrumentation by way of guitar, bass and keyboard is obviously a plus that will resonate with Tribe called Quest fans and Lucy Pearl fans. There are solid tracks that will appeal to audiences that love the music of both.

"I Be That BITCH in a all black tinted out El-Darado", and so begins the journey into Chicago bred rapper and Disturbing the Peace member, Shawnna's debut LP, Worth the Weight. The title of the album is fitting, at least in part as this album comes 4 years after her breakthrough guest spot on Ludacris' hit single "What's Your Fantasy". Just walking through the album 2 things struck me immediately. The first being this album, as is the case with much rap these days, was recorded to be successful on the nightclub scene. It's not really even about Shawnna, she is more of a side ornament in someone's else's "evil plan" to make the club dance. Worth the Weight is up-tempo and saturated with songs like "R.P.M.", "Shake Dat Shit", "U Crazy", "What Can I Do (which is saved by Missy Elliot)", "Turn It Up", and the oh-so typical just blaze produced "Let's Go". Most of the aforementioned songs aren't terrible, though some, "U Crazy" and "R.P.M", will likely go over better than others. It's just that the songs and the album are basically filled with disposable material. Not that I expected something deep or with staying power from Shawnna but it's mostly club filler, though "Super Freak" is probably the most interesting groove on the album.

The second thing that jumped out at me was how sad it is that even female rappers sound like men, nowadays. It's hard to believe a young woman with such a "Potti-mouth", who is trying so hard to present herself as "thugged-out" yet "sexy" is actually the daughter of blues guitarist Buddy Guy. My guess is we have a problem when females are recording songs with titles like "Shake Dat Sh!#" (hint: she's not talking to the men). But I guess Shawnna has to do what her handlers are comfortable with her doing because when she attempts to step out of the nightclub box and the focus is on her and her rhyming , the songs fall not just flat, but through the floor, i.e. "Kick This One" and "Weight a Minute".

Is it Shyne-Po? Or is it just poor Shyne? Let me tell it and it's definitely the latter. When I initially heard that Shyne was coming out with another album I was somewhat confused, considering the fact that he is currently in prison. I could be wrong but at last check there were not many recording studios in the penitentiary. Apparently though, Shyne understood the very real possibility that his high-profile case could land him in jail, as it eventually did, and he be must have begun recording vocals then. While currently appealing his conviction and publicly proclaiming his innocence, Shyne's status as a prisoner hasn't prevented him from releasing his sophomore LP, Godfather Buried Alive, and it also hasn't stopped him from continuing to live out his fantasies on record. Rather than downplay his alleged thug tendencies with his legal situation so tenuous, Shyne has taken his personal fabrications and reinvention of himself to another level. Let Shyne tell it and he is like the ACTOR al Pacino in the MOVIE Scarface, mixed with the legendary Harlem drug-lord "Alpo", thus the self assigned moniker - Shyne-po. I guess you have to daydream when you spend your days and nights like in a cell in an environment that often forces men to act like animals, although in all likelihood Shyne's celebrity status has him in protective custody, where the "animals" will be kept off of him. Back here in reality though, Shyne is a far below average rapper lyrically whose sole gimmick, his voice is probably what got him signed in the first place. The funny thing is that Jamal "Shyne" Barrow's, voice doesn't even sound like it does on record, in real life. Isn't it amazing and sad that in today's current rap market the fact the Shyne went to prison raised his value to record companies. The cut, "For The Record", Shyne's diss record for 50-Cent, sounds like it was recorded over a prison phone call, bad connection and all. As bizarre as it is, if Shyne was to be released early from prison, his newfound, "bogus street creditability", would probably be enough to unseat 50-Cent as the industry's media darling. But all the promotion and court cases in the world can't cover up all the deficiencies of this album or Shyne as an artist. You name it, and it's bad on Godfather Buried Alive. The song concepts are boring, tired, and repetitive as evidenced on songs like "Godfather", "Jimmy Choo" (featuring The Inc's Ashanti), and "Shyne".  The production is poor. Overall the album sounds rushed or thrown together as if it's held together by a mixture of Elmer's glue and Wrigley's Spearmint gum. And above and beyond that is the inescapable fact that laid bare Shyne is terribly elementary lyrically, and not in an "ol' school" kind of way, but more in a completely lacking talent kind of way. It's to the point where ANY aspiring rapper listening to his LP has to be wondering, how does this guy have a multi-million dollar record deal while I'm sitting at home, pouring my heart into this notebook. That's a question I won't give the answer to, but hopefully that aspiring rapper doesn't have to go to jail or get shot to get a deal.  

For those not old enough to really remember his debut, it may be hard to believe that Snoop’s first album dropped in 1994, and that his latest LP, marks his seventh album. Through a variety of cross-market, self-promotion and high-profile projects, the persona of Snoop Dogg has managed to transcend rap and enter into the mainstream of pop-culture. He appears in movies (usually not very good ones), does commercials, has had a TV show, and coined his own colloquial language - “fo’ shizzle”, but none of that stops him from dropping an album every couple of years. This ability branch into several areas has made snoop somewhat of a chameleon, in personality and music, and is perfectly illustrated with his latest musical offering, the aptly titled R&G (Rhythm and Gangsta): The Masterpiece. Musically Snoop has gone from relying on the G-Funk of Dr. Dre, to being a “No Limit Soldier”, to finally ending up in the camp of the understated, and often otherworldly, funk of the Neptunes. It's clear that Snoop hasn't had chemistry with a production team the way he seems to have it with the Neptunes since his days of working with Dr. Dre. Though the entire album is not produced by the Neptunes much of it feels like it as “Rhythm and Gangsta’ almost seems like a hybrid rap and R&B album at times. Snoop will probably never be a serious lyricist and he still clings to his pimp persona like a security blanket, often to his detriment, but his usually laid-back delivery meshes well with the beat selection for this LP, and a host of non-rap guest appearances, such as Charlie Wilson (Gap Band), Bootsy Collins, the Bee Gees, and Justin Timberlake, make the overall LP one of his better offerings. The Neptune’s produced “Drop It Like It’s Hot” is an obvious winner, but cuts like “Signs” (which features Justin Timberlake), “Let’s Get Blown Away”, “Ups and Downs”, and “Perfect” (which reminds me of last year’s hit “Beautiful”) outweigh the truly disturbing and regressive tracks like “Can You Control Your Hoe” and “Step Yo’ Game Up”, as well as the fact that the album is unnecessarily long.

2003 marked a breakthrough year for Atlanta's T.I.. The release of 2003's Trap Muzik marked his first major commercial success as he became a household name in the south and gained recognition, if not outright respect, from those above the Mason-Dixon line. But 03' was not all roses for T.I. as it also saw him being put behind bars for violating his probation for a 1997 drug arrest, for which he received a 3 year prison sentence, that ultimately resulted in him being granted a work-release program that let him keep making music. Word has it that he then proceeded to record several albums worth of material in this time period, apparently leery of the possibility of returning to prison. Urban Legend is an obvious product of this time period as it picks up right where 2003's Trap Muzik left off; so much so that the albums become almost interchangeable. "Countdown", "Prayin for Help", and "Why You Mad at Me" are decent tracks, but respectively, they mimic Trap Muzik's "Rubberman", "Be Better Than Me", and "Look What I Got" too closely to fully stand out. Apparently a subscriber to the old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", T.I. plays it very close to the vest for this album which works for and against him. It works 'for' because Trap Muzik was a pretty solid album and T.I. is just as confident, or arrogant, as ever, as he continues to stake claim to his self-ordained title, "King of the South". In fact the first song on the album rapped in a voice sample from Run DMC's "King of Rock" states T.I.'s royalty emphatically - Lil' Flip and Ludacris take notice. T.I. also sticks to his strengths and that is an infectious delivery and lyrics that are accessible in the vocabulary department yet very witty and slick. He also really appeals to his southern base from a production standpoint and continues with his lewd verbal imagery, as Urban Legend still contains a few cuts that conjure images of the strip club, namely "Limelight" and "Get Loose", which features Nelly, and I suspect could lead to a pretty crass BET Uncut type video. After pronouncing himself King, T.I. proceeds to "Bankhead Bounce" through the next 11 or so tracks, over beats and hooks that seem almost perfectly crafted for him. The highlights being "ASAP", "Get Ya Shit Together", and "Freak Though" with an assist from Pharrell of the Neptunes, where T.I. waxes poetic about breaking the old street rule that "you can't turn a hooker into a housewife". The familiarity of Urban Legend works 'against' T.I. because the album may give listeners the feeling of "been there done that", though it would probably be a bad idea and asking too much, to expect T.I. to completely change the formula that has made him successful this far. In all likelihood this album is mostly made up of material that was recorded around the same time as the first LP, in fact, given that T.I. hardly mentions his feud with Houston's Lil' Flip or his rivalry with Atlanta's Ludacris it's clear that everything is not up to date here. The album is also a bit "long in the tooth" as it could have ended after the 12th or 13th cut without much difference, but overall it's another solid effort if not a continuation of his last one.

Thug Matrimony, the title in itself is an oxymoron, since "Thugs" are just baby daddies or absentee dads that rarely walking down the aisle. But like it's title this album is a oxymoronic. Trick is either talking about raising kids right or being a true "thug" which he subtly defines in different ways all the time. I don't doubt that Trick Daddy is a good dude at heart and he loves the kids, but he is mixed up and can't admit it. Most of the music that Trick Daddy makes is not stripper music like many Of his southern brethren but he can still be very raunchy in his lyrics. This record is no different in it's raunchiness except now he also has some songs on the album which are very commercial and aimed at young kids like "Children's song" and "I Wanna Sing" which are reminiscent of Nas's track, "I Can". Other than that though, there are no more child-safe songs from Trick, and at times on those songs he kids sing about being "Innocent Thugs." - exactly how you define an innocent thug is beyond me.

He may sound country (even to those in the south) but it is a tough country sound, that makes him able to sell records outside of his region, or it could be that he does try to show some lyricism in his rap (necessary if you want to sell in places like NYC) and not just 10,000 chorus and hooks. He does go back to the secret formula by employing several celebrity guest artists like Ludacris, Snoop Dog, and Ron Isley. We can follow the thoughts although they are almost always contradictory from his life, or even from track to track, but to Trick Daddy fans this may be his best album ever due to expectation level. 

If you are like me and have to force yourself to listen to Trick Daddy music, then this album will sound like an over abundance of cursing over beats. The theme is protect kids which is noble but just take the words of Trick himself when trying to understand his album "I don't think I could ever be a role model, but I am here to do all I can. I'm going to get to the youth while they're young and explain to them that I'm not successful, I 'm lucky. I want to show that everybody can't be a quarterback. Cause if everybody in class is a quarterback, somebody ain't going to have a job." Interesting, maybe Trick Daddy himself should try something new, his heart is clearly in the right place.- Nuff said

I don't know if most people know it, but Twista's claim to fame has been that he was documented as the fastest rapper alive & awarded the honor by the Guinness Book of World Records. That's good and bad because many people only want to see how fast he can rap. That is a shame because Twista claims "I’m all about the lyrics man". As a reviewer, lyrics are also what I am most interested in. This windy city Emcee has been in the rap game for a decade and has four albums, although many probably just heard of him. He has slowed down a little on this album so I know what he is saying "sometimes", enough that I think I can understand that he is on a lyrical CRUSADE. I capitalized crusade because it is not a noun, or a verb, but a historical reference. Yes, I am talking Crusade like the violent conversion type that European Christians used throughout the 11- 13th centuries. Twista has a track where he is a suicide bomber against non-believers. Thus the murder and mayhem he delivers at rivals, atheists, etc is within a historical context on these tracks but its kind of a contradiction on here because much of his religiously disguised tracks are also about pimping hoes and defending hoes from being pimped. On "Snoopin" he asks "Tell me why do you - doubt a brother, in one ear and out the other ...Cause in my shirt you done found number", but he is contradictory not just as an artist but even when he is interviewed, for example when asked, "so at the end of the day what is Twista to be remembered by? Twista says, "I just want people to know that I know who I am and I know who the creator is and I’m good. My spirit is like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime right now.........I want the gangstas to say 'That's some hard street shit,' and at the same time, that regular white guy saying 'Wow, that's tight." I won't even go there, but he's more pro-pimping women in the literal sense than he is about protecting them as evidenced by appearances on the album by the former/current pimp, Bishop Magic Don Juan, and windy city homeboy R.Kelly. Twista's pleas to drug lords and gang members get redundant but Kamikaze is not all adolescent drivel aimed at 16 year olds. My favorite tracks are "Sunshine", "Slow Jamz", and "Hope". I feel Twista is trying to do some bold and different things, like fellow unapologetic Christian, rapper/producer Kanye West, by offering religious gems in the music but the majority of the album is the same ole shit we been hearing- Nuff said.

It's hard to review an artist album when you have a bias against his crew. Luckily we have a review scale @playahata.com, which categorizes 5 different areas of an albums sticking points. By grading an album in all five areas it gives an accurate overall measure of all the albums tracks not just the ones used to market for radio, so when I arrived at my D+ Score. I knew that this had nothing to do with me being annoyed by guest rapper Baby's bird sounds ongoing in the background on about 4 tracks. This album suffers because Lil' Wayne is too young to have experienced too much that is relevant to talk about, and also because he idolizes Baby who is a step above awful as a rapper, and is everything a real MC is not. The only thing believable about Lil' Wayne, Baby, and their posse are that they are sitting on stacks of paper with pictures of dead presidents on them, since they are getting more money than the average rapper thanks to a small dedicated fan base that doesn't care much about anything other than beats and production, and that is the album's strongest selling point. But in terms of creativity, content and lyrics the album bombs. Seeing the video for one of the songs tipped me off that this album might not be worth reviewing but you can't beat a 2 dollar bootleg. Despite people like me who will probably never directly support anything Cash-Money Records creates, there are a lot of music fans caught up in the power of celebrity, and they will buy this album. If Jermaine Dupri can sell the rap world J-kwon there should be no surprise that Lil Wayne might be able to have some staying power although he is no more talented than most any rapper you will find rapping on the corner in any urban community in America.- Nuff Said.

Who would have thought it was possible to rhyme about college life, jewels, drugs, and Jesus, while giving shout-outs to God, drug-dealers, fraternities and sororities on the same album? Don't ask me how he pulls it off, but that is the complexity, or downright confusion, of one of the most sought after producers (and now rapper) in the game right now, Kanye West. Possibly the most anticipated album of 2004 (yes it's only February but that statement holds) West long-awaited debut as a rapper, College Dropout, is perfectly timed to capitalize on all the heat he has generated recently. For example, as I write this West currently has 3 songs in the top 20 that he either produced or raps on, including the Alicia Keys' hit "You Don't Know My Name", "Slow Jamz" where he gets an assist from Twista, and his own Chaka Khan inspired, "Through the Fire" which he recorded with his jaw partially wired while recovering from a near fatal car accident. If nothing else College Dropout is unique and refreshing. The album is aptly titled because West obviously still has a chip on his shoulder about his college educational experience, and he spends more than enough time ridiculing all those poor saps who spend years getting "degrees" but that he makes more money than, NOW. While the skits and rhymes about the college graduates turned unhappy, underpaid, glass ceiling-ed, employees are funny and do mask a legitimate point about our educational conditioning in this society, West jabs probably end up giving out the wrong message. He may be "ON" now financially, but rap is quickly replacing sports as every kids dream ghetto escape - since you don't need to be a physical specimen to pick up a mic - but the chances of making it as a rap star aren't much better than making it as a professional athlete and I doubt West was so confident or condescending before he blew up and was getting evicted from his apartment. 

West isn't above self-evaluation however, as is evidenced by the standout track "All Falls Down", where he takes on his own materialism and superficial tendencies although he eventually succumbs to them. West rhymes come across as truly unique because he actually rhymes about his own experiences, particularly leaving college early without graduating, struggling to get on in the music business, women, his near death experience, and his faith, though that last part may sneak up on you. "Jesus Walks" is a definite gem that even a non-Christian can appreciate and "Never Let Me Down" is another cut with religious overtones although it features 2 blazing verses by the recently "retired" Jay-Z. Being that West is more recognized as a producer than a rapper, it was safe to assume their would be no shortage of guest appearances on his album, but unlike many albums the guest appearances aren't "big name filler". Almost all the guest appearances on the album bring welcome contributions, such as Ludacris on "Breathe in Breathe Out", GLC and Consequence on "Spaceship", Talib Kweli and Common's hot verses on "Get'em High", and Mos Def, Freeway, and the Harlem Boy's Choir (no, that's not a misprint) on "Two Words". West somehow manages to mash personalities styles and subject matter together into a musical gumbo that usually just taste plain ol' good. Maybe this because West refers to himself as a "backpacker with a Benz" - referring to his own music and his seemingly conflicting, positive relationships with both pop and mainstream artist as well as underground and/or conscious rappers. "School Spirit" is another cut that is sure to go over well, especially with the college crowd, as the song's hook shouts all the "black" fraternities and sororities. It's not clear whether College Dropout is West trying to prove to himself he can or could have rapped - by the way, he really does have tight and witty lyrics - or if there will be more rap albums to come from him. It will be interesting to see whether West is a "one trick pony" as he relies heavily on the sampling and speeding up of old-school soul records for his signature sound, that can make an Aretha Franklin hook sound like it was performed by Alvin and the Chipmunks, but whatever the case he is going to be paying out both nostrils and his rectum for the large amount of samples on this one.

I have been concentrating on movie reviews but when my young cousin said that he wanted me to review the Young Buck album by a G-Unit member, since he thought I might like it because "it wasn't too negative", I said "okay let me hold it for the weekend". Although the boasts about his 'hood exploits' can get tiresome, Buck delivers some nasty, first-rate storytelling and jeep beats. Since Southern artists are more respected for their slang than lyrical content this Straight Outta Cashville album is bound to surprise. The Tennessee native shows he is a lyrical-type artist with some other thoughts on his mind beside banging out the competition.

Young Buck brings a lot of intensity to the table, while in the process making the most lyrical Southern album of 2004 (so far) He also covered a number of things I would not expect that are socially relevant. I had already heard he was the smartest of all the G-Unit posse. When 50 is featured on a track the song is just another song that just sounds like it came off the G-Unit assembly line. But when 50 is not featured the songs take on a different meaning and style. Young Buck seems to basically talk about the stuff he did experience or his good friends experienced. He recently said he tried to leave out " What wasn't a part of [his] life". He says he "left the relationship type records out of the picture for now and gave you a harder edge, more of a street-type album." The Buck comparisons to Pac are premature, but Buck does delivers real stories from the street to the dirt roads. Not trying to sound too tough, or claiming to be the South's biggest kingpin, just what he knows. Maybe he is the more unique member after all his history with 50 Cent is rather recent. Buck met 50 by playing records for him. One of the records he played for him was later titled "Blood Hound" which was released on 50's Get Rich Or Die Tryin'. He bought the record from Buck and put his twist on it. He just told Buck if everything happened he would come back and holla at him, and give him that shot he always wanted. Guess what happened? 50 kept his word.

Now Buck is part of the G-Unit team but he is not a cookie cutter artist, he can rhyme on his own, and he does it better than 50! Although 50-Cent is from New York he sounds like a southern artist, and Buck is southern, but is lyrical like a New Yorker (well some of them). I think Young Buck has a lot of potential. He shows signs that he may one day evolve past the Bling and guns, and show how talented he can really be.

So this is the future of "the Roc", well at least if  you let Young Chris and Neef of the Young Gunz tell it. Personally I'm not so sure. But then again with the recent retirement of Jay-Z and the labels recent attempts to seemingly sign the whole industry, I guess mediocrity will continue to be the norm. Tough Luv, the debut LP from the Rocafella rap duo the Young Gunz, isn't a crime scene or disaster musically but it's kind of like what the cops tell you when you get too close to one - "move it along, there's nothing to see here". They do score thanks to some solid production on a few cuts like "Future of the Roc", "Tough Luv", and "Look in Your Eyes", which probably not coincidentally all have guest appearances, but due to the high volume of material put out by Rocafella and the apparent youth of the duo you're left with that feeling that you've heard this all before - and  conceptually you probably have. I was surprised to hear them try to flip the Hall & Oates classic "Rich Girl" into a song considering their age, although after hearing it I wish they had not. The Chris and Neef can t least say that they did at least score with their 'chick song', "No Better Love" which is a nice groove, but overall the duo sounds every bit their age, and I don't mean that in a good way.

Overall: C :Review by Eyecalone

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