My Gut Reaction: The Lonely Island - Incredibad (February 17. 2009)

Oh, come on, like none of you saw this review coming.

The Lonely Island is a comedy troupe from California, made up primarily of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer, along with some other guys on the fringes. They are currently based out of New York, as all three me currently work on Saturday Night Live (Jorma and Akiva as writers and sometime-directors, and Andy as on-air talent). They started their career creating ridiculous short films and silly songs that got them noticed by many in the business, leading to a sitcom pilot for Fox, Saturday Night Live, and now, Incredibad, their first album, released on Universal Records, thanks to NBC.

Technically, Incredibad is actually the group's second album, but the first one is impossible to find anyway, so it doesn't really count. As fans of the hip hop culture, the three guys decided to add to it by creating Incredibad, a stupidly-named rap trio, and they released Please Incredibad Don't Hurt 'Em (a collection of their popular mp3s) prior to creating some of the most popular sketches and short films in SNL's history, including "Lazy Sunday", "Dick In A Box", and "Jizz In My Pants", which still makes me laugh today.

Regardless of the fact that Best Buy labeled this as a comedy album, Incredibad is about 85% hip hop, with only the occasional excursion into different musical territory. It features good-natured guests with a sense of humor with names as diverse as Natalie Portman and E-40. Also, it cost me five bucks (thanks, Reward Zone!). So without further ado, let's get this over with, so you two can wonder when I'll write about a "real" rap album again.

1. WHO SAID WE'RE WACK?
Alternately annoying and amusing. Leans heavily toward the former, though.

2. SANTANA DVX (FEAT E-40)
Of all people, they got J-Zone to provide the beat. Sadly, this is probably the most high-profile project he'll ever work on. On the plus side, though, cashing NBC/Universal checks has got to be a pretty sweet feeling. The song itself is actually pretty good, as well, although the idea of getting E-40 to portray Carlos Santana is either inspired or ridiculous, depending on the time of day.

3. JIZZ IN MY PANTS
A lot has already been written about this Euro-dance goof, but I will say this: it works completely. However, although it will sound good in your car (if you're into that sort of thing, and I would guess that most of my two readers are not), you'll appreciate it even more if you watch the video. My favorite part is when Andy drops his phone in the rain: you'll know what I'm talking about when you watch it.

4. I'M ON A BOAT (FEAT T-PAIN)
I've already written about this track, but for those of you that refused to watch the video when I posted it, you should know that this is a wholly successful parody of rap excess today, with much more profanity than is required by law, love of all themes nautical, and T-Pain to boot. I appreciate how Andy manages to sound like two different rappers within the first four verses, and hearing T-Pain sing "motherfucker" and brag about fucking a mermaid is just funny.

5. SAX MAN (FEAT JACK BLACK)
I normally like Jack Black as a musician, but here the Lonely Island makes the mistake of casting him as the straight man for an entirely unfunny joke. I'd rather sit through his fake trailer at the top of Tropic Thunder on an endless loop than listen to him on this song. Which is too bad, as Tenacious D has created some truly funny shit.

6. LAZY SUNDAY (FEAT CHRIS PARNELL)
The track that first exposed the general public to the Lonely Island outbreak and their love of hip hop. It sounds a bit dated today, but I still found it funny. The gunshots punctuating the end of the song are the perfect touch.

7. NORMAL GUY - INTERLUDE
While I like how Santana champagne is a running joke throughout Incredibad, this skit was pretty fucking worthless.

8. BOOMBOX (FEAT JULIAN CASABLANCAS)
I can't stand The Strokes, so I wasn't expecting much from this track. It turns out that it isn't that good anyway, but I laughed out loud at Julian's singing about "a Spanish guy [doing] the Bartman". And also, thanks to this one song, I've heard enough references to boiled goose to last several lifetimes.

9. SHROOMS - INTERLUDE
...

10. LIKE A BOSS
Slim Thug and Officer Ricky Ross may take offense with Andy Samberg for this ridiculously goofy song. Hopefully, it'll lead to another pointless rap beef, like the Curtis Jackson/Rick Ross that is currently playing out on a blog near you. The "swallow sadness" line sticks out in my mind, along with the rest of the song: it's so stupid, it's hilarious.

11. WE LIKE SPORTZ
Andy takes the day off while the other two guys (Jorma and Akiva) grab the mic. This is one of their earlier, pre-Saturday Night Live tracks, and the joke is a lot funnier if you watch the video, especially because you can actually see the two goofy white guys pose themselves in a threatening manner. Musically, this track works better than most of what's played on the radio today, and this shit is old, son!

12. DREAMGIRL (FEAT NORAH JONES)
This silly song turns into a commercial for Chex Mix towards the end, taking it to a completely different level of absurdity. Having Norah Jones sing "TM" (as in the symbol for a trademark) and "I thought you looked like a bag of trash" is a fucking stroke of genius.

13. RAS TRENT
Without watching the video, you two may find this Sly and Robbie-produced trifle to be simply offensive to the Rastafarian culture, but Andy's spot-on impersonation of those much-hated trust fund babies who switch religions on a dime works much better on a visual level. Also, by watching the video itself, you're privy to a bonus joke that doesn't translate very well to the CD.

14. DICK IN A BOX (FEAT JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE)
You've probably already heard this Color Me Badd/Isley Brothers goof. I can't believe it won a fucking Emmy. That's just weird.

15. THE OLD SALOON - INTERLUDE
Encapsulates the problem Max has with mixtape deejays, the main reason that more mixtapes aren't reviewed on the blog. (I promise I'm working on that.)

16. PUNCH YOU IN THE JEANS
This track was apparently inspired by a Jurassic 5 song (according to an interview the group gave to Entertainment Weekly), so The Lonely Island got DJ Nu-Mark himself to produce it (he also provided the beat for the previous interlude). It's a one-joke song that you'll probably get tired of about a quarter of the way through.

17. SPACE OLYMPICS
By far the most ambitious song and digital short The Lonely Island has come up with thus far. I remember thinking that this shit was surreal when I first saw it on SNL, and I still appreciate how the lyrics go off on bizarre tangents towards the end, such as when Andy simply swipes lyrics from Timberlake's "My Love".

18. NATALIE'S RAP (FEAT NATALIE PORTMAN & CHRIS PARNELL)
Natalie Portman has no flow, but it's still funny to hear her rhyme about "bust[ing] in dudes's mouths like gushers, motherfucker". And besides, she's just adorable. The beat actually has some heft to it, which is most impressive for a song that isn't supposed to be taken seriously anyway.

19. INCREDIBAD
The album ends with a strange origin story about the group, told in the vein of "Paul Revere" by the Beastie Boys. "Impeach The President", the Honeydrippers song that is probably the second most utilized sample in hip hop behind "Nautilus", is used to a decent effect. The track is alright, but you'll probably never listen to it again, thanks to the magic of the "skip" button.

THE LAST WORD: Incredibad is actually more entertaining than a lot of rap albums released today, mainly because The Lonely Island are actively trying to be funny. It helps that the three men obviously have an appreciation for the craft, and they don't embarrass themselves behind the mic. Not every joke works, and the ones that hit will become less and less amusing with each listen, but for now, it works for me. Plus, the inclusion if the digital shorts on the enclosed DVD (with the exception of "I'm On A Boat", which was too new when the disc was pressed) is a nice touch. Either way, I only paid five bucks for Incredibad, so I'm happy.

-Max

Reader Review / My Gut Reaction: Ice Cube - Laugh Now, Cry Later (June 6, 2006)

(Okay, I know that I said yesterday’s Reader Review was the last one, but I have something different for you two to enjoy. I’ve been sitting on Kevin’s review of Ice Cube’s Laugh Now, Cry Later for a while now, because it didn’t fit the parameters of the assignment, in that I hadn’t written about the disc first. The thing is, I had never actually listened to this album in the first place. So, to make things interesting, I’m combining his write-up with a Gut Reaction post of my own, which is why there are more italicized words than usual. I’ll let Kevin start things off, and you’ll see me in a couple of paragraphs.)

Instead of starting with an introduction of my chosen rapper and album, I’m going to start with an introduction to myself (not that I’m expecting you to care). I admit to not having good taste in rap (not that I listen to Lil’ Wayne or Soulja Boy, and the like), so my views may be different than most of the readers. I do occasionally listen to the more commercial stuff, and I have a poor appreciation for lyrics (half of rap to me is about lyrics, a quarter about delivery and a quarter about beat, to be mathematic about it) (which would actually imply that you care more about the lyrics than anything else on the song, but I digress). But still, my four friends who enjoy anything to do with rap and hip-hop are all 50 Cent lovers, so at least I’m a cut above them! (Hold on, punchy, let’s actually finish the review first.)

I’m writing about Laugh Now, Cry Later, gangsta rapper and amateur actor Ice Cube’s long-awaited comeback album. (I’m not so sure about the “amateur” part of that last sentence – he was pretty fucking good as Doughboy.) After spending many years acting in boring movies of all sorts (Are We There Yet?, I’m looking at you!), he decided to (finally) return to the studio and make an album. I didn’t really know what to expect, to be honest. This could have been a return to his Death Certificate days, full of scathing lyrical assaults, or it could be as bad as Are We Done Yet?. I’ll leave you hanging there. Without further ado, here goes my review!

(Actually, there’s still a little bit of ado, since I’m mashing up two separate review styles. The basic concept of my Gut Reaction to Laugh Now, Cry Later, Ice Cube’s seventh solo album (and his first in six years, after making a bunch of movies – oh, wait, that’s what Kevin was referring to) is this: I fully admit that I stopped paying attention to Ice Cube the rapper after the first Westside Connection album was released. I think that most of my readers and fellow bloggers will agree with me when I say that O’Shea Jackson has lost quite a bit of his step in the hip hop game, and while he’s still a more proficient lyricist than, say, almost anybody from the South (note I used the word “almost”, and no, I don’t feel that Lil’ Wayne is a lyricist), that backhanded praise is akin to being the best fry cook at McDonald’s.

So when I received Kevin’s request to review this disc, I was reluctant at first, since I had never listened to it and, honestly, never really wanted to. But I’ve held on to this write-up for so long that I feel it’s only fair to share it with the rest of my two readers, and, on a lark, thought it would be fun if I also listened to the disc, just to see what all the fuss was about. (Laugh Now, Cry Later was the first release on Ice Cube’s independent record label, and it went on to sell more than half a million copies, which is virtually unheard of for an indie hip hop release with little to no promotion.) I believe I did my best to not let Kevin’s opinions sway my vote in any way, as I only skimmed through his e-mail the first time around and am only really reading his thoughts after having already written out my notes.

Let’s see how this works out.)

1. DEFINITION OF A WEST COAST ‘G’ (INTRO)
Kevin: I get the idea that most people around here care little for boring rap introductions, and as such, will care little for an introduction that features one line from Cube himself.
(Max: Well, that was worthless.)

2. WHY WE THUGS

K: The album starts off with a real banger. Scott Storch provides a booming track that what could happen when a good rapper takes one of his beats (insert “Candy Shop” reference here). There really is no better way for Cube to say “I’m back, bitches!” than this.
(M: Scott Storch’s beat isn’t bad at all, but O’Shea’s attempt to spin social commentary comes off as even more elementary than if it had been written by various members of the Dino 5.)

3. SMOKE SOME WEED

K: Then there’s this shit: a typical, Snoopy-style song about the weed. (I assume he’s talking about Snoop Dogg, but I left his words in context because the idea of the Peanuts gang performing a ballad about marijuana makes me chuckle.) I’m a firm anti-drug man, so I have little interest in the song’s content, but the beat featured exotic rain sticks, flutes and women echoing “Some some weeeeeeeeeeeed” in the background. And it was produced by a guy named Bud’da. How fitting.
(M: While we’re obviously a long way past “Fuck Tha Police”, I actually found myself liking this song. Bud’da’s beat grew on me in the nearly-four-minutes it took for this song to unravel across my ears. The singing on the hook made me want to insert a knitting needle into my brain stem, though.)

4. DIMES & NICKS (A CALL FROM MIKE EPPS) (FEAT MIKE EPPS)

K: I didn’t listen to this track properly, but I’m pretty sure it was another pointless excerpt about weed.
(M: I get the joke (Mike Epps begging Cube to make another movie so that he can hook him up with some work), but it’s not very funny, especially because Mike Epps is decent enough to make money without O’Shea’s help. He was one of the better things about The Fighting Temptations. Epps, the guy who played Bunk Moreland on The Wire, and, oddly, Montell Jordan, stole the movie right out from under Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyonce.)

5. CHILD SUPPORT

K: This song is another banger. Cube speaks as the father of gangsta rap, looking down upon his children. How interesting. My favourite line has to be the simple “You want child support?/ Get it out ya ass, bitch!” which he shouts throughout the song. The beat is also quite good, although a bit to similar to “Why We Thugs” (it’s produced by Teak & Dee, whom I believe are producers on Cube’s label).
(M: I swear this shit just played out on my computer, but I cannot support my own theory.)

6. 2 DECADES AGO (INSERT)

K: Identical to the first track in running time, layout, and appeal. Which is zilch.
(M: …)

7. DOIN’ WHAT IT ‘POSE 2DO

K: Meh. Cube just goes on about how much better he is than you. If this were his first album, I’d think he’s another one of those southern rappers who started rapping about 10 minutes ago and mysteriously accumulated a large amount of money. Or so they claim.
(M: Cube almost seems embarrassed to be performing on this song about halfway through this sorry-ass song. Maybe even he realized that this type of track was beneath the man who made The Glass Shield.)

8. LAUGH NOW, CRY LATER

K: This is an excellent recovery from the slip-up in the track before. It makes you think that Diddy is worth something in the hip-hop world (since he “produced” this track alongside his Hitmen production team). His lyrics are tight in this one. I highly recommend it.
(M: Meh.)

9. STOP SNITCHIN’

K: The energy level dips a bit. It’s still a good track, but I just can’t get into the Swizz Beatz instrumental. That, and the fact that the title sounds like a 50 Cent track. He also refers to his movie career in this track (as well as on quite a few others presented on here).
(M: Tammy Faye Baker? Yeah, Cube, that reference is relavant to today’s hip hop audience. The Swizz beat, which is pretty fucking awful anyway, doesn’t mesh well with the intro to this song, in which Cube pretends that he’s writing-slash-performing this track from behind bars. Which I’m not buying, by the way: I’m pretty sure a quick search on TMZ.com will prove that O’Shea was standing in line to purchase a week’s worth of groceries during the time of this song’s recording.)

10. GO TO CHURCH (FEAT SNOOP DOGG AND LIL’ JON)

K: The bad thing is that this is as commercial as Cube could ever get. The good thing? This is actually a decent track. Despite a boring-ass Lil’ Jon beat (yep, I hate all his beats, though this one is better than most of his others) and a boring-ass chorus (just a whole load of shouting, really: it is Lil’ Jon, after all), both Cube and his guest, Snoop, do well in this song. The lyrics are so-so but everything seems to work. (Hold on: a “boring-ass” beat, a “boring-ass” chorus, and some “so-so” lyrics still manages to equal an entertaining song? Can somebody please explain this new math to me?) Cube even decides to take a poke at Mike Jones (“I ain’t Mike Jones/Keep my name out your mouth bitch”). That one made me laugh. (It wasn’t technically a jab at Mike Jones, but I’ll let that comment go, as it is his perspective.) Unfortunately, Ice Cube decided to let Lil’ Jon handle the third verse (and he can’t rap), so only the first half of the song is worth listening to.
(M: I remember hearing this song on the radio, right around the time that producer Lil’ Jon was realizing that, in order to extend the shelf life on his career, he would have to atop resting on his Chappelle’s Show laurels and actually create some good music, or, failing that, something that was at least catchy and female-friendly, which explains his current status as Pitbull’s glorified hypeman. Both Cube and Snoop Dogg sound as if they should have given up hip hop years ago, although I humbly admit that both men have since recorded some very entertaining tracks. So, this song is basically Lil’ Jon’s fault. Or possibly Dave Chappelle’s.)

11. THE N---A TRAPP
K: This song is amazing. DJ Green Lantern creates an ominous, melancholy beat which Cube proceeds to devour. He compares the ghetto to a mousetrap, as the title suggests, and it is full of catchy lines, such as, “It's a hustle called capitalism/Got my n----s in prison, all stuck in the system (yeah) / Recognize who's a hustler/George Dubl-ya / He's the one that's sittin’ back, fuckin’ ya”. It is a true old-school song which you’d expect to find on a 1990’s album rather than something from the new millennium. Brilliant.
(M: DJ Green Lantern (him? Really? That’s kind of interesting) provides an awfully boring beat, but Cube doesn’t sound entirely terrible, even though he manages to rhyme about condoms and Flavor Flav within the span of three bars.)

12. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (INSERT)
K: The previous songs shot my hopes up, only to have them dashed by this boring insert.
(M: This is just an interlude (don’t be confused by the much classier term “insert”) which justifies the formation of gangs. It has a cool title, though: A History of Violence is a badass flick that you two should check out if you haven’t already.)

13. GROWIN’ UP
K: Laylaw & D-Mac (whoever they are) (for the record, they’ve been around for a while, and have created beats for Cube in the past: Laylaw also helped out Above The Law when they first dropped) make a slick beat, which is ambient and gentle (contrasting the raw, gritty beats found throughout the rest of the album). This is as close to an autobiography as Cube will probably get. “Oh shit, it's N.W.A. / Them niggas on tour and they comin’ our way / Lil' Eminem is still tucked away / In that trailer park, just bumpin’ our tape” is another line that made me laugh. There’s also a sample of Minnie something-or-other in the chorus, which works quite well. ("Minnie something-or-other"? Even if you’re not familiar with Minnie Ripperton’s work, you should at least lift the name from the album credits or something.)
(M: Cheesy as hell, but it is good to hear Ice Cube’s version of N.W.A.’s growth and his departure, especially from his more mature point of view, in which he acknowledges both his anger toward his estranged bandmates and the love he still has for them today. Offering to help mentor Eazy-E’s son was a little much, though.)

14. CLICK, CLACK – GET BACK!
K: This song the polar opposite to the one before. However, the beat is a monster and Cube tears the track up. The lyrics are quite weak, but it’s still worth a spin.
(M: I’m going to take the three minutes it takes for the song to finish to ponder what N.W.A.’s Efil4Zaggin would have sounded like had Cube not left the crew. Now that could have been some potent, genre-changing shit. Unlike this hot tranny mess.)

15. THE GAME LORD
K: What the hell? When he talks about being the “game lord” in the chorus, is he talking about the rap game or video games in general? I’m inclined to lean toward the former, but the fact that the beat sounds like something from an old-school Nintendo game doesn’t help me to distinguish.
(M: The title alone is ridiculous enough to negate this entire song.)

16. CHROME & PAINT (FEAT WC)
K: I didn’t really care for this one, either. Predictably, it’s about cars (or at least the chorus is). WC outshines Ice Cube on this one, so I guess that’s got to be noted.
(M: WC essentially proves why he still has possession of Ice Cube’s phone number in his Blackberry, while Mack 10, the third guy in the Westside Connection, has had to resort to delivering my flatscreen television last weekend.)

17. STEAL THE SHOW
K: Just…no. This is basically about money, cars and hoes. Scott Storch creates a horrendous beat, and Cube seems to be completely unmotivated. Press “next” immediately.
(M: What the fuck is this shit?)

18. YOU GOTTA LOTTA THAT (FEAT. SNOOP DOGG)
K: Another song which has Tha Doggfather as a guest and Lil’ Jon on the beat (and is, coincidentally, also one of the singles). Unlike “Go to Church”, however, this song sucks. The beat is pathetic and it’s a total mess. Skip again.
(M: “You gotta love that?” You can’t tell me what to do.)

19. SPITTIN’ POLLASEEDS (FEAT WC & KOKANE)
K: Are the “pollaseeds” of the title actually sunflower seeds, or is it some gangsta ritual I’m not in on? I can see Cube in the music video proudly flaunting his sunflower seed packets in our faces. Getting back to the song, it’s not as bad as the two before it, but that’s not saying much.
(M: I kind of like the laid-back, late-summer-day-at-a-backyard-barbecue feel of the production. WC once again overrules Ice Cube’s contribution, which starts off with a weird and ineffective rant against fake rappers, backpackers, and critics of West Coast rap. Still, I really liked this song, goofy title notwithstanding.)

20. HOLLA @ ‘CHA BOY
K: Another Lil’ Jon-produced track. This one sucks, too.
(M: Five producers I would rather see Ice Cube work with instead of Lil’ Jon: Black Milk, Butch Vig, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Mutt Lange, and Jerry Bruckheimer. I’m thinking that Cube was sitting on these beat tapes that he bought off of John Little while he was still a force within the industry, well before he became a fucking joke, and decided to use them anyway, since it wasn’t as if he was going to get his fucking money back. The fact that Cube references a character from Chappelle’s Show kind of derails my theory, though.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: After listening to Laugh Now, Cry Later again, I feel a bit disappointed. When I first bought it, I was hooked on it for hours. I even bumped the tracks I didn’t like. Now I like it much less, for some reason. Rappers never age gracefully and I am more-or-less certain that Cube will never be able to surpass his N.W.A. and AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted days. But don’t let my negative attitude mislead you: over half the songs are play-worthy and, despite a subpar finish, the album as a whole still stands.

BUY OR BURN?: Buy it. Around half the songs on the album are decent. Ice Cube has sold out a bit on this album but, nonetheless, both radio listeners and hardcore-rap heads will find something on here to enjoy.

BEST TRACKS: “Why We Thugs”; “Child Support”; “Laugh Now, Cry Later”; “The Nigga Trap”; “Growin’ Up”

-Kevin

(MAX’S FINAL WORD: Although I found a few of the tracks decent enough, it becomes blatantly obvious by…oh, let’s just say the first track, that the Ice Cube of yesteryear is but a faded memory, one which has been replaced by this guy, an O’Shea Jackson lookalike who doesn’t need to rap to make his money, and, as such, does a half-assed job at it. Laugh Now, Cry Later is commendable in that it was an independent success (I cannot recall ever seeing a video for any of these songs, although I’m sure somebody shot at least one) that managed to chart pretty high in Billboard, but other than Kevin, I’m not aware of anybody that actually has this album in their collection, and now I know why. I thought this was an interesting experiment, but I never would have gotten to this album otherwise (okay, maybe I shouldn’t say “never”, since I would have had to eventually), but at least now I know that I don’t ever need to listen to it again.)

(Well, I’m sure that was awkward to read. If this happens again, I’ll probably need to clean up the format a bit. If you found this experiment interesting enough, have suggestions as to how it should be layed out next time (if there is a next time), or just want to see more Reader Reviews and want me to shut the fuck up, leave me some comments below.)

Reader Review: Nas - Stillmatic (December 18, 2001)

(On this, the last Reader Review of the second round, The Most Felonious Vocalist In The Wide World Of Showbusiness rewrites my perspective on Stillmatic, the Nas comeback vehicle after the shitstorm that was Nastradamus. As the man frequently leaves some of the longer comments on my posts, you should prepare yourselves for a feast of the written word. No, seriously. You may want to get a snack first.)

On September 14, 1973, Nasir Jones shot his way out his mom dukes. Demonstrating his knack for making a good first impression, Nas was picked up by his pops, jazz trumpeter Olu Dara, who wiped him off and said, "At least the n---a ain't ugly." As an infant, to keep him alive, his mom was forced to fight off giant sized bats that would attack six at a time, crying "Nas." This was a portent of things to come, as the youngster would experience a turbulent upbringing highlighted by multiple encounters with truly iconic figures. In perhaps the most memorable of these, Nas went to hell for snuffin' Jesus at the tender age of twelve. The Queensbridge resident was able to make the best of the situation, striking up an unlikely friendship with Medusa over Moet and marijuana. Young Nasir also spent a lot of time breaking the locks at candy factories and waving automatic guns at nuns. Every day, a different plot had him running from cops. Although the good times were few and far between, Nas has many fond memories of raking leaves and robbing foreigners. (I honestly can’t add any comments to that paragraph. Good show.)

Nas made his recording debut on "Live At The Barbeque", a posse cut featured on Main Source's landmark LP Breaking Atoms. (I can see it now: "Max, why haven't you reviewed Breaking Atoms yet? Stop reviewing Wu-Tang!) Nasir had adopted Nasty Nas as his new microphone moniker, abandoning his earlier Kid Wave handle. (Apparently, the name thing might be true.) He was 18 years old, yet his verse featured many of the hallmarks that would eventually make him one of the most respected rappers of all time. These traits include the use of poetic imagery, a fascination with the occult and the macabre, and a devastating flow reminiscent of the exalted Rakim Allah. It was 1991 and people were eager for a full length Nasty Nas project. Their wish wouldn't be granted until 1994 when Illmatic, the consensus Greatest Album In Hip Hop History, was unleashed to adoring critics and fans.

Illmatic earned Nas critical acclaim and respect in the hip hop community but commercial success proved elusive. The next thing you knew, Nas was dancing around in a pink suit and pouring champagne on bitches left and right. He no longer seemed capable of the seemingly effortless mastery he had displayed on Illmatic. Nas's third and fourth albums (we're skipping over It Was Written, for those of you that keep count) were famously described as "doo" and he was shamefully outdone by his bodyguard on the lyrical showcase "Oochie Wally." (I just had to pick my ass up off the ground after laughing it off to “lyrical showcase".) Supposedly sporting a one hot album every 10 year average, the future did not look bright for Mr. Jones. When Jay-Z dissed him in the summer of 2001, the prevailing opinion was that Nas was no longer an elite rapper capable of recovering from an attack of that magnitude. It was an opinion based on the testimony of archrival Shawn Carter and unshared by those who practiced internet piracy or patronized bootleggers, but it was the prevalent opinion.

Late in the fall of 2001, "Ether" was leaked to hip hop radio. Detailing Jay-Z's penchant for switching allegiances, plagiarizing entire stanzas, and wearing Hawaiian shirts, “Ether” struck a nerve. Listeners of New York City's Hot 97 preferred the song to Jay-Z's response track "Super Ugly", a development which left Jay-Z's trademark swagger shaken as he tried to make sense of the results on live radio. Jay had woken a sleeping giant and restored Nas's hunger. When it was revealed that Nas had titled his fifth solo album Stillmatic, expectations were once again sky high.

Sit back, I'm ‘bout to begin.

1. INTRO
Oh, man. This is the ideal way to start the album. The beat is triumphant, but not celebratory, and Nas immediately sets the agenda: restoring his reputation and defaming Shawn Carter. (Not necessarily in that order.)

2. ETHER
The best thing I can say about the beat is that, as terrible as it is (and it’s pretty awful), it doesn't really get in the way. It certainly doesn't add anything, and its true worthlessness will shine if you ever subject yourself to listening to the instrumental, but at least it sucks in a quiet, unassuming manner. The caricature of Shawn Carter that ultimately emerges is that of the freshman with no true identity, willing to portray himself in any manner that will win the approval of Biggie Smalls and Nasty Nas, the popular seniors. Now, I admit that I'm on Nasir’s dick and I love his style, but I don't see how Jay’s "Takeover" competes with this lyrically. Jay's brief verse about Nas on there sounds like it was an afterthought, and "Super Ugly" just cemented his obsession, as Shawn Carter recounts all the places he thought about Nas while having sex with his ex.

3. GOT UR SELF A…
This is a really good song with a super stupid, way too obvious sample mixed in to ensure that I never find true happiness. For the absurd video, Nas played the parts of 2Pac and Biggie in the reenactments of their murders. He thought it was a good way to honor them. I'm not so sure that it was.

4. SMOKIN'
Nas gets off some good rhymes and the beat is solid, if unspectacular. The hook, which I'm not too fond of, sounds like it should have been performed by Havoc. It's nice to see Young Guns II get some play. “Arkansas” Dave Rudabaugh is hip hop.

5. YOU'RE DA MAN
This is not a hit single or a street anthem, but it's exactly the kind of track that helps round out a strong album. Nas does some nice pontificating on the "Fuck Jay-Z and the dick he rode in on" mission statement, but this song's lyrics reach their zenith in the second verse, when Nas starts talking about how much he gets high, how much weed he smokes, and that crazy space shit that don't even make no sense. Unbeknownst most, the version of this song available on Stillmatic is not what Nasir originally intended (and he’s not referring about the version that popped up on producer Large Professor’s album, either). The original version featured the following bars before the beginning of the second verse: "At church on my hand was a preacher's blood/ Swallow dirt from a graveyard in need of love/ I vomit blunt residue, I want revenue, dreaming/ And pump lead at you devils trying to take my freedom/ It drove me crazy the day I drank my own urine, my own semen/ With a .9 to my brain, but wait a sec, give me time to explain". The “no homo” crowd and Bill O'Reilly would have had a field day with that one. (Wait, he actually rhymed about drinking his own semen? When did that happen?)

6. REWIND
Oh, I see: it's backwards. This is probably the worst sing-along song of all time. It's like an M. Night Shyamalan movie: confusing and annoying the first time, somewhat enlightening the second time, and altogether unsatisfying.

7. ONE MIC
This is a great song. It showcases the evolution of Nasir's talents, as I do not believe that Illmatic's Nasty Nas could have pulled this off. He manages to convey his emotions through simply the tone of his voice, rather than linguistically, while successfully utilizing an experimental flow. Bonus points to QB's Finest for improving the rhymes for the video edit and for allegedly handling the production duties.

8. 2ND CHILDHOOD
Not the customary Premier banger by any stretch of the imagination, but it still succeeds on the strength of Nasir's maturity and insight. Nas's characters are vividly rendered, and each is a representation of a larger sociological trend. Also, the beat manages to sound like it's composed of weed smoke and maple syrup, similar to "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" by Jimi Hendrix. (The sketch at the end of the song is a pretty big misstep, as nobody was ever fiending for a skit on a Nas album.)

9. DESTROY & REBUILD
If you listen closely enough, you can hear my heart breaking when Nas starts dissing Cormega. (No, this is true: just read through the man’s comments when I wrote about the first two Cormega albums.)

10. THE FLYEST (FEAT AZ)
The chemistry's still there, but the strong rhymes provided by Sosa and Escobar are undermined by a beat that's about as catchy as Morse code. (Thanks, L.E.S.!) I'm not going to try to defend the quality of the hook, but the female vocalist sings it so earnestly that I can't help but like it as satire. "Pushing big dicks and packing our chrome..." That shit comes straight from the heart, dunn.

11. BRAVEHEART PARTY (FEAT THE BRAVEHEARTS & MARY J. BLIGE)
Nasir Jones is about to marry Kelis Clownwig. Her parents hate him. Her old boyfriend hates him. They all have money and he gets a cut off of the crap games on the catholic school bus he drives. His friends decide to give him the Braveheart party of all Braveheart parties with an expensive hotel, booze, movies and hookers. As the players catch wind of the elements of the party, each adds a little monkey wrench so that one set of hookers ends up giving demos at the bride's shower, the bride's friends end up dressed as hookers in a room with a number of non-English-speaking Japanese businessmen, and so on as things get out of hand. Plus, Tawny Kitaen kind of shows her tits. (That description was so much more entertaining than the actual song.)

12. RULE (FEAT AMERIE)
Sounds like a Puff Daddy outtake. Following "Braveheart Party" with this happy horseshit is all the proof some people need that Nas likes naked dudes. (Or at least Tears For Fears.)

13. MY COUNTRY (FEAT MILLENNIUM THUG)
Stillmatic was released three months after the 9/11 attacks. (I just looked at my original review, and my sources indicated December 4, 2001, as the release date of this album. That's weird.) Compliments to His Nastiness for acknowledging, however obliquely, the role America's foreign policy played in the tragedies in the lead-in to this song. I feel like Nas should have used his verses from "Rule" with this hook over this beat.

14. WHAT GOES AROUND
Nas unveils the stiletto flow that made him famous, spitting some of the illest rhymes of his career. The unusual song structure lends his rhymes an extra sense of urgency before the bridge and increased gravitas afterward. The "Phone Tap"-like vocal effect just adds to the party (which has nothing in common with a Braveheart party).

15. EVERY GHETTO (FEAT BLITZ)
Nas's second verse makes this song worthwhile to me. I wouldn't request it at a wedding or anything, but it's not too shabby.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Stillmatic was a rousing success. The man Jay-Z dissed in the summer of 2001 was a composite of his role as Sincere in Belly and that dude dancing around with Ginuwine. The Nas who emerged from Stillmatic was an inner-circle hip hop hall-of-famer.

BUY OR BURN?: Stillmatic is a stupid title. Nas has, once again, failed to duplicate Illmatic, but what he managed to do was make an album with enough quality songs to justify a purchase.

BEST TRACKS: "Intro"; "Ether"; "You're Da Man"; "One Mic"; "2nd Childhood"; "What Goes Around"

-The Most Felonious Vocalist In The Wide World Of Showbusiness

(I don’t know about you, but my eyes are tired. Nice work. Be sure to leave comments below, and here’s the link to the first Stillmatic review for comparison’s sake.)

(BONUS VIDEO: The inspiration for “Rule”, in keeping with my infrequent habit of pointing out influences from 1980's new wave and pop radio.)

Reader Review: Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (August 1, 1995)

(Today’s Reader Review is brought to you by Leo, who decided to write about one of the two greatest Wu-Tang Clan solo albums, Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… (As for the other one, I'm still waiting for someone to write about Liquid Swords.) I have a feeling his opinion is going to be held by the majority of you two, but it’s about the journey, right?)

I began listening to the Wu-Tang Clan way back in the day (about 4 years ago). I started with Ol' Dirty Bastard’s Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version. However, I ended up purchasing Chef Raekwon’s masterpiece Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… after becoming a fan of the crime stories told by Lloyd Banks (that’s kind of a bizarre stretch, and I’m sure most of you will agree), whom I also liked, thanks to a combination of my friends and the (obviously shitty) radio. Having listened to this album to death, I’d say this is still the finest Wu-Tang Clan solo album. Which means that it’s time for another spin.

1. STRIVING FOR PERFECTION
Not bad, as it gets the ball rolling.

2. KNUCKLEHEADZ (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH & U-GOD)
A piano loop briskly reintroduces us to Raekwon, Ghostface and U-God (who, merrily, was missing for almost the entirety of Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)). While all of the artists drop nice lines, U-God is pretty good here, although I’m aware that I should hate his guts. (Apparently U-God’s character is “killed” early on in the story as a way to allow the man to complete a prison bid. Seriously, did anybody really need a valid reason to “kill” U-God on a rap album? I would have also accepted “because it’s a day that ends with a –y”.)

3. KNOWLEDGE GOD (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
Raekwon spins my favorite hip-hop story. The Rza sequences some Godfather-esque violins while Ghost and Rae take turns sniffing and breathing out of a brown lunch bag. It meshes pretty well.

4. CRIMIMOLOGY (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
The first single from the album is a flat-out Wu-banger. It sounds pretty good (which is probably why he’s calling it a Wu-banger, which it is), with the Scarface dialogue and trumpets. The beat seems to favour Ghost more so than Rae, but it doesn’t really distract from the song.

5. INCARCERATED SCARFACES
Pretty rubbish. (Really? I quite like this track.) The Rza sets the drum-machine on “auto” and Raekwon's three verses don't really add anything to the total product. It grows on you however, so there is hope. (I still like the fact that the girl from the “Ice Cream” video is seen sitting on the couch while everyone’s fucking around with their various weapons and paraphernalia sprawled out on the coffee table. I like to imagine that she just woke up after the events from the previously mentioned clip and just missed the ice cream truck back to downtown.)

6. RAINY DAYZ (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH & BLUE RASPBERRY)
If you’re looking for the source of modern-day ringtone rap, look no further than this song, as the beat is awful. (Motherfucker, those are fighting words.) I don't mind the singer, though. It sounds nothing like anything on the album (which is why it’s so fucking good, but whatever), so there’s some variety! Don't blame Rae though, or Ghost (who puts on a brilliant starter). (Now I’m starting to understand how you two readers feel when I shit all over your favorite song. It cuts like a knife, it does.)

7. GUILLOTINE (SWORDSZ) (FEAT INSPECTAH DECK, GHOSTFACE KILLAH, & GZA/GENIUS)
The instrumental, which initially began as a teaser on the intro to Method Man’s Tical, is simply awesome. Inspectah Deck rips this completely, although Ghostface desperately tries to not be buried. (I thought Ghost actually had some of the best lines: “Collect jaws as souvenirs”? That shit is just the balls.) It makes me wonder how Deck’s album would have sounded had the mystical “Shaolin Flood” not occurred (I’m guessing he’s referring to the flood that fucked up all of Rza’s work in the basement of the Wu mansion in the early 1990s), but, yeah, Raekwon is outshined yet again.

8. CAN IT BE ALL SO SIMPLE (REMIX) (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
After a long skit, in which Ghostface and Raekwon help kids with math, Rza reuses the "Can It Be All So Simple" beat. Now, I hate it when artists reuse beats, but this is so much better then the original, especially with Rae & Ghost shouting "Stop the violence!" (Here’s Max’s payback for “Rainy Dayz”: This song blows donkey dick. I’m not a fan of the original at all, but this remix battles for relevance every day of its life. Every single time I spin Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, this is the one song that I skip. Not only that, but I understand that this is the song that is blasted on repeat as a method of torturing prisoners in Gitmo. So there.)

9. SHARK N----S (BITERS)
A pretty ironic skit, considering that Rae and Ghost are biting from Kool G. Rap, depending on your perspective.

10. ICE WATER (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH & CAPPADONNA)
This shit bangs. Obviously, this was recorded back in the days that Rza used to incorporate scratching into his work. (And for those of you who, somehow, hadn’t heard of Cappadonna on “Ice Cream”, this is actually an effective introduction to the world’s finest-dressed gypsy cab driver.)

11. GLACIERS OF ICE (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH, MASTA KILLA, & 60 SECOND ASSASSIN)
Pretty good, but the beat sounds like a blend of "Guillotine (Swordz)" and "Ice Water". (Is that a bad thing?) The lyrics and vocals won’t keep your attention, but you’ll like this track anyway, even with an awkward Masta Killa verse. (Are you sure you think this is the best Wu-Tang solo album?)

12. VERBAL INTERCOURSE (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH & NAS)
Fellow Five-Percenter Nasir Jones joins Wu-Tang, and everybody’s celebrating. At first, I really liked Raekwon's verse, but Ghostface is the real king of this track. The beat is at once Oriental (a word I fucking hate: it’s not like you can catch a flight to Orient-land: however, I’m leaving it in context to support Leo’s review), Mafioso, and confrontational.

13. WISDOM BODY (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
I swear, there must be an internet conspiracy to hate this track. Every reviewer finds something wrong with Ghost's verse (like me, for instance, when I wrote that “It sounds as if the record skips when Ghost raps his opening rhymes, and this has happened on both copies of this album I've owned”), but if you ask me, Tony Starks waltzes away with the song.

14. SPOT RUSHERZ
A return to piano, allowing Raekwon to show his strength in storytelling. This was a really sick track, if you’re not easily offended. I haven't read the lyrics, but does he shoot Ghostface at the end? (I’m assuming not, considering he pops up on almost every remaining song on the album.)

15. ICE CREAM (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH, METHOD MAN, & CAPPADONNA)
This takes a while to grow on you (really?), but it is a very beautiful Rza beat. Even Cappadonna can't manage to ruin this, although his lyrics are really fucking stupid. (Yeah, I would have to agree with that sentiment.) Unfortunately, Method Man sticks with hook duties on here, but he makes up for that on the next song. This stayed on the radio until about 1996.

16. WU-GAMBINOS (FEAT THE RZA, MASTA KILLA, GHOSTFACE KILLAH, & METHOD MAN)
A good posse cut, but I feel the beat works too hard to be atmospheric.

17. HEAVEN AND HELL (FEAT GHOSTFACE KILLAH & BLUE RASPBERRY)
BRILLIANT! Raekwon and Ghostface play off each other, weaving a 1994 classic track for listeners (this originally appeared on the soundtrack for Fresh). I found it interesting that their debut track together would end up being the last song on the album.

(Although, of course, if you own the CD version, you already know about the final bonus track.)

18. NORTH STAR (JEWELS) (FEAT POPPA WU)
An epilogue to the album, with an outro whose sole function is to leave you with a Raekwon solo. Pretty good.

FINAL THOUGHTS: And so, you have Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, the best Wu-Tang spin-off album. This stands tall amongst hip hop crime classics like Mobb Deep’s The Infamous (on which Raekwon also appears), The Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready To Die (on which Method Man appeared on), and Clipse’s Hell Hath No Fury (just kidding). This album set off the Mafioso movement (which would fuck up hip hop for several years afterward). Ironically, this is as much Ghost's album as Raekwon's, who is put to disgrace on most tracks. (I disagree, as Raekwon actually sounds awake on here.)

BUY OR BURN?: This is a buy. If you don't have money in these hard economic times, you should negotiate with your employer or something to get cash. (You may also find yourself selling your body to the night, but Max can only condone doing so up until the point that you can afford to purchase Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… After that, you’re on your fucking own.)

BEST TRACKS: “Guillotine (Swordz); “Heaven and Hell”; “Knowledge God”; “Ice Water”; “Spot Rusherz” (and also “Rainy Dayz”, “Glaciers of Ice”, “Criminology”, “Ice Cream”, and “Wu-Gambinos”, goddammit)

-Leo

(Questions? Comments? Concerns? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below, and for the curious, here’s a link to the original post.)

Reader Review: Jay-Z - In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (November 4, 1997)

(Today’s author, Alex, apparently could not be bothered to attach a nickname to the bottom of his review (or respond to an e-mail requesting such a moniker for this post). Hope he’s alright. Anyway, he looks at Jay-Z’s Puff Daddy-influenced In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 from a different perspective, apparently that of someone that actually liked the album. All I can say is, if you hated the Tribe review yesterday, then you may as well turn around now, and try your luck again tomorrow.)

Jay-Z and Nas are often referred to as the two best rappers still alive, even though I'd personally put Ghostface Killah a step above Shawn. The two men have one thing in common within their respective discographies (other than the fact that both of their albums were formed out of plastic and shipped in a circular shape): because their debut albums, Reasonable Doubt (hey, why isn’t there a Reader Review about that?) and Illmatic (ditto) were so highly acclaimed, their follow ups, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 and It Was Written were dubbed sophomore slumps, which is actually completely wrong. (Especially since both sophomore albums built upon the sales of their predecessors by a wide margin.) In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 contains some of Jay's best work, contrary to what Max says. (I know he just wrote “contrary to what Max says”, but I believe I wrote in my original post that there are some really good songs on here: it’s just the majority of the album that sucks.) With that said, on with the review.

1. A MILLION & ONE QUESTIONS/RHYME NO MORE
One of the best ways to start off an album. Jay-Z kills the beat discussing his current status and all the questions surrounding him. (Hence the first half of the title.) Primo shows why he is one of the best, if not the best, producers in the game with these two (drastically different and, yet, complimentary) beats. I do agree with Max (you’re goddamn right) when he says the remix might be superior. One of his best songs in his catalog.

2. THE CITY IS MINE (FEAT BLACKSTREET)
And its followed up with this shit. This could have been a great song (I very strongly and respectfully disagree), but the Blackstreet hook is just cheesy as fuck.

3. I KNOW WHAT GIRLS LIKE (FEAT PUFF DADDY & LIL’ KIM)
Another pop dud from Jay-Z. This solidifies the fact that the only two good things that Puffy has done for hip hop are exposing the world to Biggie Smalls and starring on a reality show in which he is essentially a slave master over some entirely untalented rappers.

4. IMAGINARY PLAYER
I really like Jay-Z's lyrics, but I have to say the beat is just boring, nothing more, nothing less. The lyrics make it iPod worthy, but the beat is kind of bland and too slow. Still, a pretty good song none the less. (And you two readers wonder how I can review albums with seemingly negative comments and then still recommend a purchase.)

5. STREETS IS WATCHING
The second classic song on the album. The Ski-produced beat has a grimy cinematic feel. I have to agree with Max: Jay-Z dropped the ball by not collaborating with Ski anymore. I disagree with Max, though, when he claims Just Blaze does not mesh well with Jay, but I’ll save that for a different review.

6. FRIEND OR FOE '98
The sequel to one of the best tracks on Reasonable Doubt. This is the second production credit by Primo and he doesn't disappoint. This track really showcased Jay's storytelling skills.

7. LUCKY ME
A little too glossy, but it's a great song. Jay-z's lyrics sound very genuine. The hook is kind of meh, but it's too short to truly hold a grudge against.

8. ALWAYS BE MY SUNSHINE (FEAT FOXY BROWN & BABYFACE)
Apply whatever I said about "I Know What Girls Like" to this song. The only thing more ridiculously stupid about this track is the video. (You mean the one where Foxy is wearing some bizarre mesh top and no bra? Or am I remembering that wrong?)

9. WHO U WIT II
And the album picks itself back up. More floss rap by Jay (in this sequel to a track from the Sprung soundtrack), but he does this incredibly well. (And you two say that I’m on his dick.)

10. FACE/OFF (FEAT SAUCE MONEY)
If you have any reason to remember Sauce Money, have it be for the ridiculous name or "Bring It On" off Reasonable Doubt. (Other than adding a comma, I left that sentence as is, because even I couldn’t quite figure out exactly what he was going for there.) Not a bad track, but nothing really memorable besides the music video (which, yes, there was a video). Too clubby for my tastes, I guess.

11. REAL N----Z (FEAT TOO $HORT)
Jay-Z & Too Short? No, it couldn't be. It looks like a strange pairing on paper (especially on 24-pound goldenrod), but they pull it off very nicely. The hook is taken from a rare Biggie song, but Jay-Z has a way of swiping shit and making it seem like his own. (Okay, even I have to disagree with that comment. The lines that Hova steals from Biggie’s mouth always sound like he’s consciously paying homage to the man, as if he wouldn’t want the public to even believe that he wrote them. But, then again, I like Jay-Z. Sue me.)

12. RAP GAME/CRACK GAME
Here’s the second time Jay-Z has sampled Nas's voice. Nas = 2, Jay-Z = 0. (Apparently we were supposed to place bets prior to turning the album on.) The song is pretty clever in that it compares, well, the rap game to the crack game. It was produced by Big Jaz, who is, of course, the crackhead (huh?) that brought Jay into the game, even though Jay continues to shit on him at every opportunity.

13. WHERE I'M FROM
Another classic gem. Jay talks about growing up in the Marcy projects, "Where we call the cops the A-Team/cause they hop out of vans and spray things". Considering this was produced by two of Puff Daddy’s Hitmen (D-Dot and Amen-Ra, specifically), this happens to be the best Bad Boy collaboration with Shawn Carter since he teamed up with The Notorious B.I.G. himself for "Brooklyn’s Finest" (off of Reasonable Doubt).

14. YOU MUST LOVE ME (FEAT KELLY PRICE)
One of those introspective album closers where Jay-Z talks about the drama he caused and has dealt with in his childhood (and life). This is a very somber and reflective song, one of Jay's best, simply because of how personal it is. The soulful beat is also perfect, as it gives him room to vent. If this whole story is true, then Jay should definitely have a movie of his life. (Once again, even I have to disagree, but this time only because I feel a movie about Max’s life would be slightly more interesting. I kid!)

FINAL THOUGHTS: In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 isn’t exactly flawless, but Puffy is to blame (although, let’s be honest, Puffy didn’t produce the majority of the disc). If its predecessor wasn't considered to be one of the best hip hop albums of all time, this would be regarded as a solid effort. Jay-Z's lyrics stay top notch and the beats are usually suitable and good. (Nothing like a “suitable” beat to make me fork over my hard earned panhandling money.)

BUY OR BURN? Buy this shit. (Apparently he had nothing more to say.)

BEST TRACKS: “A Million & One Questions/Rhyme No More”; “Streets Is Watching”; “Friend or Foe '98”; “Where I'm From”; “You Must Love Me”

-Alex

(Um…yeah. I have an idea as to how the comments, if any, will play themselves out, but I’m inviting you two to contribute anyway. Here’s a link to the original post if you need help.)

Reader Review: A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders (November 9, 1993)

(For today’s Reader Review, KidChaos decided to tackle what is easily one of my favorite hip hop albums ever, A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders. This disc is the reason why I love Tribe so goddamn much. To celebrate the occasion, I found an alternate version of the album cover, with different faces in the background. (For those of you two that actually care, the version I own is the one with the red border.))

I'm going to assume the readers of this blog have already read Max's write-up for Midnight Marauders (and if you haven't, just do it already), so I won't repeat anything he already mentioned. Most critics believe that this is Tribe's most complete album, with the perfect blend of production and lyricism, to which I would reply, "Yup."

This is Tribe’s best album in my opinion (I guess we already know how the write-up will end), and another opinion of mine is that Phife Dawg more than holds his own on this album. I know Q-Tip is everyone's favorite, but personally, I feel like Phife spits the most hip hop quotables on Midnight Marauders, and I’m not talking about crappy freestyle quotables from punchline rappers, either. Anyway, let's get into this great album...and I do mean great (on my list it’s the 9th best album of all time). (As long as number one isn’t anything by Lil’ Wayne or Plies, I’ll be okay.)

1. MIDNIGHT MARAUDERS TOUR GUIDE
Although I do like the fact that these are consistent throughout the album and think it was kind of funny to use elevator music in the background (by the way, are you two sad to hear that the company that created Muzak is going bankrupt? I feel bad for anybody that might have lost their job, especially in this crappy economy, but…does anybody even really like Muzak?), the part of this that bothers me is that the voice is soooooooo slowwwwwwwwwwwww...but, anyway, it could started worse. (I thought the slow voice added a nice contrast to the hurried pace of the majority of the tracks on here. Then again, I have a short attention span.)

2. STEVE BIKO (STIR IT UP)
You see, this is what I was talking about: Phife Dawg starts off with what appears to be a chorus but flips it right into a line, wasting no time on making an impression on this album. Not only that, but although he regularly earns chuckles with his lines, Phife got an audible laugh out of me with the line "height of Muggsy Bogues/complexion of a hockey puck" the first time I heard this, and that's pretty hard to do (because KidChaos is a robot). Do you know what I just realized? Other than one line, this song has absolutely nothing to do with Steve Biko (an anti-apartheid revolutionary) (nah, I'm not that smart: I had to look that up) but who cares, since this song kicks ass.

3. AWARD TOUR (FEAT TRUGOY THE DOVE)
Some of the smoothest production ever created. I don't think I've ever played this for someone and had them not like it. You don't even have to be a hip hop fan to think this is a great track.

4. 8 MILLION STORIES
For anyone who thought that Phife could only write non-sequitur one-liners, here's an in-your-face from the man himself. It's cool to hear Phife get a little more serious on a (solo) song, and the mellow (yet still perfectly smooth) production fits the mood perfectly.

5. SUCKA N---A
This may just be me, but this is one of those songs where, if you're listening to it and someone who doesn't like hip hop (like, say, a parent) walks by at the wrong moment and hears you listening to it, they will say "Wow, nice language" and say the n-word 238,479,328 times to try and prove a point. (That last statement makes KidChaos sound like he’s about fourteen years old, but if he’s listening to A Tribe Called Quest, I have to applaud the man’s taste.) And it will bother you. Oh, the song? I'm going to go against Max and say this is the worst on the CD. I was bored with Q-Tip's first verse and then...what to my wondering eyes should appear? Not a miniature sled and eight tiny reindeer...it's the same goddamn verse again!

6. MIDNIGHT
The production on this is downright cool, and Q-Tip tries to apologize (to me, anyway) for the last track with some great lines. I love the line "You would swear Redman was inside the trunk". I feel like I'm understating the production on this CD. But that's because I don't like reusing words and the only word for Midnight Marauders is smooth. I love the production: none of it wears on you after multiple listens (except “Sucka N---a”. I have no idea why it's on A Tribe Called Quest's greatest hits CD). (I just re-read my own post and realized that I also used the term “smooth” when describing certain aspects of this track. Weird.) (More parentheses: here’s something I just learned. This song featured Raphael Wiggins, better known to you as Raphael Saddiq, although I can’t recall anything he would have been doing on the track, but I just confirmed it in the liner notes. This was years before “Get Involved”, his collaboration with Q-Tip, with the video that had everybody walking around with televisions on their heads. That’s actually a pretty good song: I think I’ll track it down right now.)

7. WE CAN GET DOWN
This is more like it. Still light, upbeat, and smooth production (there’s that word again), but this time with more of an edge, due to the scratching. Phife Dawg has some timeless bars, such as, "Too many candy rappers seem to be at the top / But too much candy is no good so now I'm closing the shop". Remind you of anybody? (Actually, it does remind me that Phife Dawg is a bonafide psychic who predicted the rise of a certain rapper whom I will not name. Moving on to a different no-name rapper: do you think Tribe, or at least Phife, got to share the Grammy when “A Milli” won last week? I mean, his fucking voice is all over that song, and the rumor is that Lil’ Wayne and his producer, Bangladesh, had to pony up over half a million dollars for use of the obscure Tribe vocal sample.)

8. ELECTRIC RELAXATION
My friend once told me "If you don't like “Electric Relaxation”, you're a stupid dumb-head". He is correct. (His friend was me.)

9. CLAP YOUR HANDS
A-ha! Max is right! There is a “Nautilus” sample hidden on every hip hop song ever! Also, the horns during the chorus remind me of Big L's "Street Struck", but I looked it up and I can't find out if it’s the same sample. All in all, a solid track, although it's one of the more boring (both solid and boring?) on the album because Phife Dawg doesn’t have any lines that stand out and Q-Tip couldn't continue the magic from “Midnight”.

10. OH MY GOD (FEAT BUSTA RHYMES)
I love this song. I don't (want to) know how Phife Dawg discovered how hard 2 day old shits were, though. Make sure to switch to the next song right after they stop rapping, or you’ll have to sit through roughly 2 hours of the same Busta Rhymes vocal over and over and over (kind of like the end of this sentence).

11. KEEP IT ROLLIN’ (FEAT LARGE PROFESSOR)
I didn't expect Large Professor to hold his own, but he did pretty solid on this track, especially considering that he's more of a producer than he is an MC. For the first time in, well, ever, Phife lets me down by quoting fucking Barney the dinosaur. Why?!?!

12. THE CHASE
Phife makes up for the last track with an almost laughable bar about doing calisthenics with Ali Shaheed Muhammed. I know I talk a lot about Phife, but like I said before, I feel like his improvement behind the mic is the reason Midnight Marauders catapulted beyond the rest of Tribe's albums.

13. LYRICS TO GO
Offense to anyone who takes it because, come on, you're a nancyboy if you take offense to someone else's musical opinion (unless it’s this kid who told me "Lil’ Boosie would eat Nas". (Because he’s a cannibal. Get it?) That almost started a well-deserved bout of fisticuffs), but I feel like this song is similar to those from T.I. or The Game, in that it doesn’t impress or blow me away, but it's not a bad song: it's just there. (I have to disagree, but I like the fact that he worked in the term ‘nancyboy’.)

14. GOD LIVES THROUGH
Phife again provides the best verse over some interesting production. He uses the late-in-the-bar snare to full effect, changing his flow and hitting the beat perfectly. "Walk past MC's like that girl did the Pharcyde". I love it!The Busta Rhymes vocal from "Oh My God" returns but, somehow, I'm not tired of it yet. I didn't even mind Q-Tip humming for like eight bars: that's how good of a mood this album puts me in. Q-Tip's verse is kind of boring though.

(The following is a bonus track off of European versions of Midnight Marauders, which helps to explain why I didn’t review it the first time around.)

15. HOT SEX
I don't like this song, so I'll just pretend it doesn't exist and not count it against the album. I also don't know how this made the Tribe's greatest hits CD. (On the contrary, I think the song’s alright. The beat is bouncy, in a good way, and while the lyrics have a lot to be desired, it’s a pleasant enough diversion. I don’t understand why this track was only released in the U.S. on the Boomerang soundtrack, though (at least, until the greatest hits album KidChaos was referring to).)

FINAL THOUGHTS: Like I said before, I have Midnight Marauders as my 9th favorite on my list of hip hop albums. To those of you who failed math (or kindergarten), let's ponder that for a bit: in my ears (some goofy imagery, I admit), there are only 8 albums I have heard that are better than this. So now for those of us without cognitive skills, what does this mean?

BUY OR BURN?: Buy. That's all I have to say.

BEST TRACKS: Everything except "Sucka N---a" and "Hot Sex", and "Lyrics to Go" if I'm in an especially bad mood. Yes, this album's that good. (Yeah, it really is.)

-KidChaos

(Likes or dislikes about the review? Leave some comments below. And, if you’re so inclined, be sure to read my original post.)

Reader Review: Mos Def - Black On Both Sides (October 12, 1999)

(Today, Karl brings us an alternate view on Mos Def’s solo debut, Black On Both Sides. It had been a while since I listened to this album, so reading this made me want to listen to it again. So I did. And my opinion stayed exactly the fucking same. But I appreciated the writing.)

The two of you who read this blog might have considered Max to be a little crazy for saying Black On Both Sides was only worth a burn, and I would be inclined to agree. (Only a little crazy?) I've always felt like this album was dope for the most part. I guess it’s sort of nostalgic for me: I was always a jazz/big band/R&B/soul kind of guy before I really got into rap music. I started off with the obvious shit (Biggie, Pac, Nas, Jay-Z, etc.), then delved into stuff you didn't hear on Hot 97 regularly like De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and, of course, Mos Def. Now, I'm immersed in the culture, to say the least.

But back to the album: outside of Internet message board bottom feeders (I joke, I kid) and those cults of super-conscious weed puffing hip-hop heads at college, I have found few people who have even heard of Black On Both Sides, much less have some sort of opinion about it. And those who are familiar with Dante Smith himself only seem know him as "that deaf n---a from The Italian Job” or, for some reason, absolutely love The New Danger and True Magic (his second and third album, respectively). (I haven’t gotten to either of those two albums yet, mainly because I’m pretty lazy, but also because I’m never in the mood to have either one of those discs fuck up my day.)

I've spent a long time trying to figure out why no one seems to give a damn about rappers and groups like Mos Def, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and the like (aside from everyone that absolutely loves the Native Tongues, of course). Part of me feels it's because a lot of folks believe that conscious hip hop is some sort of white folk phenomenon, and can't seem to wrap their heads around the idea that Black people would be mildly interested in rappers not talking about “fuckin' bitches 'til they assholes bleed” (as Biggie once said).

The other part of me realizes that people don't care about rappers without a gimmick, or rappers without some sort of major cosign. (I would imagine that De La Soul and Bill Cosby would be good names to put on your resume, but I guess I’m mistaken.) It explains why I had friends telling me about this "cool new rapper" Kanye West signed named Common that I should check out when Be dropped. But enough of that shit, let's get down to business.


1. FEAR NOT OF MAN
An intriguing way to start the album. It does run a little long, but the buildup to the rhymes Dante spits at the end of the track works itself out well.

2. HIP HOP
I was always drawn to this song, particularly the last verse after that little section of scratching. Part of what disappointed me about Mos Def’s later releases was his decline in lyrical prowess (or general laziness).

3. LOVE
We're at track three and we already have a line swiped from Rakim. But I guess if you're going to take a line from one of the best MCs ever (one of?), you might as well use it as the hook. (It lessens your chance of fucking that part of the song up.) The rest of the joint is solid to me, and I dig the beat.

4. MS. FAT BOOTY
The obligatory club song, but it's a little more subdued and less raunchy (as one would expect) than the other songs that dropped in 1999. Its funny how this video got play on Rap City way back, but today, a legend like Q-Tip can't even get his video on BET's shithole of a station. Oh, how times change. (Fuck that, I’m still amazed that “Ms. Fat Booty” ended up in the ‘Buzz Bin’ on MTV.)

5. SPEED LAW
This one has kind of lost some of its luster for me over time in the production department, so I'm with Max on this one. The soundscape leaves much to be desired. But again, I can't ignore the lyrical performance.

6. DO IT NOW (FEAT BUSTA RHYMES)
This song is decent, but I always felt like it was out of place, as if it were meant for a mixtape or a Martin Lawrence movie soundtrack. It kind of reminds me of Swizz Beats, which is never a good thing. (I concur.)

7. GOT
I like the overall vibe found here, but the effort on this track sounds kind of lazy to me.

8. UMI SAYS
One of my favorite songs by far. This is just all around awesome. Regardless of what half of you people think about his singing, I'll take it over that autotuned shit on the radio any day. (Whereas I don’t have a problem with his singing: I’m concerned with the little attention he’s paid to hip hop as of late. Although I have to admit that if I were as busy in Hollywood as Dante is, I might not have the time for our chosen genre, either, no matter how badly Be Kind, Rewind sucked balls.)

9. NEW WORLD WATER
Mos absolutely rips this one. It’s funny that he could make a song about water more interesting than half the shit that came out on Def Jam in 2008. (The Psycho Les beat also still holds up nearly a decade later. Fuck, I feel old again.)

10. ROCK N ROLL
Kind of preachy and pretentious. (Also pliable, preposterous, and some other ‘p’ words.) I always kind of found it both funny and mildly ironic (mildly?) that Mos could make a song like this, then turn around and bite the Red Hot Chili Peppers a few tracks later.

11. KNOW THAT (FEAT TALIB KWELI)
FUCK THE EMPIRE. 100% fire. Ayatollah did his thing on this one in a major way. (I’m telling you, every single Mos Def and Talib Kweli reunion track has paled in comparison to this one, the originator.)

12. CLIMB (FEAT VINIA MOJICA)
I like this song, but I'm sure many will probably hate it, just like Max seemed to. As an aside, what the hell has Vinia Mojica done besides this and De La Soul’s (brilliant) "A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'”? Anyone? (Oh, she’s put in some work, mainly on songs by other so-called conscious rappers like Talib Kweli and Common, but, oddly, she’s also worked with the Boot Camp Clik, The Juggaknots, Big Bird, Pete Rock, and Carrie Underwood.)

13. BROOKLYN
This would be my favorite rap song on the album (I felt the need to qualify that as such only because of “Umi Says”.) I really like the second verse and love the last one. Unfortunately, the only place I've heard the original with those uncleared samples is on YouTube: that version is definitely worth a listen as well. (It’s also readily available on the Interweb, for those of you two that remain interested.)

14. HABITAT
I listened to this one frequently when I first got Black On Both Sides, but I regularly skip it now when it pops up on iTunes. You might want to do the same.

15. MR. N---A (FEAT Q-TIP)
I enjoyed this song thoroughly, as I found it pretty humorous overall. I always liked Tribe’s "Sucka N---a" off Midnight Marauders, so that might have had an affect on how I feel about this one. PS: I hope I'm not the only one who totally didn't get the Nicolas Cage joke from Max's review. (No comment.)

16. MATHEMATICS
Another very dope song, and a great way to end the vocal portion of the album. DJ Premier laces the chorus with his usual scratched vocal sections from a range of other artists. Apparently this is one of Primo's favorites. (Really? Primo has made much better beats that the one he crafted for Dante. Perhaps he’s just proud of the fact that he can tell his children he used to work with conscious artists, whereas now all he can brag about is how he made a song for Curtis Jackson, which Curtis rejected, but still found its way onto the Interweb anyway.)

17. MAY-DECEMBER
Some good vibes on this one to carry us out.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Black On Both Sides is a very solid debut disc by one of my favorite lyricists. I really enjoyed this album from beginning to end, save for a few bumps in the road. Ultimately, he would go on to release The New Danger (an album with some very good songs on it, but also some godawful ones), and the "please, set me free from this shit-hole of a label" death knell that is True Magic. In my eyes, this is the magnum opus of Mos Def's career thus far, and it definitely delivers. Let's hope he can make a solid comeback with The Ecstatic, set to drop in 2009. So far, I like what I hear on YouTube.

BUY OR BURN? This should come as no surprise - go out and buy this one; it's definitely worth the pittance you'll have to spend on it on Amazon. A 17 track album with only 3 meh tracks? Good deal.

Best Tracks: "Hip Hop", "Umi Says", "Brooklyn", "Mathematics", "Mr. N---a", "Know That"

-Karl

(Be sure to leave some comments below, and for those that are intrigued, here’s my original review for Black On Both Sides.)

Reader Review: Big L - Lifestylez Uv Da Poor & Dangerous (March 28, 1995)

(I just realized that this album came out on the same day as Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s debut. Weird. Anyway, Jaded Scenester NYC (who has his own blog, also titled Jaded Scenester NYC) brings us a write-up on Big L’s first album, Lifestylez Uv Da Poor & Dangerous. Sit back with the illicit substance of your choice and enjoy.)

Big L, known to his mama as Lamont Coleman, represented Harlem to the fullest. (He was so loyal to Harlem that he refused to eat dairy products, because they couldn’t be produced locally, due to a lack of cows on his block.) He came up, rhymed, lived and on February 15, 1999, died on the streets of Uptown, a casualty of the street life he rhymed about but didn’t necessarily take part in firsthand. He was a lot like 2Pac in that way: he talked a lot of shit, but most people could tell he wasn’t built like he talked. For one thing, L lived with his mother, but when your older brothers were part of the formidable Legendary NFL Crew that ran his block of 139th St and Lenox Ave, you knew people had your back. After dead-end runs with his first group, Children of the Corn, and an ill-fated project with the then-Killa Cam’Ron and his cousin Bloodshed, L caught the ear of Lord Finesse, who inserted him onto a couple tracks, including the remix of his own “Yes You May” in 1992, on which Lamont blew everybody’s mind who heard him. 1995 found Big L on Columbia Records, releasing Lifestyles Ov Da Poor and Dangerous with Finesse and the rest of his D.I.T.C affiliates behind the boards.

1. PUT IT ON (FEAT KID CAPRI)
This was the first Big L track I ever heard. The video was all over The Box and NYC public access hip-hop shows and I ended up picking it up on 12” at Rock and Soul. That may have been in the horrific era that was the time before I became personally aware of Lord Finesse. I loved the Big L swagger and the little dancehall interlude, even if the beat was a little bit fruity for a guy that fronts as hard as L does here. (The beat is a bit too overtly radio-friendly: however, if this shit were released today, there’s no way it would ever see the light of day on the airwaves. Ahhh, 1995 was a different time.) And with all due respect to Kid Capri, the hook gets a little bit old after he shouts it fifty times on the very first chorus. The video for this exposes our man L as even more of an anomaly in the rap game: a street rapper who wakes up at 7am every morning for no particular reason except for to walk the streets and rhyme. (That description made me laugh my ass off.) This attention to healthy living may account for his phenomenal rhyme skills and breath control.

2. M.V.P.
This was the second single from the record. While listening to this album again to write this, I realized that the same loop pops up in Biggie’s “One More Chance” remix. Some internet investigation finds “M.V.P.” being released three months or so before the B.I.G. remix. That might make someone think perhaps Puff jacked the loop from Finesse, but that doesn’t sound like the Puff we all know and respect: I’m sure he was busy swindling Craig Mack out of his publishing or something. Again, not my favorite L track, but personally, I think this song was scuttled by its video. I take back what I said about Capri on the last song: I would rather hear him shout that hook until my ears bled before I suffer through seeing a shirtless Kid getting a massage not once, but twice, in black and white even. The contrast makes Conan O’Brien look like Seal, and that’s before we address the Kid’s Flintstonian physique.

3. NO ENDZ, NO SKINZ
Now we’re getting somewhere. L ups the rhyme flow on a Showbiz beat and comes with some Big Daddy Kane shit. It kind of reminds us of his infamous freestyle with Lord Finesse over a similar Otis Redding loop. Here, in an attempt to bring the genders closer together, L drops science on the dynamic between one’s money and the honeys. Like many rappers who lived with their mothers, L has a misogynistic streak. Ladies take note: while L appreciates your affections, please be advised that if you ask him for a ring, he’ll be inclined to put one around your whole eye. This has been a public service announcement. If you need L, he’ll be at his mom’s house (possibly setting the table or washing some clothes).

4. 8 IZ ENUFF (FEAT TERRA, HERB MCGRUFF, BUDDAH BLESS, TWAN, KILLA CAM, TROOPER J, & MIKE BOOGIE)
This is the first of the posse cuts on this album and the one with most rhymers. Bigger is not always better, but Buckwild conjures up a nasty beat with a kicking bass and snare and these street dogs go to town on it. Most of these guys went back to chilling in Lenox Park with their 40 oz. of royalties soon afterward (I imagine said “royalties” was enough to purchase the one 40 oz., since there aren’t a ton of people out there that actually own this album), but the track is notable for the presence of Herb McGruff and Killa Cam (from L’s old crew Children Of The Corn: I guess Murda Mase (which he was known as prior to switching up to Bad Boy’s shiny-suited Ma$e) was busy preaching the Word to Harlem World’s finest trannies). McGruff holds his own with L, though, and Killa Cam comes hard enough to almost show why people still miss him today. (Almost.)

5. ALL BLACK
Another nasty Finesse beat featuring L talking mad shit. To wit: thugs better scatter when the firearm goes click-clack, or else your family will be wearing garments bearing the titular description. L just so happens to knows a fine way to get your family together, and he’s not referring to a reunion. Consider yourself forewarned, and try not to trip over the irony on your way out.

6. DANGER ZONE
Big L and his brothers in the NFL crew held the corner of 139th St and Lenox Ave in Harlem down as their own. L was photographed on the corner for the album cover and fatally shot not far from said zone. Here L warns the uninformed of what errant visitors might be subjected to in his hood, the aforementioned “Danger Zone”. Acts include (and, I assume, are not confined to) head shooting via ambush, rape, (fucking up your taxes on purpose in hopes that you’ll get audited by the I.R.S., informing everybody in your building that you’re a closet fan of Desperate Housewives), terrorizing children in their dreams, and/or necrophilia. And that’s just him.

7. STREET STRUCK
“Street Struck” explores the other side of the world L had exposed on the previous tracks, enjoying that curious 2Pac grey area in which you can talk about raping bitches and giving them A.I.D.S or shooting someone’s grandmother over a drug debt, then come with some “Shorties Caught Up In The Game” introspective-type shit. Those cautionary tales didn’t seem to help either party, did they?

8. DA GRAVEYARD (FEAT Y.U., LORD FINESSE, MICROPHONE NUT, PARTY ARTY, & JAY-Z)
Ah, with the previous track’s public service message duly expunged, it’s back to business as usual for Big L and company. Here’s another posse cut, this one slanted more towards the Diggin’ In The Crates side of things. Buckwild comes with the fire track and Finesse himself pops up to reminds everybody where L got his style from, but save for the early appearance of the recently deceased Party Arty, “Da Graveyard” is most notable for the presence of Jay-Z and his old school wack-ass Das EFX flow. Rumor has it that Jay left his old flow in said graveyard after being shown up by Shyheim The Rugged Child on Big Daddy Kane’s “Show and Prove”. (Whereas I thought Shyheim had the worst verse on that particular song. I guess that means Shawn thought his flow really sucked.) Where Jay made the pact with the Devil that got him his flow, his money, and Beyonce, is still shrouded in mystery. (I assume a crossroads was involved.)

9. LIFESTYLEZ OV DA POOR & DANGEROUS
Despite the title’s spelling that necessitated his later “Ebonics” single, L slows it down and drops some BDP-style socially conscious thug shit. Check the head-nodding Harlem style over the nasty bass slide and a dirty snare that Finesse cooks up.

10. I DON’T UNDERSTAND IT
Same old story, 1995 version. Showbiz loops the bass lines while L wonders why MCs fall off and sell out. With L being shot a week before he was to allegedly sign his Flamboyant Entertainment to Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella label, it would have been interesting to see how things would have gone if he’d risen to the level of Jay-Z (which wouldn’t have happened, but it could have been interesting to watch). I’m doubtful that the reanimated corpse of Big L could get a record released on Def Jam today. (It’s because he’s not from the South.)

11. FED UP WIT THE BULLSHIT
Another story we’ve heard before, but no less relevant in the 21st century. Big L is sick of getting fucked with by the cops (could be all that killing, necrophilia and child scaring that has the authorities on alert) on a street tale notable for having come before the Abner Louima incident and the deaths of Amadou Diallo and Sean Bell.

12. LET ‘EM HAVE IT “L”
L closes things with some shit-talking battle rhymes. I guess he had recorded the final song for the album and realized he had been remiss in letting suckers know some incidental aspects of his general bearing. He comes hard, letting us know that, among other things, that he would not wear polka-dots, he eschews the martial arts in favor of the esoteric art of gun-fu, and that were one to engage him, battling him is like fighting a gorilla in a phone booth. Also, he would like to remind others to please get off his dick. (That is all.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: Lifestylez Uv Da Poor & Dangerous was the only studio record L released in his lifetime, and while it isn’t exactly representative of the battle rapper we’d heard on mixtapes previously, even with the stupid spelling in the title, this album was better than most of the records in its day. Hell, it’s better than most hip-hop dropped in this millennium.

BUY OR BURN? I’m sure this is out of print, so I’d say burn a copy of this and actually buy The Big Picture (Big L's posthumous second album). I’m sure Rawkus Records could use the cash.

BEST TRACKS: “Da Graveyard”, “All Black”

-Jaded Scenester NYC

(Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments below. Here’s the link to my original post for comparison’s sake.)