Reader Review / For Promotional Use Only: A$AP Rocky - LiveLoveA$AP (October 31, 2011)

(Today's Reader Review comes from Standos, who tackles a project that I'm sure at least three of you were intrigued by: newbie A$AP Rocky's debut mixtape, LongLiveA$AP. I'm not really sold on that rap name, but that's why I'm not a consultant. Leave your thoughts for Standos below.)

If you hadn’t noticed, a new trend in hip hop began to emerge in 2011, one that allowed rappers that were unconventional (to put it lightly) to slowly emerge and find as much as success as the rest. Whether they were sporting jeans tight enough to get rejected a deal with G-Unit Records (see: Danny Brown), which is by no means a bad thing, or releasing a mixtape entitled I’m Gay (see: Lil’ B) or even searing a slab of ahi tuna on YouTube (see: Action Bronson, who’s actually a kickass chef), it’s fair to say the hip hop world has slowly become more and more tolerant of weirdos. Perhaps one of the more profitable weirdos to come out of 2011 is A$AP Rocky, having just scored a three million dollar deal with Sony/RCA.

First, a bit of history. A$AP Rocky was born in Harlem, New York with the birthname Rakim Mayers. Anyone who actually listens to hip hop will immediately know the importance of this name, as it is shared with a man who is easily one of the most influential emcees in history. So, of course, naming your son Rakim and not expecting him to eventually become a rapper is kind of like naming your daughter Roxy and not expecting her to become a hooker. After the death of his older brother, he decided to take rap seriously, choosing Harlem-based hip hop group The Diplomats as his idols, which probably won’t help him win my favor, since The Diplomats suck cock (if you don’t know who they are, The Diplomats consists of Cam’ron, Jim Jones and their merry band of weed carriers). After releasing a couple of singles in 2011 and scoring that aforementioned multi-million dollar deal, Rocky hooked up with other indie producers with tastes similar to his own, including Lil B’s go-to producer Clams Casino (which is an awesome name), to cook up his first mixtape, LiveLoveA$AP.

Unlike every other newcomer in the hip hop world, Rocky didn't have every blogger in the universe throwing their arms up in hysterical praise at his arrival. Being named Rakim obviously puts a fucking shitload of expectations on one's shoulders, and many blogs referred to his record deal as a mistake on Sony's part. They also felt that older music fans may be completely alienated at Rocky’s Southern-influenced music that had absolutely nothing to do with anything that’s come out of the five boroughs (those same people probably thought Roc Marciano's Marcberg was the best shit ever). So basically, A$AP Rocky is everything that isn’t East Coast hip hop. At least until now.

Comparisons to Odd Future began circulating, which are utter bullshit, as you will read later on since Rocky encompasses absolutely nothing of what Odd Future rant about. He's also racked up a few enemies along the way: Hodgy Beats (of the Odd Future collective) called him “A$AP Copy” (really, that’s the best you could think of?), while Lil’ B claims himself as “the reason you got your deal, bitch”, which is ironic, since Rocky claims Lil’ B as one of his biggest influences.

But yeah, I’ve been talking way too much. So is A$AP Rocky really the next best thing, or is he just a really shitty investment?

1. PALACE

That title is pretty fucking sweet; it has nothing to do with the song, and yet, it has everything to do with everything. Clams Casino’s beat is majestic, a perfect accompaniment to Rocky’s announcement of his arrival. Which is alright, but to be honest, I expected Rocky to have a little more spark in his lyrics (I did like the part where he switches up his style for a more Bone Thugs-N-Harmony-like speed rap, though). The hook was garbage (he claims he “knows them Harlem n----s gon’ be feeling this”, when the reality is that most Harlem heads outside of Rocky’s own crew won’t like this at all), but then again, I would have been surprised otherwise.

2. PESO

The first single that created most of the buzz circling this project right now. And with good reason too, as this was rather enjoyable. Unlike during the last song, the chopped and screwed voice that Rocky uses to no end on this mixtape works into the hook nicely. Rocky calls himself a “pretty muthafucka”, which really tells you how much hip hop has changed (had he said this back in the 1990's, he would have gotten his shit pushed in). The A$AP Ty Beats (a member of Rocky’s conveniently named A$AP Mob) beat sounded like something Curren$y would use, so I liked it better than the lyrics, which were kind of ordinary. But this wasn't bad, though.

3. BASS

Clams Casino brings a fucking pounding beat (and yes, before you ask, it does contain quite a bit of bass, a lot more than that other, more popular song with the word “bass” in its title). Like “Palace”, Rocky only delivers one verse, one that the older heads would probably dismiss completely had he not performed it with such charisma that it's harder to ignore. Even the chopped and screwed bit, which I normally hate, sounded menacing as shit over this extremist militant of a beat. But seriously, Clams Casino brings his fucking A-game on this one and Rocky knows it, letting it ride for another minute after he’s done. I especially liked how Rocky just chants the title in lieu of a chorus at the end, which isn’t as horrible as you might think. This was nice.

4. WASSUP

I wasn’t really feeling the beat on this one as much as the other three. Clams Casino’s work felt really generic and unmemorable, like it was just trying too hard to sound lazy. Rocky does okay with his verses (“Only thing bigger than me ego is my mirror” is one of the more memorable lines), but the hook was godawful. I really don’t need to be reminded of how Rocky is a “pretty muthafucka” any more on this mixtape. Over such a low-key beat, he needs to be more creative with what he’s saying.

5. BRAND NEW GUY (FEAT. SCHOOLBOY Q)

On the other hand, this beat felt like it was trying too hard to be epic, but it ends up sounding like a terrible mixture of noises. At this point you either like Rocky or you don’t; there is no middle ground, as his style of music will either appeal to you or alienate you entirely. For the record, I didn’t actually mind his verse on here either, although I feel there is a lot of room for improvement, but Schoolboy Q (otherwise known as the guy in Kendrick Lamar’s crew who isn’t Kendrick Lamar and whose debut album I found disappointing) attacks this beat in the worst way possible. The back and forth between them was bland as well: I hated the way Schoolboy bends the word “Smirnoff” just to make it rhyme. Now if it had been Kendrick on this song (and if the beat wasn’t horseshit)…

6. PURPLE SWAG: CHAPTER 2 (FEAT. SPACEGHOST PURRP & A$AP NAST)

If there’s one word that I’ve grown sick of in 2011, it’s “swag”. Seriously, what the fuck is “swag”? This is a remix of the original single that, along with “Peso”, earned Rocky all the attention he’s been getting. I really have no clue what a Spaceghost Purrp is, but he has a really annoying-as-fuck delivery, and both Rocky and Nast don’t do much to remedy the situation. I didn’t even like the original “Purple Swag”, so you can guess how I feel about this redundant remix.

7. GET LIT (FEAT. FAT TONY)

You’ll notice that most of the songs on LiveLoveA$AP are pretty short, with most running around the three-minute mark (besides “Brand New Guy”, which couldn’t end quickly enough for me), which means this project is suitable for those of you with short attention spans (such as, well, everyone these days). It should be pretty obvious what this song is about, and if you can’t figure it out, you’re beyond help. Apparently this song is Rocky’s favorite on the album, possibly because it features the head of Springfield's underworld, but I really didn’t hear anything special. The beat also sounds like something Curren$y would rhyme over (come to think of it, that could apply to just about any weed song that’s come out in the last five years), but one of the more uninspired (read: boring) instrumentals that the guy tends to gravitate to every once in a while. It doesn’t help that Rocky or his guest choose to make their contributions as short as possible in favor of a shitty chorus. This couldn’t end quickly enough either, and it wasn’t even long to begin with.

8. TRILLA (FEAT. A$AP TWELVY & A$AP NAST)

A step back in the right direction. The beginning of Rocky’s verse reminds me of how the second half of “Gotta Have It”, from Watch The Throne, kicked off, as that was the part where Jigga and Yeezy utilized a stutter that was surprisingly appealing to me. Rocky does the same on here, and it works, as he sounds pretty damn engaged here, especially when he channels Bone Thugs-N-Harmony once again near the end of his verse. His A$AP brethren can’t help but be outshined (and sound awful in the process) over a beat that I ultimately enjoyed, even though it sounds out of place due to its Western feel. Also, a gold star for not including a hook.

9. KEEP IT G (FEAT. CHACE INFINITE & SPACEGHOST PURRP)

The title made me expect something akin to “Brand New Guy” in terms of quality, but this one wasn’t bad. Spaceghost Purrp’s beat sounds like the score to a neo-noir film dripped in codeine, if that makes any sense. It made me laugh when Rocky claims he’s “never chilling til’ [he] get[s] a million”, yet he’s already got his multi-million dollar deal. But I don’t have any real complaints about this one, as complaining about the hook is futile at this point.

10. KISSIN’ PINK (FEAT. A$AP FERG)

Rocky’s delivery during his first verse was really tough to listen to, with his sing-song like bullshit attempt to sound spaced-out ending up annoying the shit out of the listener. But at least he doesn’t keep this up for the whole of his verse (the same can’t be said for his weed-carrier A$AP Ferg, who sounded goddamn awful). Beautiful Lou’s beat was kind of good; it was the musical equivalent of all the codeine that Rocky’s been taking and, as a result, serves its purpose. But Rocky and his weed carrier made this an excruciating.

11. HOUSTON OLD HEAD

This song is probably what will help Rocky win the argument that he is nothing like Odd Future, as it envisions the exact opposite of what Odd Future attempt to prove. Whereas Tyler, The Creator might argue that only the young should be revered, Rocky concedes that his “old head” may be able to teach him something (“If you listen when ya old head talkin' you’ll be straight”). It’s also a half-tribute to his Houston influences, which is clearly obvious when you hear the Southern-fried beat; at this point I would be wondering whether Rocky is even from Harlem in the first place had he not been proclaiming “Harlem’s what I’m repping” all the time. The hook isn’t too bad, and the change in subject matter was nice, so this was a win overall.

12. ACID DRIP

The disembodied chopped-and-screwed voice actually helps to recreate the feeling of being high on acid, but everything else about this song wasn’t memorable in the least, so it would be best just to skip this song.

13. LEAF (FEAT. MAIN ATTRAKIONZ)

The Ol' Dirty Bastard sample at the start of the song doesn’t really make sense when you realize that this song is actually a bitchfest played out over a menacing Clams Casino beat. Rocky claims that there are people who say he sounds like a mixture of Andre 3000, Kanye, Max B., and Wiz Khalifa, but that’s not the impression I get at all: I’d rather look at him as a mixture of Wiz and Curren$y, with a sprinkling of Layzie Bone when the mood calls. Rocky spits what is probably his most memorable verse to me at this point: when the man has something specific to spit about that isn’t about getting high and fucking bitches, he actually sounds really damn entertaining. Main Attrakionz, an indie duo that probably have the closest sound to Rocky in the industry at the moment (their debut mixtape 808s and Dark Grapes II contained this same song under a different name), are overshadowed by Rocky, probably because they don’t really stick to the same subject matter. But this was still enjoyable as shit.

14. ROLL ONE UP

Meh.

15. DEMONS

This beat is fucking magnificent. Clams Casino really should have produced the entire project, Rocky’s A$AP brethren be damned. This is probably the most emotionally charged Rocky will ever get, and even then he manages to fit in the phrase, “I’m finna fuck the bitch you next to”. “Demons” also contains the only good hook on the whole mixtape, and that in itself makes it worth listening to. But I cannot stress enough how good this Clams Casino beat is. Easily the best song on here.

16. OUT OF THIS WORLD

This song is also out of place, but for an entirely different reason than “Trilla”. This beat, produced by The Olympicks, isn’t really the type of instrumental I would expect Rocky to spit over, as it sounds like an intro track on a debut album for a rapper better known for his mixtapes. Ironically, Rocky gives his most confident performance on here, dropping multiple pop culture references as well as a couple of smart punchlines (although it is a bit much when he claims that hip hop will be reincarnated through him, as even he knows that’s clearly not going to be the case). This was a really good closer, though.

SHOULD YOU TRACK IT DOWN? I won’t lie: I had very low expectations coming into this review, but I was also intrigued as to how LiveLoveA$AP would sound. I don’t know about you, but I think this is the first time I’ve ever heard a Harlem rapper sound so comfortable over beats obviously not from his part of town. I think even A$AP Rocky himself knows that he’s no Rakim when it comes to lyrics: most of his rhymes consist of fucking about 13 to 14 women in the space of 56 minutes, smoking enough dope to maintain a year-long high, and repping Harlem as the “prettiest muthafucka” alive (whether Harlem appreciates that or not is another question). Granted, that’s not going to draw in the group of hip hop heads expecting the next Big L (I think the name A$AP Rocky with a fucking dollar sign for an ‘S’ should give it away), but Rocky seems to know his limits for the most part. Rocky excels most with his charisma, as he frequently switches from a slow Southern-influenced drawl to a melodic, speed-rap flow within the space of half a minute. Some of the lyrics on here are fucking garbage though, and most of Rocky’s A$AP brethren have the quality that makes me think of them as Young Money henchmen who will never get a deal because they’re forever destined to base their careers around guest appearances (although Rocky is apparently planning an A$AP Mob album next). Hopefully Rocky can build from on his performance here for his next mixtape, since his ear for beats (with a few exceptions) is pretty damn amazing, with some of the most epic Clams Casino works I’ve heard thus far popping up on LiveLoveA$AP. This certainly isn’t the best mixtape of 2011 (as certain blogs have painted it as), but Rocky shows some promise (“Bass”, “Leaf” and “Demons” are on replay in my neck of the woods), and I would recommend LiveLoveA$AP to anyone who’s interested in branching out from the norm.

-Standos

(Comments go below. You know the drill.)

For Promotional Use Only: Re-Up Gang - We Got It For Cheap Volume 3 (2008)

After the 2002 release of their debut album Lord Willin', the Virginia duo known as the Clipse, made up of the coke-rap fraternal demons Pusha T and Malice, found themselves at war with their record label.  After a business merger, the brothers Thornton found themselves absorbed into the Jive Records family, and, to absolutely nobody's surprise, the home of Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears didn't have much of a clue how to market them.  As such, their follow-up project, Hell Hath No Fury, wasn't considered the highest priority (and not just because the Clipse had failed to turn over a single that could be potentially marketable).  

This wasn't a position new to the duo: their actual debut album, Exclusive Audio Footage, still hasn't ever been officially released due to label politics.  But Pusha T and Malice handled their situation differently in 2002 than they had in 1997, thanks to the new resources available to them: namely, the Interweb.  They vented their frustrations with their mixtape series We Got It 4 Cheap, teaming up with their friends Sandman and Ab-Liva to form the Re-Up Gang, a group who commandeered other rappers' instrumentals to further their agenda, which mainly consisted of keeping their fans satiated while trying to embarass Jive Records into releasing Hell Hath No Fury.  The first volume of this project was released in 2004: the second followed one year later.  

Surprisingly, this tactic sort of worked, as Hell Hath No Fury hit store shelves in 2006 to high critical acclaim and terribly low sales figures.  Although most of the people who actually bought the album were happy with the final product, there was a question as to whether or not the long-ass wait tarnished the overall effect.  Regardless of the album's ultimate impact on our chosen genre, there was little doubt that the Clipse were at the height of their game, and they had achieved the impossible: they beat the record label.

Probably not so shockingly, Jive Records later dumped the Clipse, and they ultimately washed up ashore at Columbia Records.  At their new home, they were actually treated as the artists they were, and they encountered little adversity while recording their third project, Til The Casket Drops.  And as a way to thank their longtime fans for sticking by them, the Re-Up Gang reunited in 2008 for a third volume in the mixtape series, entitled We Got It For Cheap Volume 3 (and subtitled The Spirit Of Competition).  This was a lead-in to an actual album from the quartet, which was released later that same year.

However, things had changed for the Re-Up Gang.  The fortunes of Pusha T and Malice had changed for the better, and the confidence boost that was defeating their record label at their own game had led to a dangerous form of complacency.  Neither Sandman nor Ab-Liva had upped their lyrical game in the two years between Hell Hath No Fury and the new mixtape.  And Malice was growing visibly sickened by the state of hip hop at the time.  None of these ingredients make for an interesting mixtape soup.  The addition of DJ Drama, taking over for Clinton Sparks, as the ringmaster didn't really ease the pain of the average fan, either.  

(Note: I'm reviewing the No-DJ version of We Got It For Cheap Volume 3, as I can't fucking stand deejay drops when I can avoid them.  However, there appear to be two separate versions of this mixtape available online: I opted for the longer, twenty-track version, although there is really no reason for any of you two to sit through that one.  Yeah, I know I just gave that away right now.  Try to stick with me anyway.)

1. HERE'S WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT YOU INTERLUDE

What?! An introductory track...on a mixtape?! Who ever heard of such a thing?

2. RE-UP GANG INTRO

After an intro that recalls memories of the beef between Ice Cube and N.W.A., one would think that these guys would take over a classic West Coast instrumental for their official reintroduction. And one would be wrong: instead, the Clipse and company commandeer the fairly rote beat from B.G.'s “I Hustle”. (The West Coast beat-jacking occurs later, when the listener will have long since stopped giving a fuck.) Four verses float by without sticking to your ribs, the worst coming from Sandman, whose contribution is so close to self-parody that you hope he did it that way on purpose but I highly doubt it. Ab-Liva, Pusha T, and Malice all come across as decent, as they tend to do, but there wasn't anything about this track worth recommending to even the most diehard Clipse fan.

3. SHOW YOU HOW TO HUSTLE

The entire Re-Up Gang fares much better over this track, which swipes both the organ-driven instrumental and the title from a solo track by frequent collaborator Pharrell Williams, and the quartet make the case that Skateboard P wasn't the best fit for his own song. Sandman redeems himself with a much more interesting performance, Ab-Liva does admirably, and the brothers Thornton walk away with a track that should have appeared on a less dark version of Hell Hath No Fury. This was a step in the right direction.

4. ROC BOYS

It makes perfect sense why the Re-Up best friends gang would borrow the beat from a Jay-Z song which celebrates a high volume of drug sales (transactions that were done by whatever fucking character Shawn pretended to play on American Gangster, anyway). What doesn't add up is how unappealing all four artists sound on here: it's almost as though they believed the Sean C. and LV beat would do all of the work for them. Pusha and Malice both come across as bored out of their respective minds (a trait that, unfortunately, followed them to their third album Til The Casket Drops), while Live and Sandy have trouble merely trying to keep up. So yeah, “Roc Boys” is the first outright failure on We Got It For Cheap Volume 3. It's sad, really.

5. 20K INTRO

Interlude...

6. 20K MONEY MAKING BROTHERS ON THE CORNER

During the final verse, Malice claims that he isn't “a part of your coke rap genre”, which sounds absurd until you realize that he and his brother have essentially reinvented the very idea of coke rap. Still, even though this is one of the more highly-acclaimed entries on We Got It For Cheap Volume 3, I never cared for this track: all four rappers sound alright enough, but Dame Grease's instrumental, an original composition created specifically for the Re-Up Babies's dreams to come true, does nothing for me, except spark an urge to hit the 'skip' button. This shit is overrated by every and any definition of the word. Yeah, that's right, I just wrote that.

7. DEY KNOW YAYO

Obviously the Re-Up Gang had given up on mixtape freestyles long ago, choosing instead to write new verses around beats that just so happen to already exist, but it's too easy to see these guys tripping all over themselves over their take on Shawty Lo's “Dey Know”, an already ridiculous-yet-somewhat-catchy track that takes to its natural evolution as a coke rap anthem about as well as a fish dropped into a pond filled with Jell-O mixed with vodka. The four guys sound like three too many, which is strange, since Shawty Lo used his original song's remix to get a bunch of his friends together to talk shit. But that sentence doesn't need to make sense as much as the song needs to actually entertain you. Which it does not.

8. 500 BIRDS INTERLUDE

…

9. SCENARIO 2008

That title makes me wish that the Re-Up Get-Along Gang has the stones to rap over the classic A Tribe Called Quest posse cut and not some unnecessary Eve track where producer Swizz Beatz couldn't even be bothered to come up with an original beat, instead reusing his own work from Jay-Z's “Jigga My N---a”. Everyone sounds okay, I suppose, but I was most amused during Malice's final verse, where he deliberately mispronounces the name “Jeremy” in order to make it rhyme with “Journey” (and also displays a common misconception regarding what actually happens at the end of the video for Pearl Jam's “Jeremy”). Still, that word I just used to describe Eve's original track? Also applies here.

10. GOOD MORNING

Foreshadows Pusha T's eventual position in Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music empire by stealing both West's beat and his chorus from Graduation's “Good Morning (Intro)”. Almost as if on cue, Pusha rides the instrumental beautifully, burying his non-familial cohorts in every possible fashion, but Malice steps in toward the end with a verse that is not only depressing as shit, it also helps explain (to a small degree) just why he was so unhappy with our chosen genre that he chose to take a leave of absence in 2010 instead of recording a fourth Clipse album right away. Interesting.

11. RAINY DAYZ

Excellent choice in instrumental: on here, the Re-Up Gang borrow Raekwon's RZA-produced “Rainy Dayz”, the best song from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (an album filled with some absolute classics) and one of the most cinematic experiences Prince Rakeem has ever been involved with. Obviously, Rae and Ghostface Killah own this shit, and nothing Pusha-Ton, Malice, and their boys do will ever compare, but damn it if they didn't actually try, especially Pusha's brother, who's weirdly mastered contribution (recorded at a higher volume than everyone else, for some reason) opens up some wounds in the ongoing “Why doesn't Pharrell really help the Clipse anymore?” argument, all while exploring maturity and shouldering some of the blame himself. Huh.

12. EMOTIONLESS

I like the title of this song, because it's so goddamn easy for me to say that these guys all sound emotionless over the instrumental, swiped from the Jim Jones song of the same name, which lacks soul to such a large degree that it starts sniffing around for the listener's about halfway through the proceedings. However, saying such things would be doing Malice a disservice, as he goes three-for-three with performances that distill his boredom with hip hop and which leave clues as to how his passive nature may have led to his self-imposed hiatus. Pharrell Williams actually catches it fairly bad on here, and Malice isn't even really being, um, malicious. Wow.

13. FUCK YOU

I didn't care for this shit. The Re-Up Gang never truly get their heads above the dominating ocean that Swizz Beatz's “Fuck You” beat (originally given to The Lox) places them in, and as a result, everyone dies. As to why Swizzy was never brought up on murder charges, I'll never know.

14. BRING IT BACK

This was boring as shit.

15. HAND ON MY GLOCK (LA THE DARKMAN & WILLIE DA KID)

The first of two tracks that DJ Drama quietly inserted into We Got It For Cheap Volume 3's program has absolutely fuck-all to do with the Re-Up Gang: they don't even make a cameo on “Hand On My Glock”. Instead, Drama turns to his boys: the part-time Wu-affiliate La the Darkman (who I believe may not even be on speaking terms with Drama currently), and La's little brother, the surprisingly-not-Wu-affiliated Willie Da Kid. The song itself, which swipes its beat from Hot Dollar's “Streetz On Lock”, a song that I listened to for the first time just right now) isn't terrible, but it doesn't fit on this project (for more than just the obvious reason), and La proves to the listener why it's been fourteen years since Heist Of The Century and he has yet to drop a sophomore album. Moving on...

16. CRY NOW

The Re-Up Gang repurpose the best Obie Trice song that will ever be recorded, but while the guys match the high level of energy that Witt and Pep's original beat brings with it, there isn't any member of this barbershop quartet that actually gels with it. The end result finds the listener nodding their head to the instrumental, but none of the performances will resonate with you. This was one of the rare instances where the Clipse and company have selected a beat that overpowers their talent. When you're left wishing that Obie himself would make an appearance, you have a problem.

17. SAND SOLO

Even on his solo song, Sandman still feels the need to announce his presence, which is surely a sign of severely low self-esteem, possibly brought on by the fact that his friends, the brothers Thornton, are both light-years ahead of him behind the microphone. This one-verse wonder certainly could have been a lot worse, but the spirits of Pusha, Malice, and even Ab-Liva are missed.

18. LIVA SOLO

Not really sure why the hell Sandman received much more time for his solo track than the guy who is actually still a member of the Re-Up Gang today, but whatever. Anyway, Live sounds a bit more engaging than his counterpart, but he still doesn't hold a candle to what Pusha and Malice have both proven they can do.

19. REAL N----S

The Re-Up Gang tackle The Notorious B.I.G.'s classic mixtape staple, rhyming over the same West Coast beats that Biggie chose way back in the day. One thing I always liked about Biggie's track is the fact that the overall concept was supposed to be Christopher Wallace rhyming over Dr. Dre beats (as a subtle middle finger to Death Row Records? Not really, but I'm sure some of you still believe otherwise), but someone snuck on the instrumental for Above The Law's “Black Superman”, which had nothing to do with the good Doctor and, as such, sounded fresher than the classic-but-overplayed beats from “Deep Cover”, “Nuthin' But A G Thang”, “Murder Was The Case (Remix)”, and “Gin & Juice”. The same applies here: in fact, these guys sound much more comfortable jacking Above The Law than they do pilfering from Suge Knight's office. And with that, the Re-Up Gang have left the building.

20. CHEERS (DJ DRAMA FEAT. PHARRELL & CLIPSE)

The other track DJ Drama snuck into the proceedings at least includes the Clipse in a performing capacity, if not their weed coke handlers. Unfortunately, it's a previously released song (originally found on Drama's Gangsta Grillz: The Album), which may just make all of the Re-Up Gang's fanbase visibly upset without a proper outlet to explore their feelings, and just like that, the Republicans are back in the White House. See what you did there, Drama? How fucking selfish was that shit. Anyway, this track features an awful lot of Skateboard P and too little Pusha and Malice over a generic Neptunes-aping instrumental from Khao, which begs the question: if you already had Pharrell in the studio, why couldn't you just fork over some more dough and get him to create his own beat? Unsurprisingly, there's a reason why “Cheers” isn't that well-known.

SHOULD YOU TRACK IT DOWN? We Got It For Cheap Volume 3 is for Clipse completists only. The third entry in their popular mixtape series was the first to show some dents in the armor, as Pusha T, Malice, Sandman, and Ab-Liva find themselves unable to rally against a common enemy (the role Jive Records played throughout the first two volumes), and their performances are rendered inconsistent because of it. Malice, especially, sounds tired of the entire enterprise, unafraid to speak out about just how unhappy he is in our chosen genre to the point of sounding like a crybaby, leaving his brother and their weed carriers to pick up the slack, a task they were wholly unprepared for. Their choice in beats for We Got It For Cheap Volume 3 is also a bit suspect, as a good majority of the songs on this project are handicapped from the moment the stolen instrumentals kick in. I'd love to blame DJ Drama for the failure of We Got It For Cheap Volume 3, and the fact that he shoehorned two songs entirely unrelated to the cause onto the project doesn't help his case, but the blame for We Got It For Cheap Volume 3's inconsistency lies with the Re-Up Gang themselves. It's possible to have too much of a good thing, I guess.

-Max

RELATED POSTS:

Catch up with the Clipse by clicking here.

Reader Review: Masta Ace - Disposable Arts (October 18, 2001)

(Did you think that the lack of my own Scarface write-ups was a strange oversight on my part? Then get a load of today's subject. A lot of you two have written to me wondering where the Masta Ace write-ups are. In case you haven't figured it out, aside from the Reader Review for the eMC project, there aren't any...until now. Danny C., a fan who admits to not knowing who Ace even was until fairly recently, took it upon himself to fill the void by jumping straight to his fourth album (and second solo project, technically), Disposable Arts. He even briefly explains why I may have not gotten to the work of Duval Clear just yet. Leave some notes for him below, and I'll see what I can do about his back catalog.)

Max feels a compulsive need to review albums in a specific order. I, however, do not. So today I'm reviewing Disposable Arts. This is not Masta Ace's first album, but I consider it to be his finest work (with its successor, A Long Hot Summer, coming in a close second). With that said, let's get started.

Masta Ace is a Brooklyn MC who, while never getting the credit he deserves, has garnered quite a reputation with the Hip-Hop community as a former member of Marley Marl's Juice Crew. His rhyme style is very accessible, and his conversational flow allows listeners to get into the music with little to no hitches. Oh, and he can rap, too.

This particular album, Disposable Arts, is largely considered his finest work. I'm not here to refute that. It's his fourth release, and it marked a major shift in Masta Ace's career. Disposable Arts is actually a concept album that follows our host from his release from prison to his enrollment and attendance at the University of Disposable Arts. Wikipedia states that many critics consider that to be one of the best concepts ever used on a hip hop album. I'm also not here to refute that.

Now, there isn't much else to say about this album. However, as Masta Ace is my favorite encee, you can probably guess what my recommendation is going to be at the end of this review.

Without further adieu, let's get this done...

1. THE RELEASE (SKIT)

The album opens with Ace being released from prison. It does a good enough job of setting things up, but if you aren't a fan of concept albums, you will feel obligated to skip it.

2. TOO LONG (FEAT. APOCALYPSE)

The first official song on Disposable Arts, and I must say: I'd never taken the time to listen to Masta Ace before I first heard this album, and this track really grabbed my ear. It's pretty good.

3. BLOCK EPISODE (FEAT. PUNCH & WORDS)

I love this song. The simplistic beat, mixed with Ace's superb storytelling abilities, make this an early standout. Punchline and Wordsworth both make appearances, but while they doesn't add much to the song, they certainly doesn't take anything away, either. A great track.

4. IDA COMMERCIAL (SKIT)

Moving the story along, Ace presents an ad for the Institute of Disposable Arts. It's kind of funny. That's all I got.

5. DON'T UNDERSTAND (FEAT. GREG NICE)

A lot of Eminem fans (myself included) will recognize the first line of this song from Marshall's “Who Knew?” (from The Marshall Mathers LP). The tracks are similar, but that's not why it knocks: the song itself is a banger. It would be one of my favorites if the Greg Nice hook wasn't so damn cheesy. (Greg Nice, cheesy? I imagine all of the older two readers descending to the comments section...now.)

6. GOODBYE LISA (SKIT)

A skit in which Masta Ace is talking to his (ex?) girlfriend about leaving for school. There's some arguing, a little bit of flirting, and an overall feeling of annoyance from me.

7. HOLD U (FEAT. JEAN GRAE)

This song is one of my favorites. Ace is telling his girl a story about their love and how there there were people that tried to stop them from being together. Jean Grae supplies a great verse, which surprised me, as I don't care for many female emcees outside of MC Lyte. Still a great track, though.

8. EVERY OTHER DAY (FEAT. SAS & MR. LEE GEE)

For some reason, the hook reminds me of the chorus from 2Pac/Makaveli's “Blasphemy”. Whatever, I still like the song. Masta Ace comes in with some stellar verses over a good, if uneventful, instrumental.

9. ROOMMATES MEET (SKIT)

This skit is actually pretty great. Masta Ace walks in on his roommate freestyling. The roommate is played by MC Paul Barman; if you're familiar with Prince Paul's work, you probably know who he is already. Disposable Arts has suddenly picked up a lot of momentum.

10. TAKE A WALK (FEAT. APOCALYPSE)

The beat on here is creepy, but direct, and Masta Ace spits some of my favorite verses of the entire album. I think that this is the first hook that actually sounds good on Disposable Arts. Love it.

11. SOMETHING'S WRONG (FEAT. STRICK & YOUNG ZEE)

Hey, no way! Two dope tracks in a row? Awesome. Yet another standout. (I have a feeling that Max would be a lot harder on it if he were writing this himself, though.) Ace speeds up his flow a little bit to rhyme alongside his guests, but he actually pulls it off overall. The hook isn't that great, though: he really needs to work on those.

12. THE CLASSES (SKIT)

Another funny skit. Nearly every skit involving Barman is funny on here.

13. ACKNOWLEDGE

One of my favorite songs on the entire album, and one of my favorite songs from Masta Ace in general. It's a dis track against Boogeyman and the duo The High & Mighty, but that's not why it's good: it works because Ace remains focused on the task at hand. Also, producer Xplicit provides one of the best instrumentals on Disposable Arts.

14. ENUFF (FEAT. MR. LEE GEE)

A decent track, but it doesn't pack the same punch the previous track had. Oh well, I still liked it enough.

15. WATCHING THE GAME (SKIT)

Another skit. Not essential, but it helps move the story along, if only a little bit. You can skip this one if you'd like.

16. UNFRIENDLY GAME (FEAT. STRICK)

A long, extended metaphor using sports as a way to describe the hood, which sounds pretty damn good. It shows the evolution of Masta Ace's talents, as I do not believe that the Masta Ace from the Slaughtahouse era would be able to pull this off. Another standout track.

17. ALPHABET SOUP

God, another standout?! Ace uses the letters of the alphabet to tell a story. Some people may be inclined to believe that Papoose's rendition of the same concept, “Alphabet Slaughter”, is a better song, but those people would be wrong.

18.DEAR YVETTE (FEAT. JANE DOE)

Three?! This song knocks, and I like it more than “Hold U”. It's a love song, but Ace handles it in a much better manner than most (*ahem* LL Cool J *ahem*). A great, great track.

19. I LIKE DAT (FEAT. PUNCH & WORDS)

Nice old-school beat to go with the mandatory sex rap. It's far from the best song on Disposable Arts, but it's still good enough. Punch & Words actually add surprisingly good verses, as well.

20. P.T.A. (FEAT. KING TEE & J-RO)

I'm gonna use this space to say that Masta Ace is able to salvage almost any beat whenever he starts spitting. Unless the instrumental is absolutely awful. Which the beat on this track is not.

21. TYPE I HATE (FEAT. RAH DIGGA & LESCHEA)

Not great, but okay enough. The hook kind of annoyed me, but the statement I used for the previous song description applies on here, as well.

22. DEAR DIARY

I actually love this song a lot. It features two of Ace's best verses of the entire album, rhymed from the perspective of his diary. Kind of twisted, and kind of backwards, but still loved it.

23. LAST RIGHTS (SKIT)

This is the only skit on the album featuring Paul Barman that I didn't like. Or maybe I'm just tired. Take your pick, but feel free to skip it regardless.

24. NO REGRETS

We finish Disposable Arts with my favorite song from the album.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Masta Ace's Disposable Arts happens to be one of my favorite albums. Maybe you already picked up on that. But even if it wasn't, you cannot deny the quality of this record. Ace comes in full force on nearly every track, and it actually is one of the better concept albums in hip hop. It will most likely lead you to some other high points in Masta Ace's career (Sittin' On Chrome and A Long Hot Summer are my personal picks). I very highly recommend that you pick this up. Masta Ace deserves every penny and more, seeing as he will never be as famous as some other emcees who didn't put in half the work that he has. Namely, Lil Wayne.

BUY OR BURN: Buy this. Now. I guarantee you will not regret it.

BEST TRACKS: "Block Episode"; "Don't Understand"; "Hold U"; "Every Other Day"; "Take A Walk"; "Something's Wrong"; "Acknowledge"; "Unfriendly Game"; "Alphabet Soup"; "Dear Yvette"; "Dear Diary"; "No Regrets" (actually, if you want the honest opinion, all of the songs on here are dynamite)

-Danny C.

(Leave your comments below.)

A Reader's Gut Reaction: Scarface - The Fix (August 6, 2002)

(Today's Reader Review comes from Justa, who decided that it was taking far too long for me to get to the Scarface solo discography myself. So he wrote up Face's seventh album (and first for Def Jam South), The Fix, for me. Hey, I just gave you two reviews in one; let me take this quick nap. Leave some notes for him below.)

Once upon a time, the house that Russell and Rubin built, Def Jam Records, started a offshoot labeled they called Def Jam South (how creative!). In order to legitimize this spinoff, one of the most respected rappers alive today, Houston's own Brad Jordan (also known as Scarface from the Geto Boys) was named president of this new venture. In turn, Scarface left his old label home, Rap-A-Lot Records, in favor of going where the money was.

Now I'm not really sure what Face actually did during his tenure, aside from releasing an album from labelmate Ludacris's weed carriers Disturbing Tha Peace (I won't speak much on the rest of them, but the Field Mobb (who wants to see Max actually write a review for them? Anyone?) and Shawna can actually spit). But one of his first moves was to record and release his seventh solo album, The Fix. One major advantage of his label jump from Rap-A-Lot to Def Jam South was a much bigger budget to work with, which meant that Face could finally afford to pay A-list outside producers to work for him.

When The Fix was released, former hip hop bible The Source (before being outright discredited thanks to the Lil Kim and Ray Benzino nonsense) anointed it with their once-widely recognized rating of five mics. The album featured some of the hottest producers of the time, including a pre-The College Dropout/post-The Blueprint Kanye West (on three tracks). Most hip hop fans weren’t used to hearing Uncle Face spittin' on anything that wasn’t Down South-style production, so The Fix was seen as an attempt to attract the attention of both the people who believed that “true” hip hop only came from either New York or California and the people who were watching BET before eleven o'clock (and I think all two of y'all know what I'm talking about).

Would Scarface gain a sales boost as a result of his label switch? Would radio play any of the singles from The Fix? And, most importantly, would Brad Jordan sell out?

1. THE FIX

An introductory skit with some fake Curtis Mayfield-like dude singing about being strung out? Yeah, this won't be getting a replay, that's for sure.

2. SAFE

The first actual song that you can hear Brad Jordan rap over is dope. He's in classic Face mode, definitely going in over this Southern-fried China Black beat. I have no complaints.

3. IN COLD BLOOD

The first beat from Kanye West on The Fix, recorded before the producer “wasn’t to cool for the safe belt”, follows up the last track as something Brad sounds right at home on. For those of you afraid of 'Ye's inclusion on The Fix, don't worry: there is no Auto-Tune present anywhere on “In Cold Blood”. Remember, this album was released back when Cher was the only artist using it.

4. GUESS WHO'S BACK (FEAT. BEANIE SIGEL & JAY-Z)

I’m never a fan of the long song intros where Hova just talks for hours on end. But when he finally raps, he at least turns in a solid verse. Scarface fits right into Mr. West's second beat of the day, and Beans is pretty good, too. The production work leans a bit more toward the Roc-A-Fella dynasty of old than it does Mr. Scarface, but this was still a cool track.

5. MY BLOCK

I love this track. I love the fact that it received regular radio airplay. I love the video. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this song. 'Nuff said.

6. KEEP ME DOWN

Some down south production courtesy of Nottz? Winning! (Are people still saying this?) This song is about haters, basically, but Face doesn't just claim that there are folks out there who are hatin': he actually goes into detail about the folks that plot to keep him down. He even manages to not make the word “haters” (one of the most overused pieces of a rapper's vocabulary) sound tired.

7. WHAT CAN I DO? (FEAT. KELLY PRICE)

I always appreciate it when Face takes a somber look at life. The pain in his voice always gets to me: he's just that good at expressing emotion, which is a skill a lot of artists have a problem with. The hook is kind of paint-by-numbers, though.

8. IN BETWEEN US (FEAT. NAS)

Nas gets right into his verse as only he can, and then Scarface finally comes in almost three full minutes into the track. No, the guest doesn't have a second verse: the middle of the song is dominated by a fake T-Boz (of TLC)-sounding performer on the (somewhat preachy) hook. That's what we all look for in a Scarface/Nas collaboration, right? Next!

9. SOMEDAY (FEAT. FAITH EVANS)

The Neptunes handled the production on this track, and the beat isn't bad. Faith Evans is on it as well, and I'll let you in on a little secret: she isn't rapping. Face shares his faith (see what I did there?) with the listener on this song (I wonder if I can now refer to Malice (of the Clipse) as a biter, now that he only spits God-related verses?) Overall, there may be too much Faith for me to truly enjoy this song (and I'm not talking about the subject matter).

10. SELLOUT

This song seems to have been awkwardly shoehorned into the tracklisting. After a light beat from The Neptunes on the previous track, this West Coast-paced instrumental just doesn't sound like a good fit. As you may have guessed from the title, “Sellout” is about those who create “fake-fake-fake records-records” and who are just frontin' in general. It isn't a bad song, but whoever sequenced The Fix didn't do it justice.

11. HEAVEN (FEAT. KELLY PRICE)

Another Kelly Price feature? Was she really that popular ten years ago? She actually gives one of the better R&B features of the entire album, though, on a track where Face gives the listener a peek into what he considers to be “Heaven”. Right when you think there will be a third chorus, the instrumental switches into something much harder-sounding (definitely Kanye West's influence as a co-producer), and Face calls out pretty much the entire United States of America. This might be one of the best songs on The Fix.

12. I AIN'T THE ONE (FEAT. WC)

Remember that song from earlier that I said didn't sound like a good fit? Well, “I Ain't The One” is even more out of place. The production is more West Coast-ish, and WC (of Madd Circle and Westside Connection fame) contributes a verse. The song sounds good for what it was, though.

13. FIXED

This was just an outro.

THE LAST WORD: Before people start calling me a hater, let me start off with the positive: the eleven songs featured on Scarface's The Fix still sound fresh even though it's been about ten years since it was first released. Face doesn’t disappoint lyrically, and the production is top-notch. Now the bad: it only lasts for eleven tracks (and two interludes), so while I still feel that the project was fairly solid, it could have used maybe two more songs to tie it together a bit better, especially with those two California-influenced entries that were thrown in at random, probably because there was nowhere else to place them. I still will go on record to say that The Fix is a must-own album. There is plenty on here to enjoy, and if you already like Scarface, the album presents the same goodness he’s been putting out there for years, just with a bigger budget. If you're not a Scarface fan, I think there is enough on The Fix to engage you as well. Definitely go out and cop this: the five-mic rating actually makes sense, and this should really be in your collection already.

-Justa

(Leave your comments for Justa below.)

Ice Cube - Bootlegs & B-Sides (November 22, 1994)

A lot of hip hop fans consider 1993's Lethal Injection to be the final album where rapper O'Shea Jackson, better known today as 21 Jump Street's Ice Cube, actually said anything of substance: they look to the rest of his output, leading up to the present day, as an example of their former hero resting on his family-movie laurels and living a not-so-angry life, which deflates the integrity of his modern-day lyricism.  I don't believe this to be true: Cube's third solo album, The Predator, is actually the end of that particular era: Lethal Injection contained some entertaining songs, but the politically-charged O'Shea had long been put to rest by the time he started recording that effort.  But for those of you still holding out hope, I present to you the subject of today's post.

1994's Bootlegs & B-Sides isn't a true Ice Cube album: instead, it's a compilation Priority Records put together of remixes and b-sides from O'Shea's career up to this point.  Although it was marketed otherwise, it didn't include any alternate versions of songs from the AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted or Death Certificate eras: instead, it focused solely on all of the extra material Cube recorded while he was working on The Predator and Lethal Injection.  Priority put this package together as a way to keep O'Shea's fans satiated while he avoided our chosen genre in favor of his blossoming movie career: his next solo album didn't see a release until four years later, in 1998.

Bootlegs & B-Sides is not a cohesive album and shouldn't be looked at as such.  Instead, it's simply a collection of random songs that Cube had in the vaults, and as is the case with these kind of projects, only a handful of the tracks on here are actually worthy of the man's solo catalog.  However, he was kind enough to release his revisionist history to the masses, so why the hell not, right?

Right?

1. ROBBIN' HOOD (CAUSE IT AIN'T ALL GOOD)

Bootlegs & B-Sides kicks off with a song that I believe O'Shea recorded especially for the project (as I couldn't find any other information for it). Over a 88 X Unit instrumental that could double as the score to a 1980's cop show (that's supposed to read as a compliment), Ice Cube explains away how his robbing of the rich and his giving to the poor, the “poor” being represented by “himself”, can be justified in a sociological context. Besides, he hates rich people, and they deserve what they get, right? Ignore the fact that Ice Cube is, and has been for quite a while now, one of the rich guys he is rallying against, and you may find this song enjoyable, in a “I wish Cube still rhymed like that”-kind of way. Not bad.

2. WHAT CAN I DO? (REMIX) (FEAT. MACK 10)

The first single from this compilation is a reworking of a Lethal Injection album track that is far more successful than the original incarnation. (It was previously released as “What Can I Do (Westside Remix)”, not to be confused with “What Can I Do (Eastside Remix)”, which was produced by A Tribe Called Quest's Ali Shaheed Muhammad in today's hip hop double take.) D'Maq and Lay Law's instrumental is much catchier than 88 X Unit's original track's was, and O'Shea sounds more invested in his performance, on which he describes a lifetime of malfeasance and the illegal activities that ultimately land him a life sentence. This remix is notable for introducing Cube's homeboy Mack 10, in a brief mid-song skit where he robs the McDonald's that Ice Cube just so happens to be working at (it was the only place that would hire him, given his prison record). His request for all the cash in the register and some food, “because [he's] Mack 10 'Foe Life!'”, is still funny to me, as it comes entirely out of left field . Speaking of out of left field...

Mack 10 - Mack 10 (June 20, 1995)

Dedrick Rolison, who records as the rapper Mack 10, is a California-based gangsta rapper who, for a time, was indistinguishable from his homey and mentor Ice Cube.  Seriously, this is how I really felt about the guy: when he made his debut on Cube's "What Can I Do? (Remix)", I couldn't tell if he was an entirely different person, or if Cube had gone all Kool Keith/Dr. Octagon on us.  It didn't help that both men rap about the exact same shit, although Dedrick has never really been able to pull off the politically-charged stuff.

Mack 10 is the poorly-titled debut album from Mack 10, released by Priority Records in 1995 under the guiding hand of O'Shea Jackson, so it isn't very surprising that it sounds pretty much like an Ice Cube project.  What is surprising is that it received a lot more attention than any of Cube's other offshoot projects (including his merry band of weed carriers in Da Lench Mob - whatever happened to them?).  This was due to the instant success of Dedrcik's first single, "Foe Life", which became both his theme song and his personal mantra, and a catchy one to boot.  In fact, that single reaching so many people (Mack 10 received a gold record for this effort) is possibly solely responsible for Ice Cube thinking that the supergroup Westside Connection, a trio consisting of himself, Dedrick, and West Coast stalwart WC, was a good idea in the first place.

Dedrick would later do his best to distinguish himself from Ice Cube, but for now, go ahead and pop Mack 10 into your CD player or onto your mp3 player of choice, and marvel at just how interchangeable the two men sound.

That's not a joke.  Do it.

1. MICKEY D'S LICK (INTRO)

This rap album intro is almost like a director's cut of the brief interlude that introduced Mack 10 to Ice Cube's fanbase during the latter's “What Can I Do (Remix)”. It's silly, but not any more so than any other rap album intro in recent memory, so I'll let it slide.

2. FOE LIFE

Dedrick describes himself as “nutty as they come” on the first line of this song: while he doesn't sound especially deranged (this is still West Coast gangsta rap: there's only so far that he can go), he's still more than serviceable on this first single-slash-title track, which encapsulates absolutely everything Mack 10 is in our chosen genre. O'Shea steps behind the boards to supply an instrumental that is unquestionably West Coast (and a banger, at that), while Dedrick supplies three verses that seem to alternate between a first-person narrative of being locked up in prison and general shit-talking, but it all fucking works. Mack 10 isn't the best rapper, but this shit is his domain, and he rules his kingdom with an iron fist. He even made his bars catchy enough for me to immediately remember upon pressing 'play': if you can still remember the words to a song that is seventeen years old, and you first heard it upon its initial release, that's a sign of steady longevity. My favorite line on here, “I'm broke as a motherfucker, n---a buy my single!”, is especially funny to me, because I actually owned the cassingle for “Foe Life”. This was an enjoyable, nostalgic ride through Inglewood.

3. WANTED DEAD (FEAT. ICE CUBE)

Dedrick leads police on a car chase over a O'Shea instrumental that sounds appropriate for the cause (meaning that it sounds pretty fucking good). The listener isn't provided with many clues as to why Mack 10 is being pursued in the first place (our host implies at one point that the cops hate him because he's friends with Ice Cube, because if it's one thing that the boys in blue won't ever forget, it's N.W.A.'s “Fuck The Police”), but you don't really need the details, seeing as our host is an engaging-enough presence, even if his rhymes could be a bit better. The story also seems to just end without warning. Cube's quick cameo during the ending skit is kind of funny, but the pair's dialogue doesn't help prove that Ice Cube and Mack 10 are supposed to be two separate people; it sounds like O'Shea is having a conversation with his id.

4. ON THEM THANGS (FEAT. THE MARY JANE GIRLS)

There's nothing original about sampling Rick James's “Mary Jane” for a rap song, and it's even worse when the chorus alters the words in order to fit the newer track's title. (What is impressive, however, is the fact that Dedrick allegedly convinced three of the four original Mary Jane Girls to actually perform the hook on here. They don't appear in the liner notes, but they are in the video.) Mack 10's ode to his rims isn't all bad, though: the beat, which is relaxing enough, reinforces his flow, which is that of a thugged-out CL Smooth, as he sticks to his topic in an engaging manner. The track runs a bit too long, and I could have done without him reminding listeners of the chorus to “Foe Life” so soon (“On Them Thangs” was Mack 10's second single), but this held up surprisingly well today. Still, if you're looking for something fresh, you should look elsewhere.

5. PIGEON COUP

I don't know what kind of political statement our host was trying to make by misspelling the word “coop” in the title of this skit. All I know is that, even though its title hews closely to that of the next track, it has no connection to that song, and is, as such, useless.

6. CHICKEN HAWK (FEAT. ICE CUBE)

On which the listener receives a hint as to why Mack 10 may not be very well-liked by the authorities: Mack 10 brags about being a menace to society, even boasting about kidnapping and murdering someone's girlfriend (or wife, or whatever). Up to this point, you picture Dedrick as a petty thief, but he cements his status as a potential homicidal maniac on here. Disturbing subject matter aside, this song was merely alright: Dr. Jam's beat is decent and non-intrusive, and our host adapts well enough. Thanks to Cube's appearance on the hook, though, I couldn't help but think of him as the Tyler Durden to Mack 10's anonymous narrator. That can't be just me, right?

7. HERE COMES THE G

I couldn't get into this track, as Crazy Toones's work behind the boards sounds so generically Left Coast that it was probably used in a television commercial for the California tourism board. Mack 10's bars aren't exactly special, either: everything about “Here Comes The G” comes off as paint-by-numbers gangsta rap. Sure, it would sound inoffensive enough at a backyard barbecue, but is this what gangsta rap has come to? Not exactly: as evidence, I present to you two the very next track, which is the antithesis to this horseshit.

8. WESTSIDE SLAUGHTERHOUSE (FEAT. ICE CUBE & WC)

This monster collaboration, possibly the best song in Mack 10's solo catalog, is responsible for two things: (a) the formation of the rap supergroup Westside Connection, and (b) Ice Cube's beef with Common (a battle he unanimously lost to the Chicago poet-slash-actor-slash-rapper-slash-Drake's biggest fan), which was instigated after Cube took offense at Lonnie's ode to hip hop, “I Used To Love H.E.R.”. O'Shea's first verse contains the obvious potshot (“Used to love H.E.R. / mad 'cause we fucked her / pussy-whipped bitch with no Common Sense”), but Mack 10 shows signs of solidarity with his employer, as his opening salvo could also be interpreted as a dis (“When you see her she's a goner / moved to California / blew the bitch up and put the gangsta twist on her”). WC, who gained wider exposure because of this very song, avoids direct confrontation but still bests his peers behind the mic, winning all of the Interweb for one full week mainly because of the way he pronounces the word “vagina” over the banging Madness 4 Real instrumental. Listen to the track and you'll see what I mean. This song is the shit, even with Cube's ill-advised extended OJ Simpson metaphor toward the end.

9. N----S DOG SCRAPING

Another skit with a misspelled title? Sigh.

10. ARMED & DANGEROUS

Our host sounds oddly younger on “Armed & Dangerous” than he does on every other aspect of this project, and I'm even stretching as far as to include the album artwork and all of the promotional material Priority Records could come up with. Since our host's self-produced beat sucks cock, I'd be willing to believe that this was an early demo remastered for inclusion on Mack 10, even though it doesn't actually show even the most minute amount of promise like a normal, decent demo reel would. It's probably best that we skip ahead to the next track...now.

11. H-O-E-K (FEAT. K-DEE)

Mack 10 and guest star K-Dee spend the length of an entire song going out of their way to disrespect women (or, more specifically, “hos”), although Mack 10's verse is more focused on dissing groupies who fuck famous people because they can. K-Dee is more obsessed with fucking, but as this is a gangsta rap record, that was to be expected. The title is a bit disturbing if you actually believe that any of these guys would actually murder their various sources of potentially disease-free pussy, I suppose. Cube's beat is actually pretty fucking good: it isn't exactly wasted on this track, since both rappers sound decent enough, but one if left wishing that it saw better days. The title also unintentionally spells out the last name of the chihuahua half of Ren & Stimpy, which always make me chuckle.

12. 10 MILLION WAYS

I understand this track is almost universally hated by Mack 10's fans, but I don't know why: this shit actually sounds much better today than most of the fucking album. Our host's (dope) instrumental is the most experimental of the entire project (as it sounds as though it was shipped directly from New York), and Mack 10 certainly seems game, spitting three verses that are much more lyrical than everything else on here (aside from maybe “Westside Slaughterhouse”). Although the hook is fucking terrible, and the singing toward the end is both disorienting and downright offensive to the ears, this song still bangs today. Maybe I'm in the minority (as I am on a lot of these things, apparently), but I thought this shit rocked. I'm interested in hearing your opinions.

13. MOZI-WOZI

Because his audience apparently demanded it, Mack 10 finally gets to the mandatory sex rap with this ode to promiscuous sex in one of those motels where you can rent a room by the hour. Our host doesn't sound natural in this environment: nowhere is this more obvious than when he actually pronounces the song's title. Reducing women down to what he believes to be their “very last compound” (on all fours, ass up and face down) probably did him no favors with the female audience (and, later, with his now-ex-wife T-Box, but I digress), but it's a sex rap on a West Coast gangsta rap album: it's exactly what you would expect to hear. I'm not saying the song is any good, though.

14. MACK 10'S THE NAME

88 X Unit's beat is pretty fucking sweet: it sounds like something Ice Cube's old N.W.A. partner MC Ren might have used right after that crew's breakup. Too bad our host's lyrics fucking suck: for some reason, he devoted this track to his rap name, and at the very end he even advises other up-and-coming rappers to find a different handle, because he's got this. I've heard dumber reasons to write a rap song (have you heard what gets played on rap radio today?), but Mack 10's bars don't even come close to vindicating this decision. This phenomenon hasn't happened on this project up until now, though, so I'll give the man credit: Mack 10 has remained fairly consistent behind the mic even when his beats failed him. Still a weird way to close things out, though.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Although it isn't a very challenging debut, Mack 10 succeeds in its primary purpose, in that it's actually entertaining. The music presented on here is wholly representative of what the West Coast sound was perceived to be back in 1995, and Dedrick's flow, although not great by any means, fits over most of them like a glove. Mack 10 rarely strays from what he knows: indeed, pretty much every single one of the songs on here talks about the exact same shit. But he sounds fairly convincing on the majority of Mack 10, spitting his street rhymes and braggadocio with confidence and with a healthy dose of (possibly unintentional) humor. Mack 10 shouldn't be looked at as a gateway album for anybody to use when trying to get into gangsta rap, but for what it is (essentially a recounting of a day in the life of our host), it's interesting enough.

BUY OR BURN? If you can find it for cheap, I would recommend a purchase. Only a handful of tracks are must-hears, but the rest of Mack 10 is fairly entertaining, so at least it won't be a waste of your money or time.

BEST TRACKS: “Westside Slaughterhouse”; “10 Million Ways”; “Foe Life”; “Wanted Dead”

-Max

(*clears throat, straightens necktie, continues*)

3. 24 WIT AN L

I remember liking this song when I first got Bootlegs & B-Sides (on cassette tape!), but today I found Cube's self-produced instrumental corny as fuck. Regardless, this track, which began its life as a b-side to The Predator's “Check Yo Self”, is much bleaker today than the goofy instrumental may lead you to believe. O'Shea runs down the details of living in South Central Los Angeles, an area where a vicious, violent cycle plays out between its residents and the LAPD on a daily basis. Cube glamorizes the criminal aspects of this life even as he admonishes his opponents who are trying to steal from him, even after he explains that all he owns is “a fat bunch of nothing”; I guess Jerry Heller and Eazy-E really did a number on his finances. This still sounded alright enough, but the beat and sampled vocal on the hook alleviate the tension in the worst kind of way.

4. YOU KNOW HOW WE DO IT (REMIX)

Although this remake uses the same pounding drums from The Mary Jane Girls's “All Night Long” and the same Evelyn “Champagne” King vocal sample from “The Show Is Over” that the original version of this track employed, this remix is far more upbeat. I preferred Cube's slower, more menacing delivery on the original: on here he recites the same bars, but it almost seems like he's trying to run through them as quickly as he can so that he can go see a girl about some pussy. O'Shea throws listeners for a loop, however, when, immediately after completing his third verse, he launches into some exclusive new lyrics that celebrate the overall remix-iness of the whole affair. The new bars aren't great, and they don't prove that Ice Cube is the voice of his generation or anything, but this reimagining could have been worse.

5. 2 N THE MORNING

This b-side to the original “You Know How We Do It” is a guilty pleasure dedicated to the type of woman who agrees to come over to your house for a booty call during the titular timeframe. Lay Law's instrumental is funky in all the right ways, while O'Shea sounds as lecherous as ever: one of his pickup lines (for a woman he meets at a backyard barbecue, whose main descriptors are having both a big ass and twenty dollars' worth of pot on her person) is actually, “What's up with these nuts in your mouth?” Seriously? And, of course, this being his song, he's banging that same chick within four bars. Our host even manages to sneak in a warning to those in the audience who were most likely to date-rape a chick before hearing Cube's words cautioning otherwise. I liked this as a b-side back in the day, and I still found it enjoyable enough today, although O'Shea the horndog fails to say anything significant on here. In fact, our host's lyrics are fucking terrible on here. Still, though, entertaining. Sue me.

6. CHECK YO SELF (REMIX) (FEAT. DAS EFX)

Unless you're been living under a rock for the past twenty years or your only exposure to Ice Cube's music is from the shitty Todd Phillips film Due Date (where the original version of “Check Yo' Self" plays), then this is probably the version of this song that you're most familiar with. Producers DJ Pooh and Cube himself swipe liberally from the instrumental to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's “The Message”, and Cube obliges by cleaning up his rhymes a bit (this was the version used for the music video, if you'll recall) and aping that classic song near the end. Guest stars Das EFX work the chorus just as they did before, with the exact same results: when they don't really say all that much in the first place, it's easy for them to sound like professionals. I like the album version more, but this remix became popular for a very good reason.

7. YOU DON'T WANNA FUCK WIT THESE (UNRELEASED '93 SHIT)

The timeframe described in the title would place this track in the Lethal Injection era, so it makes sense that the lyricism on here isn't as barbed as one would like. Still, this is the angriest Cube has sounded on the compilation thus far. Over a Dr. Jam / Madness 4 Real beat that wouldn't sound out of place on a Kool G Rap album, O'Shea Jackson lays out his mission statement for the listeners who still haven't figured out what he's (apparently) all about, and he does a pretty good job with it, even if some of the insults seem to come out of nowhere.

8. LIL' ASS GEE (EERIE GUMBO REMIX) (FEAT. N.O. JOE)

I used to love this track, a reworking of a Lethal Injection track which was the second single from Bootlegs & B-Sides, but I couldn't really get into it today. N.O. Joe's remix is much eerier than the album cut, which is appreciated, and the subject matter remains dark and depressing (this track is about the kids who grow up into a violent gang-related lifestyle because that's all they know, and the children entering the life keep getting younger and younger). Cube's dedication at the very end is also to the point: why would any straight male want to risk going to prison and see “more assholes than pussy-holes when they get you into the system”? That's the least appealing description of gangbanging that I have ever heard. But the song itself doesn't hit me as hard as it used to. I remember the potency of this track getting diluted even further on the silly, unnecessary radio edit, though.

9. MY SKIN IS MY SIN (FEAT. WC)

Ice Cube has always been a better rapper when he points out flaws in today's society, such as the blatant racism that permeates our culture even today, let alone when “My Skin Is My Sin” was released as a b-side to Lethal Injection's “Really Doe”. Over a Dr. Jam / Madness 4 Real instrumental that bangs, O'Shea unleashes two verses of fury, and then, without any warning, guest star WC, the only other rapper to actually lend a verse to this entire compilation, swoops in and destroys the proceedings with one of the most racially-charged performances I've ever heard from him. The only weak link on here was the shitty hook, but as an avid fan of rap music, I'm willing to let that slide when the rest of the song is this good.

10. IT WAS A GOOD DAY (REMIX)

For the most part, I believe that, in hip hop, a remix has to have a reason to exist. It has to explore the same material in a new and exciting way, or it has to answer underlying questions that the listener didn't even know they had, or it has to feature Busta Rhymes. (Oddly, this rule applies just as much today as it did back in the mid-to-late 1990s.) This self-produced remake of Cube's most mainstream single “It Was A Good Day” achieves none of these feats: the backing music is a blander sample (from “Let's Do It Again!” by The Staple Singers, which is a good song otherwise) looped to holy hell, and the general feel of the track is downgraded to “generic”. This remix is also for the clean radio edit, so there aren't even any curses in Cube's classic tale, a grueling ordeal that ends in victory when the Goodyear blimp acknowledges his existence in a career field that he didn't even realize he was a part of. In sort, this remix should never have been recorded. Especially when the original song was fucking perfect.

11. U AIN'T GONNA TAKE MY LIFE

Cube held this one back from the studio sessions for The Predator, marking it as a b-side for “Wicked”, and after hearing it again for the first time in a while, the decision makes perfect sense: the chorus apes En Vogue's “My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It”, which is both really fucking stupid and nonsensical for a track on which O'Shea blatantly goes after crooked Caucasian police officers. The contrast is jarring, so much so that you will sit there waiting for the song to just fucking end already. This was fairly awful, but hey, this is only the second truly terrible song on the project, so whoever sequenced Bootlegs & B-Sides deserves a medal. Or a cookie. Or a cookie-shaped medallion. One of those.

12. WHEN I GET TO HEAVEN (REMIX)

Apparently our host decided that the overall message on Lethal Injection's “When I Get To Heaven” needed to be heard by absolutely everybody, since Mr. Woody's remix aims for pop radio even with the inclusion of a goofy chorus with one too many n-words for white people to feel entirely comfortable. Did this song need a remix? It's arguable, but I ultimately believe that the first version of this material served its purpose just fine. So, yeah, I found this to be a waste of data stored on a plastic disc.

13. D'VOIDOFPOPN---AFIEDMEGAMIX

Bootlegs & B-Sides ends with a curious inclusion, a mix of most of Cube's most well-known past tracks blended together for no real reason. It's interesting to listen to once, but it's much more fun to listen to the source materials in their respective entirety. And with that, we're done.

FINAL THOUGHTS: It's unfair to look at Ice Cube's Bootlegs & B-Sides as a full album, as that was obviously not Priority's intention: this project is a cash-in first and a document of an artist's achievements in an alternate reality second. But for what it is, it starts off very strongly, as Cube's performances skew more heavily toward his angry, observant persona than they do toward his more current pop leanings and family-friendly alter ego. Only the first half of Bootlegs & B-Sides is worthy of any real attention, though: the back end (save for one track, “My Skin Is My Sin”) is overloaded with missives that are as subtle as a sledgehammer to your teeth. I get it, Ice Cube: you hate cops and refuse to hide your racism in a society that you feel chooses not to accept you as simply another human being! That's fine and all, but there are other things you can write about, especially since you had already mastered this particular sub-genre and left these versions off of your albums for very valid reasons. Bootlegs & B-Sides is nonessential, but there are some gems on here that hold up, so that was nice.

BUY OR BURN? This project was designed for Ice Cube completists, but if you can find it for a buck or two, you may as well pick it up, as the highs of the first half completely obscure the shit bringing up the rear.

BEST TRACKS: “My Skin Is My Sin”; “What Can I Do? (Remix)”; “You Don't Wanna Fuck Wit These (Unreleased '93 Shit)”; “”Robbin' Hood (Cause It Ain't All Good”; “Check Yo' Self (Remix)”; “2 N The Morning”

-Max

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