Canibus - 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus) (July 18, 2000)

Oh man, you are not going to like this one.

Can-I-Bus was the first album from battle rapper Canibus, born Germaine Williams. Universal Records, the label unfortunate enough to believe that they could actually market a guy who was best known, at this point, for killer freestyles, enough guest spots to put fellow cameo kings DMX and Busta Rhymes to shame, and a pointless feud with LL Cool J that really only served to reaffirm the confidence and swagger in Cool James, eventually made a little bit of money off of the album, but it was a hard-fought battle: both critics and fans alike trashed the project immensely, chastising both the bland production (the majority of which was provided by Wyclef Jean and his team) and the never-changing subject matter (Canibus essentially focused on two things: why he was a better rapper than you or anybody else on the planet, and why LL Cool J could suck his dick). Whenever he did deviate, such as when he wrote a song about his mother, nobody seemed to care, especially not myself, as I eventually called Can-I-Bus a Drink Coaster and went along my merry way.

And I don't regret that shit one bit. Well, except for the fact that I actually paid money for both Can-I-Bus and the follow-up, 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus).

Naturally, Germaine only paid attention to the portion of the criticism that didn't directly address him by name, and created an album that was intended to erase the memory of Can-I-Bus from the minds of hip hop purists. Its very title indicates that this was, ostensibly, the album that Canibus wanted to make before he ran away with the Wyclef Jean carnival (read: before he hooked up with someone who was actually making money at the time). He sought for new beats through other channels, set up some high-profile guest spots (Can-I-Bus, in contrast, only really featured Refugee Camp members and fucking Mike Tyson), and sought to prove his detractors wrong: he wanted to shout from the rooftops that the only reason that his debut album sucked was because of poor career guidance.

Sure, that was the only reason.

2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus) ended up being a commercial bomb, with naysayers providing almost the exact same feedback, except this time around, all of the blame fell on the shoulders of Germaine. Universal Records, who was sick of the bullshit at this point, promptly dropped him, and Canibus was left to wallow in underground label purgatory, which, in hindsight, probably would have been a better outfit for him at the beginning of the day, as his freestyles tend to fly off the handle without any respect for the restrictions that an actual song structure dictates.

Some of you two may have already guessed what my take on this album is going to be. You also may be wondering why I bought 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus) if I hated the previous disc so much. The answer: I didn't hate Can-I-Bus when I bought it, I just believe that it doesn't hold up in the least today, and I was one of those hip hop dorks who truly believed that Canibus might have actually done a better job with different production. However, I'll spare you the suspense and tell you right now that your instincts are probably dead on in this case. So, read on if you dare. Those with high blood pressure should take your medication prior to continuing, though.

1. THE C-QUEL
After an intro that's bound to give you a migraine (older Canibus rhymes are played in several different channels, forcing you to listen to them all at once), Canibus starts spitting to a boring beat. I found it funny that he brags about rhyming for four minutes with no break, and then a few bars later, he takes a fucking break. Have to admit, though his two verses teeter on the edge of word vomit, this sounds much more upbeat than anything on Can-I-Bus, so at least he's trying to live up to his word.

2. 2000 B.C. (BEFORE CAN-I-BUS)
Germaine uses this song to claim that “motherfucking Wyclef” spoiled his first album. Um, yeah, Clef's production left a lot to be desired, but you're just assuming that your lyrics were perfectly written and performed? Ras Kass you're not: you have to accept the responsibility that you were equally at fault. This was entirely uninteresting, and I'm almost convinced that he quotes Rakim lyrics in his chorus simply because Rakim appears later on the album.

3. LIFE LIQUID (FEAT JOURNALIST)
I remember when Journalist (a pretty cool rap name, by the way) was being touted as the next big thing in hip hop: his name populated rap forums on a regular basis in the early part of the new millennium, and hell, he has two guest appearances on 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus). His contribution is okay, I suppose, although I can't remember anything about it. Canibus clearly outshines his guest (I never said Germaine was devoid of skills), but it ultimately doesn't matter, as they both are performing over the most plain Juju (from The Beatnuts) instrumental I've ever heard.

4. SHOCK THERAPY (INTERLUDE)
This was just stupid. Clearly Canibus has unresolved issues with Wyclef, but the thing is, I don't give a damn.

5. WATCH WHO U BEEF WIT
Advice that Canibus should have lived by himself, because truthfully, how has his career advanced after beefing with LL Cool J and Eminem? Has Canibus ever even really won a rap battle? Anyway, this track was entirely forgettable: I don't even remember what I was supposed to be writing about.

6. I'LL BUSS 'EM U PUNISH 'EM (FEAT RAKIM)
The soundtrack for MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch (anybody remember that show?) featured a version of this very song (albeit in a censored form), but with a different beat (provided by somebody named Michael “Punch” Harper), one which I remember sounding much better than the Clue and Duro piffle we get on here. (That soundtrack also features Kool Keith's "Bow To The Master”, Last Emperor's “Secret Wars (Prince Paul Remix)”, and Eminem's “My Fault (Pizza Mix)”; yep, it was a weird compilation, thanks for asking.) Hence, Rakim's reference to a “celebrity match of death”, in case you were confused. Lyrically, I liked this song, but the instrumental was for shit. Shouldn't a collaboration of this magnitude sound more majestic or something?

7. MIC-NIFICENT
I thought the beat was alright, and Canibus sounded okay (besides his contrived hook), but just like there are some actors who will never carry a film on their shoulders, some rappers should only strive to be the best rapper on a posse cut. A little bit of Germaine goes a long way, at least at this point in his career.

8. DIE SLOW (FEAT JOURNALIST)
Ty Fyffe's beat is fucking boring. This actually sounds like the kind of shit I tried to actively avoid on Can-I-Bus. This song features the other appearance by Journalist, who quickly disappeared from the game after this album was released, I think. Then again, I don't care enough to double check.

9. DOOMSDAY NEWS
Meh.

10. LOST @ “C”
Other than a couple of breaks, Canibus spits nonstop over the beat, which sounds like it's one or two elements shy of sounding like an actual hip hop instrumental. He comes off pretty well (save for the hook), but I haven't yet figured out the significance of the title.

11. PHUK U
Canibus and Punch Harper, ostensibly brought in after the “I'll Buss 'Em U Punish 'Em” fiasco, jack a sound bite from a skit off of Eminem's The Slim Shady LP (specifically “Zoe”, the interlude featuring Henry Winkler's daughter) and builds a song around it. Allegedly, Germaine extended an invite to Marshall to contribute to this, and Em declined, which probably was one of many factors contributing to their beef. Listen to the third verse on here and tell me that Germaine's feelings weren't more than a little hurt after that dismissal.

12. HORSEMEN (FEAT PHAROAHE MONCH)
This was interesting. Pharoahe Monch handles this interlude by himself, introducing the next song with an acapella verse. I have to give Canibus credit for ceding this track to one of his hip hop elders. He doesn't disappear entirely, of course: Germaine helps with some chanting at the end of the track.

13. HORSEMENTALITY (FEAT KURUPT, KILLAH PRIEST, & RAS KASS)
The Four Horsemen, or HRSMN (as they are sometimes referred to), are the original Slaughterhouse: four solo artists who haven't quite achieved their potential and were all ultimately fired by their respective labels (Germaine's pink slip arrived after 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus) dropped). They all linked up essentially because there is power in numbers, and lyrically, all four of these rappers were impressive in their own way. This song was originally released as a track called “Abide By”, a sort-of freestyle which they rocked over the beat to “Hip Hop Drunkies”, a song by Tha Alkaholiks. Kurupt (whose presence in the crew I can only barely comprehend, as he is outshined every single time: however, he's no Joe Budden, as he knows when to keep his mouth fucking shut) and Killah Priest fail to impress, putting undue pressure on Rassy and Canibus (whose verse is censored), who both knock it out of the park. The Chaos beat doesn't quite match up with Tha Liks, but it's still alright.

14. 100 BARS
To be fair, a song featuring Canibus just straight spitting, not hindered with the general music convention that requires him to break up the monotony with a chorus, is exactly what his fans wanted to hear from him anyway. Most record labels aren't willing to experiment, though, hence the high number of hooks on this album. (Hell, there's even a sort-of chorus on “Horsementality”, for fuck's sake.) I don't care enough to count the bars to determine if he lives up to the title's boast, but some of his rhymes are truly entertaining. The problem I have is with his final line, where he claims that he's going to “drink a whole bottle of Henny and go fuck a lesbian”. Um, how do you plan on doing that, Germaine? With your vagina? Are you going to throw a lot of words at her, in the hopes that she'll be confused enough to drop her panties? Yeah, that'll work.

15. CHAOS
Canibus starts off acapella, almost as if he's trying to defy the critics who trashed the production on Can-I-Bus by not including any musical accompaniment. The beat, conveniently provided by Chaos (who has also worked with The Roots), isn't bad when it eventually kicks in, but at this point, we'll all just be glad that this album is over.

FINAL THOUGHTS: 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus) is awfully wack. Canibus may be under the impression that Can-I-Bus was critically panned because of Wyclef's influence, but the reality is that Germaine needs to take responsibility for his failures and admit that he still doesn't quite know how to craft an album. His verses ramble on for much longer than they have any right to, which is fine in a freestyle or a battle cypher, but when you're writing an actual song, especially when you're recording for a major fucking label, that shit doesn't fly. Canibus has never blown me away as a lyricist, but the kid can be really nice with his, I will admit. His ear for beats needs to be checked by an audiologist, although he's probably under the impression that the beats shouldn't matter for him to get his point across, thereby irking music producers the world over by dismissing their contributions to the culture entirely. So, yeah, 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus) isn't any better than Can-I-Bus. Discuss amongst yourselves below.

BUY OR BURN? Burn this if you must. Canibus molds his anger at the first album's public reaction into some palpable rhymes, but note that I wrote some. You can easily just get the songs listed below and walk away happy.

BEST TRACKS: “Horsemen”; “Horsementality” (you should listen to them both in order to get the intended effect)

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Canibus – Can-I-Bus (Drink Coaster)

M.O.P. - First Family 4 Life (March 24, 1998)

First Family 4 Life was the Mash Out Posse's third full-length album, released two months after their Handle Ur Bizness EP. Now, Billy Danze and Lil' Fame don't appear to be the kind of artists that a record label would justify spending money on twice within the same tax year, especially with two releases so close to each other, but 1998 was a different time in hip hop, and Relativity Records was banking on the fact that the duo's rabid fans were highly anticipating their first album-length release since 1996's Firing Squad.

M.O.P. understandably stacked the deck this time around, hiring on DJ Premier to executive-produce the project alongside their longtime collaborator Laze E Laze. Both also produce many tracks on First Family 4 Life, as do M.O.P. themselves. They also called on more guests than they ever had before, aligning themselves with some of the better-regarded underground acts, in hopes that some of that goodwill would rub off on them. They were even somehow able to swing getting one of the biggest rappers in the game (both then and currently) to appear on a track, which Relativity, for obvious reasons, quickly marketed as a single to radio and B.E.T.

First Family 4 Life ultimately didn't make much of a dent in the Billboard charts, but it's not as if that was why M.O.P. made music in the first place or anything. They merely enjoyed getting their point across by any means necessary, elevating their hyped-up flows to the level of performance art. However, Relativity Records was in the business of actually making money, so M.O.P. soon found themselves switching label homes.

1. BILLY SKIT
It's called a “skit”, but this is really yet another rap album intro. Insert dead-eyed penetrating stare here.

2. BREAKIN' THE RULES (FEAT DJ PREMIER)
Fame and Billy boost the energy level tremendously with the first actual song on First Family 4 Life, and the image of running with guns and “bust[ing] them off like John Woo” is such a great visual that it's no fucking wonder why so many rappers love The Killer and Hard Boiled. However, I just could not get into Primo's beat. Nor did I think it was a good idea to have Primo perform on the hook. Sigh...

3. 4 ALARM BLAZE (FEAT TEFLON & JAY-Z)
Rips off Reinterprets Survivor's “Eye Of The Tiger” to hilarious effect, and there's even a “Fuck Giuliani!” thrown in for good measure. This track is pretty amped, and even special guest star Shawn Carter brings his A-game to the table. Before “Ante Up (Robbin Hoodz Theory)” was even a twinkle in the eyes of its parents, this song was the definition of pure unadulterated Mash Out Posse.

4. BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS
I don't really like Laze E Laze's calm beat, but I found Fame and Danze stepping up their lyrical game to a more visceral level. This shit was actually impressive, as nobody ever listens to M.O.P. expecting to hear fucking Shakespeare.

5. DOWN 4 WHATEVA (FEAT O.C.)
A collaboration between M.O.P. and O.C. wasn't something I was expecting (and not just because we now have too many acronyms on here), but then again, Jay-Z appeared two tracks ago, so why the fuck not? I have to say, though, I enjoyed the lyrics much more so than the Mash Out Posse's own beat, which is so corny that I almost gave up on the track entirely. Almost.

6. FACING OFF
I don't know what I hated more about this song: the quiet-storm R&B-ish beat during the first verse, or the calling out of “rap dudes!” at the very beginning. It's cool that they tried something different, and the second beat (when Billy starts to rhyme) is much better, but I don't feel the need to ever listen to this one again.

7. MY KINDA N---A PART II (FEAT HEATHER B.)
This sequel to Heather B.'s original track (which also featured M.O.P.) takes on a much sparser sound (provided by Da Beatminerz), and, as a result, is boring as shit. This wasn't what I wanted to hear from them at all. This should have been left on the cutting room floor, unless it was always intended to be a bathroom break for the listener.

8. I LUV (FEAT FREDDIE FOXXX)
The Mash Out Posse team up with Bumpy Knuckles to describe the different things that they love (spoiler alert: for the most part, they love it when others underestimate them; also, weaponry) over a subdued DJ Premier instrumental that transcends mere boom-bap. Foxxx received a Hip Hop Quotable in The Source for his “The Militia”-esque verse, but Lil' Fame and Billy Danze leave the constant shouting behind for more coherent wordplay, making this track one of the best in their overall catalog.

9. SALUTE PART II (FEAT GANG STARR)
Technically, this should just say “featuring Guru”, since DJ Premier keeps to himself behind the boards, but whatever. Primo takes a short string sample and loops it around some medium-size drums, not unlike a young child tying their shoes with extra care, while Fame and Billy continue their decaffeinated flow from “I Luv”. Guru also does his thing, but that's to be expected over Primo beats, unless we're talking about The Ownerz, but I'll get to that shit at a later date.

10. RIDE WITH US
I didn't care for this song.

11. HANDLE UR BIZNESS (DJ PREMIER REMIX)
I wrote about this remix during the write-up for the Handle Ur Bizness EP. It still pales in comparison to the original song, and this remix doesn't really work within the context of this album, either.

12. FLY N---A HILL FIGGA
M.O.P. seem to be rhyming to a completely different beat than what we get to hear, which isn't fair. I'm pretty sure this unnecessary track is the same one that also appeared on the Roc-A-Fella Records Streets Is Watching soundtrack (under a slightly altered name, “My N---a Hill Figga”, for some reason) several years before they signed to that label. So M.O.P. and Jay-Z had been laying the groundwork for quite a while, you see.

13. WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
This song is all kinds of depressing, but at least Lil' Fame and Billy Danze are being realistic. Lyrically, M.O.P. actually have something to say. Musically, their beat is really really really boring, so the Mash Out Posse's message may not even make it through your ears. Groan.

14. DOWNTOWN SWINGA' '98
It's weird that DJ Premier has done grade-A work with M.O.P. in the past, but with the exception of two songs on here, all of Primo's beats on First Family 4 Life suck balls. This song just sounds lazy. The rhymes don't really help matters, though.

15. FAME SKIT
At least they each got one of their very own.

16. BROOKLYN/JERSEY GET WILD (FEAT TREACH)
His cameo may look strange on paper, but having Treach (from Naughty By Nature) rhyme alongside M.O.P. is actually an inspired idea, as his high energy on tracks like “O.P.P.” translates well into the Mash Out Posse's world. Laze E Laze's beat is much to calm to contain the artists involved, though, so this could have been much better. But Billy's line “All disrespect intended” was pretty funny, I have to say.

17. NEW YORK SALUTE
Not to be confused with either “Salute” (from Firing Squad) or “Salute Part II” from earlier in the tracklisting. (M.O.P. just love to salute, that's all.) This anthem to their home state ultimately fails, as it isn't inspiring enough to make the listener go there nor threatening enough to make the listener stay away: you're left simply not giving a fuck. This left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

FINAL THOUGHTS: First Family 4 Life has an unfortunately high amount of meh songs, owing to a service disconnect between the energetic deliveries of both Lil' Fame and Billy Danze and the beats which are provided for them. They hijack Survivor's “Eye Of The Tiger” well, in a dignified and yet cheesy-as-hell manner, but when that song also happens to be one of the best on the disc, your album has other issues that it won't be able to overcome. For their part, Fame and Danze try to branch out into more serious reflections on life, but this time around their production fails them. Sorry, but it is what it is.

BUY OR BURN? Nothing more than a burn here. You should listen to the four tracks listed below, but as for the rest of the disc, hell, it's your funeral.

BEST TRACKS: “I Luv”; “Salute Part II”; “4 Alarm Blaze”; “Blood Sweat & Tears”

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Other M.O.P. efforts are being discussed here.

Timbaland & Magoo - Indecent Proposal (November 20, 2001)

Embrace the mainstream reviews, folks: that sub-genre of hip hop isn't going away anytime soon, so it's impossible to pretend it doesn't exist.

I'd be willing to bet money that most of my two readers could give a flying fuck about Timbaland, but the man has created a staggering amount of hot beats, and has changed the very way pop radio sounded more than a few times. These days, he just seems to delegate production work to his many minions (Danja being the most successful), but there was once a time when he handled the beats for dolo. He even managed to keep some of them for his own projects, both his collaborative effort with partner-in-rhyme Magoo (Welcome To Our World) and his own solo disc, Tim's Bio: Life From Da Bassment.

In 2000, Tim Mosely decided to hook up with Magoo again for Indecent Proposal, their not-so-highly-anticipated follow up, released four years after their debut. In between their first project and this one, Timbaland had formed the Beat Club, a Fight Club-inspired crew of producers, rappers, and singers, which included Magoo, Missy Elliott, Tim's brother Sebastian, vocalist Tweet, Ms. Jade, and Mad Skillz, among others, and he decided to turn Indecent Proposal into a collaborative effort. Unfortunately, Missy didn't get the memo, as this is the only Timbaland project that she had nothing to do with, strange considering their past history. Skillz only appeared on one track, as he was about ten seconds away from leaving the crew behind entirely, hoping to move on to a hip hop career that consisted of having bloggers (and those that follow blogs daily) hanging on to his every word at the end of every year. Tweet was a new Timbaland discovery, and was poised to make her debut on here. To whet appetites, Timbaland helped executive-produce the soundtrack to Romeo Must Die, a film which starred Aaliyah and Jet Li, and included the Tim & Magoo track "We At It Again", which, I have to admit, was actually pretty good, for what it was.

However, label politics (and the fact that the first single, "Drop", well, dropped with little to no fan reaction) forced Indecent Proposal back onto the drawing board. Originally intended for release in 2000, it finally hit store shelves in late 2001, a few months after frequent collaborator Aaliyah, who appears on one track, passed away in a plane crash. Indecent Proposal also failed to properly introduce Tweet to the masses: this disc came out after Missy Elliott's third album, which included what was now officially the first appearance of Tweet on officially-released wax.

When it finally dropped, Indecent Proposal barely made a dent in the genre, even though it does feature a vastly improved Magoo and a, well, coherent Timbaland on the mic. They are surrounded by such a large number of guests that it's almost impossible to discern who's actually supposed to be there and who isn't. Which probably contributed to the project's low sales (according to the RIAA, this shit didn't even go gold).

1. INTRO (FEAT DJ S&S)
This obnoxious bullshit already has me upset. That can't be good.

2. DROP (FEAT FATMAN SCOOP)
This is not so much a Timbaland and Magoo song as it is their interpretation of a club track that Fatman Scoop would shout during be involved with if he were available. Which, luck would have it, he was. Both Tim and Magoo sound much too calm for this to be the club banger it wants to be when it grows up. It's also six fucking minutes long, and there is no real excuse for that. Moving on...

3. ALL Y'ALL (FEAT SEBASTIAN & TWEET)
The second single (the first was the previous song, although I never heard that one on the radio around my way), which may be censored on my copy: I'm pretty sure Timothy mentions being called the “fuckin' governor” and not the “effin'” one, as he seems to on my disc, but whatever. Anyway. I don't understand why Timmy has to wait for the first of the month before he can do whatever he wants: he's fucking rich. It's almost as confusing as to how he can have all of this disposable income, and yet, not have any money, flowers, or a “red” American Express in order to woo Keri Hilson. I can't figure out why this dull track was a minor radio hit.

4. IT'S YOUR NIGHT (FEAT SEBASTIAN & SIN)
I'm a fan of Timbo, but I readily admit that not all of his beats click. This one was boring as shit, but then again, this leaves room for all of the rappers involved to try and impress the listener. Amazingly, Magoo sounds pretty good, but Timbaland destroys all goodwill by comparing himself to 2Pac. Maybe all of the steroids were affecting his thought processes.

5. INDIAN CARPET (FEAT STATIC)
The title is ridiculous, as it has nothing to really do with the song: the phrase is repeated within the hook merely because it's the fucking title. That said, Timbo's beat is really fucking good, coming off as something he may have meant to give Aaliyah (R.I.P.) earlier in his producing career, and Magoo is actually not horrible. The vocals (provided by the late Static Major (R.I.P.), formerly of the group Playa) are also entertaining. You can't help but wonder how much better this song could have been had a better rapper taken the reigns, though (*cough* Ludacris *cough*).

6. PARTY PEOPLE (FEAT JAY-Z & TWISTA)
This sounds like it wants to be “Lobster & Scrimp II”. Hova and Twista completely outshine Timbaland and Magoo (as was expected), but the hook is pretty terrible, and even though Timbo's instrumental is alright (especially during its final minute), there's a very valid reason why this song never comes up whenever hip hop heads discuss hot Jay-Z and Timbaland collaborations.

7. PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF (FEAT STATIC)
I actually liked this song when Indecent Proposal dropped, mainly because of the beat and the way that Static Major takes over vocal duties for Timbo toward the end. There isn't much to this track, but it's still enjoyable enough today.

8. VOICE MAIL
Interlude...

9. SERIOUS (FEAT PETEY PABLO)
Not the biggest Petey Pablo fan (he lost me when he started working with Lil' Jon and Ciara; also, when he appeared in Drumline), but I like his work with Timbaland, and he comes across as the only artist on “Serious” that can handle its hyperagressive beat. A beat which sounds really good, by the way. But Tim and Magoo are overwhelmed to such a degree that I'm surprised they allowed this track to make Indecent Proposal's final cut.

10. ROLL OUT (FEAT PETEY PABLO & SEBASTIAN)
Timbaland already produced a song called “Roll Out” (for Ludacris: it was released on a Luda album one week after Indecent Proposal dropped, but had been a massive hit prior to this), so the title of this track is confusing. Not in a “Huh?” kind of way: more like a “What the hell was he thinking?” type of mindset. Also, this song sucks monkey taint. If you played this track for someone and then explained that this was the same Timbaland that too over pop radio airwaves from 2005 through 2008, they would smack your father for raising such an obvious fucking liar. For those of you two who care (and I doubt you two actually exist, but I'll say this anyway), every rapper on here sounds a little bit worse than the last.

11. LOVE ME (FEAT TWEET & PETEY PABLO)
Timmy passes off production duties to Craig Brockman, who slows down things a bit too much on here, with Tweet's vocals inducing sleep much more than any form of love. This is probably someone's favorite track on Indecent Proposal, and I just trashed, it, so all I can say is, I feel sorry for you.

12. BABY BUBBA (FEAT PETEY PABLO)
I may like some of Petey Pablo's work with Timbo, but this dull-as-a-child's-butter-knife track is the exception. Pass.

13. IN TIME (FEAT MS. JADE & MAD SKILLZ)
Ms. Jade, Timbaland's former protege who was last seen assistant-managing a Foot Locker, pops up on here with an unimpressive performance. She manages to outrap all three other artists on here by the mere fact that she simply has more verses (yep, even Skillz, who, to be honest, doesn't really seem to care on here), and thus, more of an opportunity to try.

14. MR. RICHARDS (FEAT PETEY PABLO)
Skit...

15. CONSIDERATE BROTHA (FEAT LUDACRIS)
Magoo's pimp rhymes during the first verse are the funniest thing ever. Timbo's waking up in the morning and “fixing” orange juice is an image that is also pretty hilarious. It shouldn't be a shock at all to learn that Luda completely outshines his hosts, even though he hardly comes across as the “Considerate Brotha” of the title: he actually sounds like a dick.

16. BEAT CLUB (FEAT TROY MITCHELL, SIN, & SEBASTIAN)
A song titled after Timbaland's crew of producers and weed carriers should have the illest beat on Indecent Proposal. Should. Instead, the instrumental is wholly ineffective. The artists who spit verses all sound okay, though. This actually sounds like Timbo's interpretation of Swizz Beats, doing the “Jigga My N---a” beat that the Ruff Ryders later spit to for “Scenario 2000”. Or is that just me?

17. I AM MUSIC (FEAT AALIYAH & STATIC)
This was originally supposed to be a duet between Beck and Aaliyah, but to this day I'm still not sure what happened to him. (Timbaland produced Beck's David Bowie cover “Diamond Dogs” for the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack, which I happen to like, but their heavily-touted collaborative album has not materialized, and it probably never will.) Not that his presence would have made this dull song sound any brighter, though. Thank fucking God this disc is finally over.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Indecent Proposal borrows its name from a movie starring Robert Redford, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, and Demi Moore's breasts, but the album presents listeners with an unfair proposition of its own: in exchange for your hard-earned cash, Timbaland and Magoo provide mostly inferior-sounding songs with little to no cohesion between tracks. For folks who listened to the first Timbaland and Magoo album (Welcome To Our World), this formula shouldn't be much of a surprise, but it appears that their calculations were off a bit this time around, because most of these songs suck. Timbo (very) occasionally brings us some inspired beatmaking, and while Magoo has stepped up behind the mic, he still doesn't captivate an audience with his Q-Tip-inflected phrases. In short, Indecent Proposal is best left ignored.

BUY OR BURN? If you're a Timbaland fanatic, a burn is sufficient, but if you're like everyone else who read this blog and bitch about the commercial albums when they pop up, you'll probably skip this one, and I can't fault you for that. Besides, according to Amazon.com, this shit costs $21.99. Seriously? The fuck? I paid two dollars for this shit, and even that was too much!

BEST TRACKS: “People Like Myself”; “Indian Carpet”

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Timbaland & Magoo – Welcome To Our World
Timbaland – Tim's Bio: Life From Da Bassment

Wyclef Jean - The Carnival (June 24, 1997)

After the Fugees released their commercial breakthrough The Score in 1996, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras Michel all announced that they would record and release solo albums. This was a no-brainer for both Lauryn and her record label, Columbia, as she was riding the coattails of her performance on "Killing Me Softly With His Song", which essentially sold millions of copies of The Score all by itself.

Which is why it was so surprising that Wyclef Jean beat her to the punch.

Credited only in record label catalogues and online bookstores as Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival Featuring Refugee Allstars, the album better known as The Carnival went on sale in the summer of 1997. Almost as if even Wyclef was surprised that he was the first of the trio with a solo release, he titled one of the tracks "Anything Can Happen". He used the album as an excuse to explore many different musical genres, not just focusing on hip hop and R&B: he even sings several tracks in Haitian Creole, ostensibly because he wanted to be true to his roots, but essentially because he sold over ten million records worldwide and could do whatever the fuck he wanted in 1997.

Even though this is technically a Wyclef solo album, The Carnival was a Refugee Camp family affair. Pras produced the disc's biggest single, "We Trying To Stay Alive", and makes a couple of vocal appearances, and Lauryn Hill both sings and raps on various songs. Unofficial fourth crew member John Forte even lands a couple of guest spots. Wyclef and his cousin Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis co-produced the majority of The Carnival, leaving enough room for Fugee collaborator Salaam Remi to squeak by with one instrumental. Clef's brother and sister, who form the duo Melky Sedeck, even managed to cut in line.

The Carnival ended up being another moneymaker for Columbia Records, moving over five million units worldwide and setting a high bar of expectations for Wyclef Jean, one which he would repeatedly fail to clear with each subsequent solo effort. The world itself moved on to Lauryn Hill's solo debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill soon after, but The Carnival will always be known as the first actual Fugees solo record.

But how does it hold up today?

1. INTRO / COURT / CLEF / INTRO (SKIT / INTERLUDE)
Well, if it worked for The Score, I suppose it could work on The Carnival. Anyway, I find it interesting that the voiceover makes it a point to reference “Nappy Heads” and not Blunted On Reality as a whole, even though The Score is prominently mentioned in this introduction to Wyclef Jean. Hmm. Anyway, this is just a rap album intro masquerading as the beginning of a story. You won't be listening to this one more than the once.

2. APOCALYPSE
“Apocalypse” sets the tone of The Carnival nicely: a melodic beat paired up with rhymes that are overly simple, and yet are somewhat effective. The main issue I have with this song is Clef's second and third bars: “New beats, I never recycle/While you're looking for samples you might get trampled”. Um, the biggest song on The Carnival was a direct rip off of a Bee Gees song. So...what the fuck is Wyclef talking about?

3. GUANTANAMERA (FEAT CELIA CRUZ, LAURYN HILL, & JENI FUJITA)
The inclusion of the late Celia Cruz was a nice touch. This remake/homage (which already nullifies Clef's boasts from the previous track) is actually really fucking entertaining, especially when special guest star Lauryn Hill steps behind the mic and absolutely kills shit. I've always liked this song.

4. PABLO DIABLO (INTERLUDE)
This is actually pretty racist, but it's played for laughs, so I suppose, like Speedy Gonzalez, it's supposed to be funny. I'm surprised this skit made the final cut of a mainstream record release. Then again, The Score featured that ridiculous and obscene riff on Asian culture, so...

5. BUBBLEGOOSE (FEAT MELKY SEDECK)
A remix for this song appears on the South Park Chef Aid album compilation. Yes, that was a useless factoid, but I find it interesting. I love the melodic beat on here more so than Clef's verbal contribution, but this song is still pretty decent. His attempt at sounding like a violent hip hop thug during the second verse is laughable, though.

6. PRELUDE TO “TO ALL THE GIRLS” (INTERLUDE)
On Max's recut and re-sequenced version of The Carnival, this is the only interlude I would retain, but I would combine it with the next track, as they complement each other. (Note: there is not, nor will there ever be, a recut and re-sequenced version of The Carnival, so to all of you record label legal eagles, go busy yourselves finding other ways to fuck over your artists.)

7. TO ALL THE GIRLS
The singing and the rapping don't seem to be about the same topic, but this is one of those songs I don't remember anybody else liking (besides myself) when The Carnival dropped. A remix of this track (entitled “Cheated (To All The Girls)”) appears on the maxi-single and 12-inch which also featured Wyclef's response to LL Cool J's “Return of The Ripper”, "What's Clef?", which, if I remember correctly, kind of sucked. “Cheated (To All The Girls)” was, like, his fifth or sixth single from The Carnival: the man sure got a lot of mileage out of this one album, didn't he?

8. DOWN LO HO (INTERLUDE)
Speaking of the offensive-to-Asians skit from The Score, here's the follow-up. Less incendiary, but still worthless.

9. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN
I remember “We Trying To Stay Alive” was scheduled as the first single from The Carnival, but then a video for “Anything Can Happen” was released. Adding to the confusion, “We Trying To Stay Alive” is actually advertised at the end of the “Anything Can Happen” clip. Weird. Anyway, I've always liked this song. Clef's rhymes aren't anything special, but he sounds good over a beat that help signify that his project wasn't simply another Fugees record, and the overall message is a good one.

10. GONE TILL NOVEMBER
The intro is actually really funny, albeit not on purpose (did Clef really deem it necessary to describe the point where his “voice comes in”?). There are two separate remixes to this song: the one they made a video for when they deemed this album version, I don't know, not musical enough or something, and another pop radio-friendly remix featuring R. Kelly vocals and Canibus rhymes, obviously recorded during the time when Wyclef was guiding the career of the young freestyler. This song still sounds pleasant enough today.

11. WORDS OR WISDOM
A completely skippable interlude.

12. YEAR OF THE DRAGON (FEAT LAURYN HILL)
This was my favorite non-single album track when The Carnival was released, specifically because of Lauryn Hill's verses. (This write-up is just making me even more disappointed with The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill: had she honed her rhyming craft in addition to her singing, she would be in contention for the title of best female emcee, no question.) Clef puts some effort into this shit, as well. Had Pras also made an appearance, this could have easily been an outtake from The Score.

13. SANG FEZI (FEAT LAURYN HILL)
Clef performs this song in Haitian Creole, and he comes off very naturally. Lauryn comes in and sings in English, making this a goofy-sounding collaboration overall, but this is decent enough.

14. FRESH INTERLUDE
A gimmicky deejay cut featuring scratching from DJ Skribble and some rhymes from Clef, one of which makes absolutely no sense: “If your record ain't selling, then you lack creativity”. Huh? You mean to say that all of these assholes on the radio are hoarding all of the creativity while the artists bloggers seem to actually like are creativity-deficient?

15. MONA LISA (FEAT THE NEVILLE BROTHERS)
I can't say I ever thought I would write about Aaron Neville during a hip hop album write-up. And I still won't. This song is meh all the way.

16. STREET JEOPARDY (FEAT JOHN FORTE & R.O.C.)
This would have worked better without the musical cues that are intended to constantly remind you of Jeopardy!, and yet sound nothing like the show. (That was a good trick, by the way.) This is still pretty smooth, though. The track picks up when John Forte steps behind the mic: regardless of whether I felt Poly-Sci held up over the years, that guy just sounds good. R.O.C., a rapper and affiliate of Jermaine Dupri's So So Def crew (he's the guy who sporadically pops up to drop a hot verse and, yet, doesn't have his own album), also sounds decent. All in all, this track is a winner.

17. KILLER M.C. (INTERLUDE) (FEAT PRAS)
Funny (as if Pras could ever be confused with a hardcore gangsta rapper), but unnecessary. Also serves to interrupt the flow of The Carnival entirely.

18. WE TRYING TO STAY ALIVE (FEAT PRAS & JOHN FORTE)
The first single (or, at least, it was supposed to be). Wyclef bypasses the 1980s entirely to liberally sample (read: steal from) “Staying Alive” from the Bee Gees. And I actually really like this song. Clef and (especially) John Forte rip shit, a commendable feat considering that Forte was eating mangoes in Trinidad with his attorneys at the time. Shit, even Pras sounds good, and how often does that happen? I suppose it helps that I love the original source material. The video is also especially goofy, aping Saturday Night Fever and utilizing Afrika Bambaataa's “Planet Rock” underneath a sequence where a dance-off occurs outside of the disco – yep, I just wrote “dance-off”. But, yeah, Wyclef (and Pras, the song's producer) officially ruined the art of sampling in hip hop after releasing this song.

19. GUNPOWDER (FEAT LAURYN HILL)
It makes no fucking sense to place this after such an upbeat track, but whatever. Clef's third foray into singing (in English, anyway) on The Carnival is light years ahead of “Mona Lisa”, but is still not as entertaining as “Gone Till November”, although this still sounds nice.

20. CLOSING ARGUMENTS (INTERLUDE/SKIT)
Was this shit even funny to Wyclef at the time it was recorded? At least the dumbass interludes finally wind down upon the conclusion of this track.

21. ENTER THE CARNIVAL (INTERLUDE)
To be honest, my typical listening habit with The Carnival resulted in switching out for another CD once this final four-track suite kicked in. Wyclef provides listeners with an introduction to what will ultimately sound like a whole other album, one sang entirely in Haitian Creole. You've been warned.

22. JASPORA
Sure, it may not be in English, but looking past that, Clef and Jerry's production work helps this track fit seamlessly onto The Carnival. This could have appeared after “Bubblegoose” and nobody would have batted an eye. I mean that in a good way.

23. YELE (FEAT JOEL SERVILUS & LAURYN HILL)
Would probably make for good music used for a montage sequence in a romantic comedy, the kind where the leads realize that they are in love with each other. I'm only basing this on how the song sounds, though: for all I know, Clef is talking about killing his ex-wife, Marshall Mathers style.

24. CARNIVAL (FEAT JACOB DESVARIEUX, JOCELYN BEROUARD, & SWEET MICKEY)
I found this song annoying as shit. I wouldn't revisit this “Carnival” for all of the free funnel cakes in the world.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I'll be blunt: the numerous skits on The Carnival are severely detrimental to the project as a whole. They're really fucking horrible, and they detract from the overall listening experience. Which is a shame, because when it comes to the actual music, The Carnival is entertaining as hell. Lyrically, Wyclef will never be top five dead or alive, but he surrounds himself with engaging musical backdrops and talented friends (John Forte and Lauryn Hill especially), proving that he is fully capable of handling a solo career. Which is probably why he's the lone member of the now-defunct Fugees that still works today. Huh.

BUY OR BURN? The music is good enough to warrant a purchase, but here's what I recommend: Pick this disc up at your local record shoppe, and only upload the songs onto your iTunes. Ignore the skits and interludes entirely. Then, hide the disc in a box somewhere, press 'play' on your iPod, and enjoy Clef's solo debut unencumbered by the bullshit.

BEST TRACKS: “Year Of The Dragon”; “Anything Can Happen”; “We Trying To Stay Alive”; “Guantanamera”; “To All The Girls”; “Bubblegoose”; “Street Jeopardy”

-Max

Ice Cube - Death Certificate (October 31, 1991)

Death Certificate was O'Shea Jackson's second solo full-length album, following AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted and the Kill At Will EP, both released in 1990. With this controversial disc, Ice Cube managed to have his image banned in the entire fucking state of Oregon. No, really, I'm serious: due to the inflammatory and racist nature of Death Certificate, it was against the law to use Ice Cube's image to advertise anything in the entire state of Oregon. It was even illegal to use ice cubes in your soft drinks to help keep them cool.

Now that's gangsta!

Death Certificate found O'Shea touching ground back in California, after escaping to New York to rip shit over Bomb Squad instrumentals after leaving N.W.A. He eschewed the East's (fairly accurate, mind you) imitation of Left Coast beats for the real thing, assigning production duties to The Boogie Men (a three-man team made up of DJ Pooh (who would later collaborate with Cube on the Friday screenplay), Bobcat, and Rashad), Sir Jinx (Dr. Dre's cousin, and a guy who had been working alongside O'Shea since his high school days in C.I.A.), and Cube himself. This resulted in a sound that managed somehow to be both angrier and abstract: some of the tracks utilize so many samples that the instrumentals became strange mutated amalgamations for Ice Cube to rhyme over.

Death Certificate is notable for being incredibly racist, misogynistic, and just plain incendiary. Ice Cube is even more pissed off than he was on his debut, and his primary targets are the United States, women, Asians, white people, other black people, and, with a response that everyone was waiting for with bated breath, N.W.A. Cube's "No Vaseline" (titled as such because he truly felt that Eazy-E and Jerry Heller were fucking over Dr. Dre, MC Ren, and DJ Yella without...oh, never mind) is credited with essentially destroying an entire crew, a feat that hasn't yet been topped in hip hop. (The Game likes to say that he destroyed G-Unit single-handedly, and while they don't really sell any albums anymore, that's truly more of a reaction from the public as to the crappy music they produce and not because people actively stopped buying their shit, and besides, G-Unit is still together.Sadly.)

Death Certificate sold over one million copies and is often cited as Cube's masterpiece. After this disc, critics lashed out at Cube for softening his style, but the way I see it, you can only be pissed off for so long before it stops sounding credible. That's why Eminem's more recent output sounds nothing like his early work. Even if Cube never manages to make this kind of music again, being that he's super rich with a children's movie franchise and all, one can always pick up Death Certificate and grow increasingly upset that he hurled so many racial epithets at you, since he spews enough bile to offend everybody.

Unless you live in Oregon, of course.

1. THE FUNERAL
More cinematic than what you might have expected, but this is still a rap album intro. Starts off the “Death” side pretty succinctly, though.

2. THE WRONG N---A TO FUCK WIT
Ice Cube says that “you can new jack swing on my nuts” and absolutely nothing happens to him. Phife Dawg casually refers to A Tribe Called Quest's music as “strictly hip hop, not a new jack swing”, and Q-Tip takes one to the eye (courtesy of Wrexxx-N-Effect). My guess is that, at this point in time, most rappers in the game who weren't named Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, or DJ Yella were scared shitless of O'Shea. And in hearing this, it's not hard to imagine why. The beat switch in the middle is awkward, but this is quite the introductory track.

3. MY SUMMER VACATION
I was never impressed by this track, probably because of the George Clinton “Atomic Dog” sample, which had grown old to me by the time I first heard this. Although this beat does inform listeners that the Bomb Squad production days for O'Shea are over, so I guess it does serve its purpose.

4. STEADY MOBBIN'
One of Cube's more famous singles, which is so well known that even Prince Paul jacked the song for his A Prince Among Thieves hip hop opera. This shit still sounds engaging today. I'm concerned for O'Shea at the end, though: is he implying that his ejaculate emits from his penis in a fashion that mimics that of tiny pieces of confetti? Maybe he should get that shit checked out.

5. ROBIN LEACH
Kind of a stupid-ass skit. Although I must admit that I laughed out loud at the “We will provide you and your bitch...” line.

6. GIVIN' UP THE NAPPY DUGOUT
Incredibly misogynistic, and women everywhere will most certainly not appreciate this, but if you look at this from a male perspective (which you're supposed to), it's actually...still incredibly misogynistic. Minus the parts where it's mentioned that the girl in question is only seventeen, most of the guys who read this will wish that they knew a woman like this in their real lives. The commercial for condoms at the end was also amusing (and well placed).

7. LOOK WHO'S BURNIN'
The condom commercial segues into “Look Who's Burnin'”, which should have been a public service announcement promoting the use of condoms, but Cube eventually turns it into a sexist rant against prudish girls who refused to fuck him, but ended up with a venereal disease when they gave it up to someone else (as if Cube would have created a protective barrier around the vagina using only his semen). Bleh.

8. A BIRD IN THE HAND
In just over two minutes, Ice Cube cements his status as one of the better socially aware rappers of our time. (Not so much today, but back then, yes.) He documents how easily one can go from looking for a low-paying job to selling drugs, and does so with both anger and humor. Brilliant.

9. MAN'S BEST FREIND
O'Shea raps a short ode to his gun. This is longer than it has to be: we get it, you love your weaponry.

10. ALIVE ON ARRIVAL
Ice Cube gets shot in a drive-by and dies while in the hospital waiting room. His attention to even the tiniest of details (the doctors are more concerned as to whether the shooting was gang related than they are with his actual health; he tells time by stating that he sat through two episodes of M*A*S*H) brings the simple to understand-yet-difficult to comprehend (in a social context) lyricism to light. Nice! But depressing as shit.

11. DEATH
I could have done without this sermon posing as an interlude, but it caps off the first half of the album, so it isn't entirely useless.

12. BIRTH
The second rap album intro on Death Certificate, the one that starts off the “Life” side. Once again, it serves its purpose, but I still don't care for it.

13. I WANNA KILL SAM
A comparison between slavery and the U.S. Military probably wouldn't go over as well today, but even back in 1991, this shit was controversial as hell. Methinks Ice Cube needs a group hug, even though all of his arguments are valid.

14. HORNY LIL' DEVIL
O'Shea Jackson versus all white people ever. The white man is attacked pretty relentlessly, but white women are chastised mainly because of the sizes of their typically flat asses. Clearly, that complaint is a product of its time: I'm sure you've all noticed a rising number of white women who now have much nicer asses. Maybe Cube put something into the water?

15. BLACK KOREA
Sure, it's racist, but this one-verse wonder is also a reaction to the events of the time (especially in California). I'm curious to know if this song ever helped matters whenever he stopped into a convenience store for a brew, though. (Side note: how was this song deleted from the UK pressing of Death Certificate for the possibility of inciting racial conflict, but “Horny Lil' Devil” wasn't?)

16. TRUE TO THE GAME
The first verse sounds like O'Shea strung together a compendium of hip hop catchphrases and created a verse out of them. It picks up when Cube starts putting crossover artists on blast. However, the Cube and Jinx beat is fairly dull, and O'Shea's lackadaisical flow leaves a lot to be desired.

17. COLOR BLIND (FEAT DEADLY THREAT, KAM, MAAD CIRCLE, KING TEE, & J-DEE)
This posse cut addresses gangbanging in a way that isn't super responsible, but is truthful nonetheless. Cube sets things off and then lets the other kids play, and everyone does a good job, even fucking Coolio, who everyone forgets was once a part of the Maad Circle. Yes, I'm still talking about the “Fantastic Voyage” guy.

18. DOING DUMB SHIT
I thought Cube had an interesting take on a guy's first sexual experience in the first verse, but the rest of the song falls into the category of “O'Shea doing dumb shit”.

19. US
Cube starts off with another racist rant, but then turns the camera onto his own people, complaining about how drug dealers are just as bad as everyone else because the money they make goes towards their own greedy exploits and not back into the community. Not like any neighborhood would ever (knowingly) support a community center or elementary school built out of drug money, but still. The way the song just ends is also kind of inspired.

20. NO VASELINE
Although he was content with doing his own thing and looking ahead to the future, after N.W.A. used their Efil4Zaggin as an album-length excuse to trash O'Shea, Ice Cube dismantled each individual member over one of the harshest and, oddly, most theatrical (because of the long intro) dis tracks in hip hop history. You'll notice that, soon after this song dropped, Dr. Dre proved Cube right by leaving Ruthless Records due to a money dispute, and Eazy-E shifted his focus to attacking Dre, leaving O'Shea running a victory lap. Generally considered as one of the best dis songs ever, and it probably still pisses off Dre and Ren whenever it pops up on their iPods.

The following is a bonus track that was tacked on to the end of Death Certificate.

21. HOW TO SURVIVE IN SOUTH CENTRAL
My understanding is that this song was added onto second pressings of Death Certificate after Boyz N The Hood gained in popularity (thanks to Cube's performance as Doughboy). It doesn't really fit into either part of the album, and should be skipped at all costs. It doesn't help that Cube actually sounds bored, reading his lines while dollar signs fill up his pupils. Oh well.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Death Certificate is Ice Cube's angriest and most concise album (a strange statement, considering its 21-track length, but still). He addresses the topics most important in his life with clarity, cohesion, and full respect of the listener: not only does he not adopt a condescending attitude, if a subject only warrants one or two verses, Cube chooses to end the song, rather than drag shit out like a lesser artist might. For that reason, Death Certificate is O'Shea's finest work. Cube's ranting combined with West Coast musical backing created the perfect marriage, one which Cube would never be able to annul later in his career. No wonder the man turned to acting: there is no way to top this shit.

BUY OR BURN? Buy this shit. Seriously. It's not for the faint of heart or easily offended, but there is musical genius to be found on here. If you are only cognizant of O'Shea Jackson because of Friday and Are We There Yet?, prepare for a mindfuck.

BEST TRACKS: “Steady Mobbin'”; “Alive On Arrival”; “A Bird In The Hand”; “No Vaseline”; “Color Blind”; “The Wrong N---a To Fuck Wit”

-Max

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Not Available In Stores! Timbo King Presents The Royal Fam - Black Castle (2005)

Back in 1995, The Source reviewed a 12-inch single by a group known as Royal Fam: "Summin' Gotz Ta Give" b/w "I Declare War". Both sides were produced by Y-Kim the Ill Figure, and the magazine gave both songs high marks. I discovered with quiet glee that Royal Fam was a crew affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan, placing them up there with Sunz Of Man and, later, Killarmy: I consider those three crews to be the first, and ultimately the best, wave of Wu-affiliation that fellow stans such as myself have come across.

Royal Fam was made up of group leader Timbo King, the elder statesman of the crew (he had a previous life as a pre-Wu artist, also coincidentally known as Timbo King: he and Spark 950 released an album on Street Life Records called United We Slam in 1994), and a few others who I have a bit more trouble nailing down, since the cast of characters was constantly revolving, save for Timmy. Dreddy Kruger, now best known as the A&R of some of the better Wu-Tang projects to come down the pike, was a member at one point, as was Stoneface, Q-Base, Mighty Jarrett, and Dark Denim. Y-Kim, the crew's main producer, was also considered an official member of the group for a short time, according to online sources. Some of those names may be inaccurate, because ultimately Royal Fam never received a chance to shine like their brethren did, so there was no real reason for anybody to pay them enough attention to get the facts straight.

Royal Fam scored a deal with Capitol Records thanks to the Wu-Tang Clan name, and an album entitled Black Castle was quickly recorded for mass consumption. With the moderate buzz that was surrounding the crew after their appearance in The Source, Capitol even assigned Black Castle a catalog number and a release date, implying confidence in the rag-tag group of relative unknowns riding on coattails. However, the release date came and went in 1996, and Black Castle was never released. Royal Fam was soon dropped from the label entirely, leaving them without a home, although Timbo King used his free time to record guest spots for actual Wu-Tang Clan member solo albums.

Some of the songs leaked out in various formats, including a couple of actual Royal Fam albums released overseas that were never officially sanctioned by the artists, but the status of Black Castle remained a mystery until 2005, when Nature Sounds announced that it would release Royal Fam's fabled "lost" album (except they would credit the album to Timbo King, which will make sense after you finish reading this post). An album cover was produced, another catalog number was recorded, and promotional copies were sent to critics and radio stations. And then...nothing. Again.

For reasons unknown and yet probably have everything to do with money, Black Castle has yet to be released officially anywhere, although you can easily score a copy if you hunt on the Interweb long enough. Royal Fam is essentially defunct, although Timbo King and, to a lesser extent, Dreddy Kruger, still work on a regular basis. But for the most part, Black Castle will remain an anomaly, a lost fragment of what could have been, unless you decide to spend hundreds of dollars on a promotional version online.

Which I won't condone, by the way. We're in a recession, people!

1. INTRO
Almost completely useless. I say “almost” because the crew manages to remind listeners no less than fifty-seven times that the next song on Black Castle was titled after one of their oft-used catchphrases.

2. BLAME US
Timbo King brags about fucking Britney Spears (which I'm fairly certain never actually happened, but I'm not the guy's biographer or anything), which begs the question: exactly how old was she when this song was recorded? If this was from the original Black Castle, wouldn't she have been, like, sixteen or something? Regardless, none of this matters, because this track is fucking terrible. Timbo sounds like the only rapper in the crew who actually knows how to rap, which may be why he's the only person I remember appearing on this song, which doesn't bode well for the rest of this album.

3. RULES 101
It's kind of weird hearing Timbo King, a man who hasn't exactly had the best of luck in the music industry himself, advising aspiring rappers how to go about handling themselves. It's still an interesting subject, though, and Timbo King clearly knows his The Business Of Music backward and forward, so I guess if even one young artist heeds his warnings, he'll sleep like a baby at night. This isn't bad.

4. INVITATION ONLY
Why would Timbo brag about rhyming straight through a song with no chorus is the song he makes said boast upon contains a fucking chorus? These and other Royal Fam questions will be answered on Neveruary 31st.

5. ALL THE KINGS MEN
The Y-Kim beat is decent in an old-school Wu-Tang kind of way (which, given this song's age, means that it sounded entirely current around the time that it was supposed to drop), but Mighty Jarrett's verse is waaaaaay too long, leaving everyone else picking at table scraps after the attention of the listeners has already been diverted onto another track.

6. WHAT YOU THINK
The beat starts off sounding interesting enough, but it devolves into a simple drum and piano piece that stays the fuck out of the way of Timbo's average-quality lyrical darts.

7. BLACK CASTLE
I wasn't actually expecting a title track on this album. Y-Kim's beat is commendable, even veering toward pretty good at times. But I was bored as shit while listening to this piffle.

8. I DECLARE WAR
This was the B-side to the only officially released Royal Fam single. As I mentioned above, I first read about this song in The Source, but was never able to hear it with my own ears until this project finally materialized. Praise was heaped upon Royal Fam because of this single, but, of course, the album never happened, so they were never able to capitalize on it. Today, I feel the hook is pretty awful, but Y-Kim's beat is appropriately dark (and hopeful, oddly), and Timbo King fits himself over it well. Seriously, though, why is Black Castle considered a group effort?

9. ONCE UPON
This was actually kind of dope. It tackles a serious mood simply and efficiently. Timbo's version of Gza's “Cold World” (which this essentially is) would have benefited from other contributors, though.

10. ARMY BRIGADE (FEAT TRUE MASTER, JAHRULE, & ROC)
I love this song, and have always loved it, ever since it first leaked to the Interweb under the ridiculous title “Army Brickaid”. (Seriously? Somebody thought “brickaid” was a real word? Spellcheck much? That just makes me embarrassed as a fan and visibly upset as a writer.) This song is the shit. The Y-Kim beat sounds nothing like a Wu-Tang instrumental should, and the track is much better for it. Guest rapper True Master, who is better known as a Wu-Element producer in his own right, also sounds exactly like Gza/Genius, which is only a good thing because the man brings his A-game to the court. Awesome. By the way, Jahrule is not Ja Rule, for those of you two who were concerned.

11. SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE (A/K/A SUMMIN' GOTZ TA GIVE)
The first single, with a video (directed by Gza/Genius, I believe – wow, that's a lot of references to the Gza in a Royal Fam write up, huh?) shot and played on Rap City. Once again, it's strange that Timbo King (surprise! He's rhyming by himself!) is talking about a business in which he himself hasn't been very successful, although, to be fair, instead of offering advice on here, he's taking a more aggressive approach against shitty rappers, which makes this a better song than “Rules 101”. Y-Kim's beat sounds pretty fresh today, and Timbo's verses are entertaining as hell, although I should chalk that up to the nostalgia factor, so this still gets a thumbs-up today.

12. MUSICAL CHAIRS (FEAT HELL RAZAH & PRODIGAL SUNN)
Hey, how about that, some guest stars from Sunz Of Man. The title is pretty cool, and Arabian Knight's beat keeps things moving, but Stoneface's opening verse is jarring and not appealing in the least. Which I suppose is a phrase that could be applied to most Royal Fam songs. Huh.

SHOULD YOU TRACK IT DOWN? Black Castle is interesting in an academic capacity: Wu-Tang scholars who have been waiting for the Royal Fam album ever since it was originally announced eleventy billion years ago (and who have avoided the unsanctioned albums that leaked to the Interweb) will be intrigued to know what the disc was supposed to sound like. However, they'll be in for a severe letdown, as Black Castle is no lost masterpiece. This is not Timbo King's Smile: this is a weak project with a handful of good songs, a shitload of boring Y-Kim instrumentals, and a rapper (Timbo himself) who outshines his companions, if for no other reason than because he's essentially the only rapper on this so-called “group” album. Nature Sounds probably did the right thing by pulling this from their release schedule, as its dated Wu sound won't really appeal to anyone (except for a handful of tracks that the Wu stan in me loves). Oh well. Better luck next time?

-Max

For Promotional Use Only: Clipse (Re-Up Gang) - We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 1 (2004)

In 2002, Virginia rap duo-slash-loquacious coke dealers Pusha T and Malice of the Clipse released their debut album, Lord Willin', on Arista Records. This disc came several years after the duo's actual debut, Exclusive Audio Footage, was shelved indefinitely by Elektra Records for not being commercial enough to justify a marketing campaign of any sort. Bolstered by two hit singles, Lord Willin' went gold in the span of a couple of months. Having proven that yes, there was an audience out there for rhymes about selling cocaine, the brothers Thornton started recording their follow-up, Hell Hath No Fury, in early 2003, hoping for a release later that same year.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

Crumbling under the financial pressure of, oh, let's just say being a part of a dying industry whose sole purpose was to fleece both their employees and those who support said employees (read: artists, customers), Arista Records folded into Jive Records, leaving the Clipse stuck with a label who flat out refused to work with hip hop in general (there's a long list of disgruntled rap artists who were signed to Jive Records at one point). Compounding the issue was that the rest of the Clipse's labelmates on Star Trak Records, the vanity label of The Neptunes, were shifted to Interscope, leaving Pusha T and Malice by their damn selves. To his credit, Pharrell Williams, the guy who initially signed the duo in the first place, tried his best to get Jive Records to process the paperwork to shift his boys over with him, even threatening to pull all of his Neptunes-produced records from the second Justin Timberlake solo album. And that didn't work. (Justin went on to record almost an entire album with Timbaland, and, well, you've heard the results many times on the radio, I'm sure.)

In addition, amid all of the confusion Jive Records refused to provide the Clipse with a release date for Hell Hath No Fury until they provided the label with a song they could push to radio. (Hence the comment "those crackers weren't playing fair at Jive" on their "Mr. Me Too".) In frustration, the Clipse paired up with their friends Ab-Liva (who used to be a part of Major Figgas, a rap group that you have never heard of) and Sandman (who I believe used to work overnights downstocking Target stores prior to picking up the mic) and formed the Re-Up Gang. The new group was designed to be the ultimate resource for coke raps in the country, and as a bonus, it allowed the Clipse to release new music without dealing with the Jive Records bullshit.

The Re-Up Gang's first mixtape, We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 1, was compiled by mixtape deejay-slash-annoying fucker Clinton Sparks, whose catchphrase "Get Familiar!" is only trumped in sheer awfulness by most anything DJ Clue shouts over his exclusives. We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 1 features all new material, mostly recorded over already existing beats, but most fans ate this shit up as brand new songs: I remember reading interviews with Pusha T and Malice after the fact where they were amazed that the fans that went to their live shows knew these mixtape songs word for word.

1. INTRO
Typical.

2. YOU'LL SEE (FEAT PHARRELL)
The crew takes on the instrumental from a classic (relatively speaking) mixtape meeting between Biggie and The Lox, and they do so as if the beat were especially crafted for them. I'm not typically a fan of Clipse tracks that aren't produced by The Neptunes, but this is a pretty good argument for more.

3. COAST TO COAST
Clinton Sparks and his “Get Familiar!” catchphrase are already annoying the shit out of me. Great. The relatively obscure Kanye West/The Game/Common collaboration "The Whole City Behind Us" (obscure only if you don't follow mixtapes, as this track has not appeared on an album) has its beat jacked to minimal effect: everybody involved sounds as if they're spitting to something entirely different, which doesn't help matters any.

4. INTERLUDE (WHO WE DO THIS 4)
…

5. I SHOT YA
LL Cool J's “I Shot Ya” beat was seemingly custom-built for multiple rappers to jump on (a theory LL even believed himself, considering that he recorded the “I Shot Ya (Remix)” several years before anybody ever thought to jack the instrumental), and the Re-Up Gang have fun with it, with their usual blend of coke raps and caviar dreams. By the way, I never noticed until now how similar “I Shot Ya" sounds to that “Cannon!” instrumental that everyone on a DJ Drama/Don Cannon Gangsta Grillz mixtape spits to. Huh.

6. RE-UP ANTHEM
Not everyone on here sounds like they fully signed off on the bouncy beat (apparently swiped from a song by Ray J and B2K...yeah, great choice, guys), but they perform decently enough. Not very memorable, though.

7. YOU KNOW MY STYLE
This beat (from a Nas song of the same name) sounds very similar to the one used for “Re-Up Anthem”, even though it has more of an old-school twist. Even though each rapper kept it moving, I'll be damned if I could remember anything about their verses.

8. INTERLUDE (GET FAMILIAR)
…

9. DROP IT LIKE IT'S HOT (FEAT SNOOP DOGG)
The crew tackles an actual Neptunes beat, the one that Snoop Dogg used for his track of the same name. This was always one of those instrumentals that had to grow on me. Keeping Snoop's chorus intact was an iffy move, but the performances on here were fairly entertaining.

10. N----S KNOW
I wasn't familiar with this song's tweak on the “Player's Anthem” instrumental, which makes a formerly happy song dark as hell, as if the players in question have found themselves dropped into the middle of a jungle and are forced to use their wits, charm, and bling to fight their way out, This track was pretty fucking ill.

11. STAY FROM AROUND ME
The John Ritter reference early on was unexpected; it's almost as if the beat alleviated any concern from the consciences of the artists involved, allowing them to basically say whatever they wanted. This was pleasant as hell.

12. INTERLUDE (FEAT HASSAN, VOICE OF REASON)
This interlude was actually pretty funny. Or, at least the image of driving around wearing a red nose and size nineteen Chuck Taylors makes me laugh, anyway.

13. STUNTIN' Y'ALL (FEAT PHARRELL)
This was an actual unreleased Clipse song at the time of We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 1's release, brought to us by The Neptunes (I assume Chad had some involvement, but we all know how Hell Hath No Fury turned out). Pusha T and Malice ride the beat as well as you would expect, but this sounds like a step backward from Lord Willin'.

14. INTERLUDE (HIT MEN)
Pusha explains that “Stuntin' Y'all” was intended for Hell Hath No Fury. Obviously, since we can go to the store and grab a copy of that album, the song didn't end up making the final cut. Which makes sense, as it wouldn't have fit in with that album's dark themes at all.

15. RADICAL (SANDMAN FREESTYLE)
An interesting Sandman freestyle over a beat that I'm pretty sure was also used by Shawn Carter and Curtis Jackson on one of the S. Carter mixtapes. This wasn't bad, but it doesn't prove to me that Sandman could thrive on his own, a feat which he's actually trying to do currently, as he recently left the Re-Up Gang to pursue other endeavors (and to pick up some extra hours).

16. DON'T LET ME DIE (AB-LIVA FREESTYLE)
This Ab-Liva solo track is not bad at all. I don't know if I would check for a solo album or anything, but this was still pretty fucking enjoyable.

17. INTERLUDE (SANDMAN)
…

18. JUST A B-BOY
I appreciate the fact that the Clipse used this mixtape as an actual group effort from the Re-Up Gang and not just as Pusha T and Malice, featuring special guests. That is the only good thing I can say about this boring-ass song, though.

19. INTERLUDE (AB-LIVA)
…

20. THE SERMON
Ab-Liva decides that the mixtape isn't preachy enough, so for one of his solo tracks, he approaches a serious topic (the high number of African Americans incarcerated compared with any other race) with an attitude that seems to imply that he wrote his verses without any concern for the topic.

21. NOTHING LIKE IT
Ab-Liva and Sandman pair up over a dull thumping beat with a Kanye West-esque soul sample that grew tired back when Kanye was still creating them. (So it makes sense when I tell you that Kanye did create this beat, originally for Beanie Sigel.) Moving on...

22. QUEEN BITCH
The Re-Up Gang brings back the beat from Lil' Kim's “Queen Bitch”, a track I liked in the past. Regardless of what they actually say, though, I can't look beyond the distracting beat (as it is so distinctive), so this song isn't as good as it could have been. Speaking of “Queen Bitch”, if you haven't heard The Notorious B.I.G.'s reference track for Kimberly, it's one of the funniest and creepiest things I have ever heard, even though it pulls back the curtain and reveals the wizard more than a little bit. You can find out more about it by clicking here.

23. CROSS THE BORDER
This was pretty fucking good. Ab-Liva and Sandman seem to step their game up while alongside the Clipse. This track begs the question “How many different ways can they rhyme about cocaine before it gets old?”, though.

24. PUSSY (REMIX) (FEAT PHARRELL)
I think the original version if this Neptunes-produced piffle appeared on the soundtrack of Barbershop 2: Back In Business. No, seriously. This sounds much better than “Stuntin' Y'all”, but that isn't saying a whole lot.

25. OUTRO
Well, every mixtape has to end sometime. Using the end theme music for The Wire was a nice touch.

SHOULD YOU TRACK IT DOWN? We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 1 showcases the Clipse and their friends rhyming with a zeal and appreciation for the culture that tends to be missing from most new artists today. Not every song clicks, and some of the verses blend in with one another a bit too easily, but Pusha T, Malice, Ab-Liva, and Sandman are all worthy of their cult following (as a crew, not necessarily individually). This mixtape isn't as consistent as either of the Clipse's two officially released albums, but it was pretty entertaining, and you will find yourself liking more than a few of these tracks.

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
The other Clipse write-ups can be found by clicking here.

Killah Priest - View From Masada (May 9, 2000)

Walter Reed, the only Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was named after a hospital (contrary to popular belief, U-God took his nickname from a rehab facility and not a hospital), may have taken his rap handle, Killah Priest, from one of the many kung-fu flicks that influenced the Clan, but he was among the first members of the extended family to express displeasure with the Wu in general (and The Rza specifically). After the release of both his solo debut, Heavy Mental, and his Sunz of Man crew's album The Last Shall Be First (both of which dropped in 1998), Killah Priest severed ties with the Clan, choosing to go it alone in the hip hop world.

Which was a brilliant move, by the way, because the only people who bought Heavy Mental and The Last Shall Be First were Wu-Tang fans.

Killah Priest holed up in the recording studio paid for by MCA Records (he was shifted over to this parent company of Geffen after Heavy Mental's release) and created View From Masada without any involvement from the Clan. (Unfortunately, this also meant that he didn't have any assistance from his former friends in Sunz Of Man, who went on to record a follow-up without him.) Instead, he chose to work with the Black Rose Kartel, a merry band of like-minded individuals who were actually Wu-affiliated themselves (sort of). During his down time, Priest had also formed a supergroup, The Four Horsemen, with Ras Kass, Canibus, and Kurupt (from Tha Dogg Pound), and called upon a couple of them for some assistance. While the production was all handled by folks unknown to the mainstream at the time, one man in particular, who produced three tracks on View From Masada, went on to develop a cult following, and by "cult", I mean "is one of the biggest names in hip hop production today" (even though his contributions on here aren't so hot). When you see his name below, you'll know exactly who I'm talking about.

The shedding of Priest's Wu ties also seemed to coincide with the shedding of his fan base, as nobody fucking bought View From Masada except for me, and I think the cashier at Best Buy was shocked that someone actually picked up an album with a cover that looked even shittier than one of Pen & Pixel's creations for No Limit Records. I can say for a fact that I listened to this album only a few times before locking it up in a crate, and each time, I listened to the same fucking song. It was almost as if Killah Priest was deliberately sabotaging his music career, which may help explain why he started to sporadically pop up on Wu-Tang-related projects after View From Masada dropped.

Buyer beware: Heavy Mental this ain't.

1. INTRO
Yep, View From Masada is one of those rap albums, the type in which the artist claims that his or her music is "important" and could possibly cure cancer if given half a chance. I'm more interested in Priest's statement "N----z been stealin' from me" because it's immediately followed by "I know who that n---a is!". So, are you going to name names, or what?

2. VIEW FROM MASADA
Successful in that it maintains the song's theme ("Masada" is another nickname for Killah Priest, or so he claims, and this song is based around his point of view), but a failure in that nothing on here captures your attention in any way whatsoever. As this is the first actual song on the album, I take this to not be a good sign. Fun fact: Just Blaze produced this song. Yes, that Just Blaze.

3. HARD TIMES
Justin Blaze handled board duties on this track, too. The Killah Priest I prefer is the elevated shit-talker from Gza's "4th Chamber" or the storyteller from Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Snakes". (I suppose it's just a coincidence that both of the songs I just mentioned were also produced by The Rza. Is that a direct statement regarding the production values on View From Masada? Hell yes.) Boy, I sure do miss that Killah Priest.

4. MACCABEAN REVOLT (INTERLUDE) (FEAT GOLDIE MACK)
Black Rose Kartel member Goldie Mack's one-verse wonder isn't bad, but the music underneath (from Daddy Rose, part of the same crew, who is Wu-affiliated in only the most roundabout of ways) is most definitely not ready for prime time.

5. MACCABEAN REVOLT (FEAT DADDY ROSE & SALAHUDIN)
Daddy Rose's name is relatively simple to spell, but if you look hard enough, you'll find Salahudin's moniker rendered in many different ways. I'm unsure of any official spelling, because the weird thing about View From Masada is that, even though there are clearly other artists on some of these songs, the only guests that receive any sort of credit (and, I assume, royalty checks) are the ones who have record deals of their own. (You'll be able to figure out who those folks are, trust me.) You can tell that the previous interlude is over because drums crash into the music. It's too bad that Daddy Rose's instrumental isn't salvaged by the percussion, as this song is simply boring. The verses by everybody involved were not bad, though.

6. GOTTA EAT
The final Just Blaze song on View From Masada, produced prior to the man signing a contract with Roc-A-Fella Records. Priest sounds exactly like a certain Nasir Jones on here, so much so that I was almost expecting to see a writing credit from the man. Even the sorry-ass hook and Trackmasters-lite instrumental (obviously Just has come a long way) sound like a Nastradamus leftover. You'll probably listen to this song once to hear what I'm talking about, but this is so awful that the one time will be more than enough.

7. WHAT PART OF THE GAME? (FEAT RAS KASS)
This is the only song from View From Masada that I remember ever being played on the radio, and even that was only for a brief period of time. This also happens to be the most "hip hop" sounding track on here. Killah Priest's vocals suck pretty bad, but Rassy, one of his Four Horsemen partners, makes lemonade out of a molehill. This was the only song I ever listened to after I bought View From Masada, and today, I'm questioning even that decision. Strange but true fact: whenever Rassy Kassy's verse gets stuck in my head (usually it's just the first couple of bars, but this has been happening for nearly a decade now), I frequently get it mixed up with (Mad) Skillz and his contribution to "B-Boy Document '99": specifically, I just keep hearing Skillz rapping over this beat after the first two Ras Kass bars slide by. It's strange how my mind works sometimes: I suppose it truly believes that this song is similar to that other one. It also doesn't help that Ras and Skillz are essentially relaying the same message to the listener.

8. I'M WIT THAT
The beat (provided by Shamello and Buddah) reminds me of "The Professional" from Heavy Mental, except with more of a club bent. It's not something that you would ever expect Killah Priest to spit to, and, unsurprisingly, he sounds entirely out of his element. Oddly, I do actually like the beat, though: one of those mixtape rappers who dominate the blog scene needs to jack it and do it justice.

9. BOP YOUR HEAD (FEAT CANIBUS)
Walter sounds terrible on here, rhyming about some utterly stupid shit, shouting inane threats, and vowing to get some Brooklyn thugs to start robbing people, because he raps only about "real shit". Fuck that! Canibus, another member of the Horsemen clan (I assume Kurupt was working the Carl's Jr. drive-thru window late the previous night and, as such, was unable to attend the day's recording session) rips shit like he used to, back when people actually gave a damn about the guy. Which was cool.

10. RAP LEGEND
You can't be a certified rap legend if this is only your second album. If you belong in the history books at all, Priest, it's because of your early association with the Wu-Tang Clan: everything else you have to earn. And that will never happen if you continue to release bullshit songs such as this one.

11. PLACES I'VE BEEN
I don't know what's with Wiz's beat, which sounds like incidental music from an hourlong hospital drama, but it definitely is something Priest should have thought twice about rhyming to. The instrumental eclipses his vocals, which may have sounded decent, if I could fucking remember any of them.

12. WHEN WILL WE LEARN
I didn't care for Wiz's easy-listening adult contemporary instrumental, but Killah Priest provides us with some rhymes that sidestep quasi-religious psychobabble in favor of internal struggles and successes. He also mentions Poltergeist at one point, which is nice, because I like that goofy horror flick. That clown sitting in the chair scares the shit out of me, though.

13. FOOD FOR THOUGHT (INTERLUDE)
...

14. LIVE BY THE GUN (FEAT BLACK ROSE KARTEL & KAVALIER)
Killah Priest plus speed rapping does not equal crazy delicious. He sounds about as awkward as The Notorious B.I.G. did on his own "Notorious Thugs". Also, every other rapper on here isn't rapping as if their ever decision is based upon whether or not they might have to shoot somebody, so what was the purpose of this dumbass song again?

15. IF I DIE (FEAT SALAHUDIN)
It sure saved Salahudin a lot of time by jacking an existing prayer instead of actually writing a hook. That shit smacks of laziness, and it also doesn't help with the "quasi-religious psychobabble" classification. Which is too bad, as otherwise, this is the kind of song that Priest's fans tend to flock to.

16. OUTRO
All kinds of useless. Who the fuck buys a Killah Priest album to hear the guy sing? This outro pimps his next album, Priesthood, and View From Masada hasn't even yet evaporated from the minds of the listeners. Yikes. Even Killah Priest has fucking moved on.

FINAL THOUGHTS: View From Masada was the beginning of the end for Killah Priest's career. While Heavy Mental managed to move five hundred thousand copies, none of his other albums matched that success, and Walter soon found himself bouncing from unknown label to unknown label, immedialetly following his wholly predictable dropping from MCA. It doesn't help that View From Masada is boring as shit. With this album, Killah Priest allows listeners a closer look into his mind, but the trip itself is not very enjoyable: it turns out that the thoughts that pass through his synapses are of the "I'm a better rapper than you are because of my spirituality" variety. Priest also tried, unsuccessfully, to prove that he was worth more than his Wu-Tang affiliation, but the quality of the songs featured on here vary wildly. Some of the tracks sound okay, maybe even decent, but, curiously, he tanks when paired up with superior lyricists Ras Kass and Canibus. In all, this disc was a major disappointment, and fans of Heavy Mental would be hard pressed to find anything on here that they liked as much as Priest's debut disc. Besides, most of you two readers don't give a damn about Wu-Tang and have stopped reading anyway, so bliggedy goo goo bah.

BUY OR BURN? Burn if you absolutely have to, but it won't matter either way: this album still sucks. Go out and but Heavy Mental again if you feel the need to support the man's quest for fire.

BEST TRACKS: "When Will We Learn" (lyrics only), "What Part Of The Game?" (Ras Kass performance only); "I'm Wit That" (beat only)

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Killah Priest - Heavy Mental
Sunz Of Man - The Last Shall Be First