Trudging my way through the catalog of James Todd Smith is taking me a bit longer than I thought, especially since my motivation to do so has been hampered by how poorly Exit 13 and Todd Smith sounded, but I plan on continuing to fight on, as I find these reviews funny, and ultimately, that's all that matters.
The pseudo-thugged out look that LL Cool J exhibits on the album cover for The DEFinition would lead one to believe that the man has finally given in to the pressures of providing consistently decent hip hop music and has instead decided to start beating the shit out of people for fun and/or profit. Instead, this may well be the blingiest Cool James album I've listened to yet: over half of the album is produced by former hitmaker Timbaland (who may be questioning the loyalty of his own fans right now, given how well Shock Value II is currently doing in stores), and the rest is handled by a mishmash of folks, all of whom try their damnedest to get the ladies to shake their respective asses on the floor.
That's right, folks: this is LL Cool J's club album.
Confusing matters even more if the album's very title. The DEFinition is named as such to draw attention to LL's status as one of the guys who essentially built Def Jam Records from the ground up. He's the old-timer who shows up to work every day, does nothing but complain about how things have changed and how his coffee is too hot, and hits on the female staff for the fuck of it, but yet he's also the guy who has released the most solo albums on Def Jam: The DEFinition was his tenth overall (and his ninth solo album if you don't count the All World greatest hits package, which I don't). Considering that Def Jam wasn't exactly started up just so their roster of artists could receive consistent club play (it just kind of happened that way), I have no clue why James Todd would choose this project to call himself Def Jam Employee of the Month. (It might have worked a bit better for Exit 13.)
The DEFinition went on to move over five hundred thousand units, so there have to be people out there that actually own this one. The first single, "Headsprung", is vintage Timbaland from a time when he didn't hate rap music so goddamn much (unlike today, when he will refuse to work with a rapper unless his first name is Shawn and his last name rhymes with "smarter"), and it's bouncy sound is enough to get the women on the floor, so I guess, for one song at least, Timbo fulfilled the mission statement that LL Cool J drafted for this album.
So how did everyone else do?
1. HEADSPRUNG (FEAT TIMBALAND)
Not surprisingly, The DEFinition kicks off with its biggest asset. What is surprising is how well this track actually works. It failed to make a massive impact when it was first released to radio around my way; I think it was played approximately one and a half times. However, a few years removed from its conception, “Headsprung” sounds far more entertaining than what passes for club piffle in 2010. Cool James rides Timmy's instrumental like a roller coaster, hitting all of the typical peaks and valleys a club song attracts (read: some of these lyrics are pure crap), but the package still works as a whole. I'm troubled by the fact that The DEFinition is front-loaded with this song, though: this does not bode well for the rest of my article.
2. RUB MY BACK
Wow, it sure didn't take long for The DEFinition to wade into uncharted waters with the consistency of utter bullshit. LL's tired come-ons aren't as bad as they are in his later work, but they are matched on here by an equally lackluster Timbo beat that fits him about as well as as a toddler's first pair of Chuck Taylor's would. Jay-Z might have been able to salvage this instrumental (he wouldn't have twisted it into a good song, mind you, but he could have Tim Gunn-ed it), but LL is left to sink in the quicksand. If this is indicative of Timbaland's production work on the rest of the album, I may as well throw in the towel right now.
3. I'M ABOUT TO GET HER (FEAT R. KELLY)
LL Cool J is “still a teen pop idol, like Hanson”? The hell? Our host for this evening isn't even living in the same fucking millennium as the rest of us, and yet he expects us to enjoy his music? Anyway, I'm not sure if Ladies Love's well-documented issues with Hova were in full effect at this point, but he recruits R. Kelly to sing and co-produce (alongside, of all people, motherfucking Teddy Riley, who seems to have had no input whatsoever) a track that comes across as a contribution to the Kells and Hov The Best Of Both Worlds project that Shawn might have rejected. James also spits verses that seem to have nothing to do with the actual song, but I may have missed something simply because I was fucking bored.
4. MOVE SOMETHIN'
If you listened to, say, “Mama Said Knock You Out” and then immediately followed that up with “Move Somethin'”, you would be skeptical to believe that they were both performed by the same artist. It's not as if rappers aren't allowed to update their sound for the times: hell, they do it all the time, especially the more tenured rappers in the industry who struggle with the concept of relevancy in today's youth-driven market. But LL Cool J literally sounds as if he was secretly replaced with decaf. The club-ready insipid lyrics could have been spit by my ten-year-old cousin with just about the same degree of intensity. Clearly, for Cool James it isn't about the music anymore: he simply refuses to fade into the background quietly. N.O. Joe's Timbaland-esque clone of an instrumental also doesn't help matters any.
5. HUSH (FEAT 7 AURELIUS)
LL Cool J is entitled to his love raps: admittedly, the man does them better than most (or at least he used to). But this track is dead on arrival, thanks to the insistence of producer 7 Aurelius on building the beat around his own fucking vocals, which are so distorted through Auto-Tune that they may as well have been performed by Stephen Hawking. Oh well, at least this ranks amongst the shorter offerings on The DEFinition. For the record, James Todd Smith plays along admirably, but he has nothing to work with on this second single, so the track still sucks.
6. EVERY SIP (FEAT CANDICE NELSON)
This song was fucking awful. That's all I got.
7. SHAKE IT BABY
Somehow, LL draws a correlation between the music industry and the Iraq war, which isn't impressive in the least bit: I imagine that there are many soldiers overseas who would be pissed off that Cool James dismissed their plight and struggle without so much as a flick of his wrist. LL uses this N.O. Joe beat to spit random bars that have nothing to do with babies shaking anything at all, but at least he (finally!) admits on the hook that he only makes music for the ladies now. Well, that's a relief: I was about to be offended by the ridiculousness of The DEFinition thus far, but I'm not even a part of the target demographic! My favorite part of this track was when it segued into the next one abruptly.
8. CAN'T EXPLAIN IT (FEAT CANDICE NELSON)
You can't explain what, Cool James? All you talk about on this song is fucking, even referencing a 69 at one point (albeit in a relatively creative manner, I must admit). This track isn't mysterious in the least bit: you wrote a song about sex for the female audience to swoon over. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a woman out t here that named this as her favorite LL song, if only because she enjoyed masturbating to it. The female vocals, meant to be soothing and hot but coming across as shrill instead, are entirely unnecessary, but for what this is, I've heard much worse.
9. FEEL THE BEAT
This was the B-side to the “Headsprung” 12-inch single: I even heard it on the radio exactly one time. Tim Mosely turns in a simplistic beat with an old-school feel, while LL sounds energized for the first time since...well, let's just say that he's been sleepwalking throughout most of The DEFinition. As a result, this track was alright. I don't understand LL's tactic for avoiding crank calls, which he details on this track: whenever someone mentions that their “cell [phone] is disconnected”, that usually means that they couldn't afford to pay the bill, which isn't something that one would brag about with confidence. Still, not bad.
10. APPLE COBBLER
I'm all for rap songs that devote the entirety of their subject matter to the beauty of the female ass, but the oversimplification that takes place on here is a bit disturbing, as LL and Timmy refer to an unnamed female's ample bottom as an “Apple Cobbler” and request for it to be “deep fried” (I don't even want to know what the fuck that's supposed to mean), but not before referring to her “apple pie” as well, which either means the vagina or the asshole, depending on your preference. (Given the biggest joke in American Pie, I think they're talking about pussy.) This was weird, but the beat was decent enough, I suppose. Oh, I just realized that “deep fried” may be code for the unnamed female in question to drop it low on the dance floor, now that I think about it. Well, that makes me feel a lot better.
11. 1 IN THE MORNING
Dame Grease's beat gives this song an energy that would have made more sense had Cool James started off The DEFinition with it, as opposed to tacking it on at the very end. LL sounds okay enough with his random “I'm richer and generally better than you” braggadocio (and isn't that what rap music is all about?), but why would he wait until the very end to try and impress the audience?
THE LAST WORD: The DEFinition suffers from an acute awareness of what it's trying to be: a pop-rap album geared toward the kind of ladies that you would love to hook up with at the club (or the type of women that you may generally either want to be or want to talk shit about, if you happen to be female). LL Cool J tries to stack the deck by working alongside Timbaland for a good portion of the proceedings, but that partnership, intended to guarantee radio airplay, only results in two decent tracks, and the rest of The DEFinition is far more boring by comparison. This never comes across as a cohesive album: the eleven songs featured here don't mesh together as much as they are unnaturally forced, like mating your dog with your cat. As such, LL's collection of singles fails because it lacks the extra effort needed to grab the attention of the audience: James Todd Smith is simply coasting on his looks and the automatic goodwill he generates due to his status as a legitimate hip hop icon. This wasn't as awful as Todd Smith, but there's still no reason for you two to go out of your way to listen to a song like “Headsprung”.
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
Catch up on the LL Cool J discography by clicking here.
In 2003, Obie "Obie Trice" Trice cemented his position as "the other solo artist Eminem signed to Shady Records" (the first being Curtis Jackson) with his debut album Cheers, a surprisingly enjoyable (at times) hip hop album that boasted some of the most creative production that Marshall Mathers has ever come up with. Obie was also able to capitalize off of his newly-acquired status by collaborating with bigger names such as Dr. Dre (who even performed on one track, "Shit Hits The Fan"), Timbaland, Curtis, Lloyd Banks, Nate Dogg, Busta Rhymes, and, on a remix to "The Set Up", Reggie Noble. (That remix, which was released as a single, marks probably the only time that Redman has officially rhymed over a Dr. Dre prescription.) While it didn't move tons of copies, unlike the other guy from Shady Records (*cough* Get Rich Or Die Tryin' *cough*), Obie did well enough to keep his cult following salivating for more.
So around 2005, when the artist formerly known as Obie-1 (which is a far worse rap name than Obie Trice) began work on his follow-up, Second Round's On Me, hip hop heads (at least those who were paying any attention) watched as their own hearts started palpitating wildly with excitement. It definitely didn't help that, around this time, his label boss Eminem (who, as we now understand, was entering the beginning stages of drug dependency, which affected his overall work ethic and contributed to some horribly shitty verses from the former Slim Shady) bragged to any rap media outlet who would listen that his production work on Second Round's On Me would surpass anything that he had ever done before. (I remember reading about a song called "Emulate", named as such because I suppose Obie was supposed to be channeling his mentor's flow or something, but that track never emerged in a full-length version.)
Which is why it was so shocking that Obie Trice sustained two gunshot wounds at the very end of 2005.
Which is also why it was so shocking that Eminem's friend and D-12 running mate (and labelmate to Obie) Proof was killed just a few months later.
The recording of Second Round's On Me took on a very somber tone, as Obie explored the concept of not only loss, but his own mortality. My understanding is that the man still carries bullet fragments in his head, as doctors have determined that it could be fatal if they try to extract them. So Obie Trice has to walk around with the remnants of what being a moderate success can do to a person, a fact that is not lost on him during the entirety of Second Round's On Me.
I'm not sure if this was a result of Shady Records not allowing much of a budget for Obie to record his sophomore effort, or if the bigger names from before were now afraid to get anywhere near a guy who apparently attracted bullets like moths to a flame, but Second Round On Me's guest roster is far less distinguished than Cheers was. As with the first effort, Marshall hangs out behind the boards and has a hand in the project's overall tone, but unlike Cheers, Eminem only appears on one song; consequently, when taken within the context of the year 2006, the biggest star to appear on here is fucking Akon, the man who lucked out a couple of years later when he hit the lottery by signing Lady Gaga to his own label. Dr. Dre and Timbaland, apparently, had more pressing engagements with their barbells and their steroids, as neither man has anything to do with a guy who they claimed to like only a few years prior.
Can Obie Trice overcome these hurdles to bring listeners a decent second album?
No. No he can't.
1. INTRO
Groan...
2. WAKE UP
The first song on Second Round's On Me pales in comparison to the first song on Cheers, “Average Man”, but I still kind of liked it. (Or at least I did, until the corny-ass ending revealed the track's true colors.) Obie spits for nearly the entire duration of the track, and since he sounds exactly the same as he has since I first started paying attention to him, this helps acclimate the listener with the man's world view.
3. VIOLENT
Similar in tone to the album opener from Cheers, but the inclusion of a sing-songy chorus deflates this aggressive balloon arrangement. The beat walks the fine line between decent and frustrating, and Obie ends up caught in the middle.
4. WANNA KNOW
Prior to sitting down and listening to Second Round's On Me again, the last time I had heard this song was during an episode of Entourage. Emile's beat is pretty interesting, as he throws together a trash can punch filled with far too many ingredients, but the end result still tastes pretty good, and it'll get you drunk. Obie's second verse veers toward ridiculous imagery, but everything before that is entertaining enough.
5. LAY DOWN
A relatively threatening Eminem instrumental, punctuated with odd vocal samples, follows Obie as he tries to violently get his point across, adopting an unnatural sped-up flow at times, because absolutely nothing screams malevolence than imitating Twista. Pass.
6. SNITCH (FEAT AKON)
Akno was included in these proceedings solely to ensure a radio-friendly single (as he was hot at the time, unlike today, since his shine was stolen from him by T-Pain and Akon is left collaborating on tracks such as David Guetta's “Sexy Bitch”), but the funny thing is that MTV banned the song (they have a documented problem with the “stop snitching” platform that a lot of rappers run for office upon), so “Snitch” was never really played on the fucking radio anyway. For what it's worth, Obie sounds okay, and Akon's singing doesn't overstay its welcome, but this isn't that great of a song; what annoyed me the most was that Marshall's ad-lib at the very beginning subliminally promises a cameo that never materializes.
7. CRY NOW
This comment will sound contradictory, so stay with me here: This is Obie Trice's best song, probably the best the man will ever record. The Witt & Pep beat is fucking amazing, and it complements Mr. Trice beautifully. However, I never noticed until today that Obie sounds uncomfortable and awkward over this instrumental. I'm being serious: go ahead and spin it yourself, and pay close attention to the host's delivery: he actually makes the song sound worse, like U-God does with most Rza-produced tracks. My memory has, apparently, replaced this original track with its remix, on which Obie sounds much more confident alongside his guest collaborators over this exact same beat. And yet, I still feel this is the man's peak. I warned you that the comment would sound contradictory, so I don't want to hear any complaints later.
8. BALLAD OF OBIE TRICE
I didn't care for this song.
9. JAMAICAN GIRL (FEAT BRICK & LACE)
A better attempt at a radio single than the goofy “Got Some Teeth” (which was probably written by Eminem anyway – Obie sounds completely different on that corny-ass track than he does on everything else he ever recorded, so much so that I wouldn't be surprised to find that a blog has unearthed a reference track for it), but this still sounds entirely out of place on an album that's all about violence, misogyny, pervasive drug content, and typical rapper bullshit.
10. KILL ME A MUTHA
Obie's transition from introductory ad-libs to his first verse is incredibly jarring: seriously, nobody felt that could have been tweaked in editing? The beat, from Marshall and his frequent producing partner Luis Resto, sounds alright, but Obie's retaliatory tale rings hollow, especially when he deliberately mispronounces the word “animal” just to make his bars rhyme. Not unheard of in hip hop, but it's still kind of lazy.
11. OUT OF STATE
Obie doesn't sound like a natural fit over a bouncy beat such as this, but he adapts his flow to the pace, which at least shows that he's trying his best. The song is weak overall, but the man clearly put some effort into it, which is always nice.
12. ALL OF MY LIFE (FEAT NATE DOGG)
This song contains what sounds like should have been a Dr. Dre beat, but instead, production duties are credited to Trell and Eminem. Nate Dogg's hook uncharacteristically sucks balls, and Obie's awkward imagery during this sex rap will make you want to hit the 'skip' button fairly quickly.
13. GHETTO (FEAT TREY SONGZ)
Trey Songz makes the first of two cameo appearances on here. Trice's vocals sound like they were mechanically slowed down to match the speed of J.R. Rotem's instrumental, and the end result features a rapper who comes off as if this were the first rap song the motherfucker ever wrote. This was weird.
14. THERE THEY GO (FEAT BIG HERK, EMINEM, & TRICK TRICK)
Obie includes a posse cut featuring some other Detroit rappers on Second Round's On Me, all in an effort to promote solidarity in Motown. Considering the large role Marshall played on Cheers, it's strange that his only vocal contribution to Obie's sophomore release is one verse on a song alongside two other guests that most heads outside of Detroit have never fucking heard of. (And yes, before someone comments, I'm aware that the overdose and drug dependency that birthed Relapse was affecting Eminem's work ethic at this point: I'm just pointing out a fact.) Not sure why Trick Trick only provides the outro, but whatever: this shit was weak as hell, and there are many better Detroit rappers Obie could have reached out to.
15. MAMA (FEAT TREY SONGZ)
Welcome back, Trey. Once again, Obie sounds like he isn't rhyming at full speed, and Trey's hook is filled to the brim with hip hop clichés, so there isn't much to recommend about this shit.
16. 24'S
Fairly embarrassing for everybody involved.
17. EVERYWHERE I GO (FEAT 50 CENT)
Thankfully, Curtis Jackson only provides hook duties, but his presence still wasn't necessary: thanks to Em's beat, there was no fucking way this could have ever been a hit record. Even Obie sounds less than convinced of his own boasts on here.
18. OBIE STORY
Probably the most mature song Obie Trice has written up until this point. The title is goofy, and J.R. Rotem's production is lacking the dramatic flair and gravitas that Obie's autobiography should contain, but this was still an effective way to end the man's second album. More tracks of this nature would have been appreciated, but it's too late now.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Second Round's On Me suffers from the sophomore jinx. Obie Trice's second full-length effort features the rapper choosing to rest on his laurels instead of actively trying to hone his skills, and Shady Records fails him as well, providing not enough of an album budget and/or confidence to afford the big names that handled production and guest spot duties on Cheers. A lot of this album ends up boring listeners to death, and when Obie manages to conjure up a good song, it's too little, too late. “Cry Now” will become the song Obie Trice will be best known for, mark my words. However, there just isn't anything on here that differentiates Obie from your average shitty rapper, no matter what region he hails from, and that isn't a good thing. It's little wonder why Obie would find himself dropped from Shady Records less than three years later.
BUY OR BURN? This one is a burn. I felt this was a major disappointment when it first dropped, causing me to lose faith in the man's talent. It isn't a complete wash, but nobody purchases CDs with the intent to skip every single track. Groan.
BEST TRACKS: “Cry Now”; “Obie Story”; “Wanna Know”
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
Obie Trice – Cheers
What typically passes for "music" from the Southern region of the United States tends to concentrate solely on getting people to dance. Indeed, an inordinate number of songs from the area exist only to teach listeners how to do the very dance that the artist claims to have invented on the fly, in between lunch and bathroom breaks in the studio. But the consistent theme of the sub-genre leans toward adequacy over blatant showcases of any kind of talent, with very few exceptions.
Meet a couple of the exceptions.
Kentucky's CunninLynguists, a duo made up of rapper-slash-producers Kno and Deacon the Villain (others would join up with and leave the crew, but these two were the anchors), already had a lot to overcome when they recorded and released their debut album, Will Rap For Food, in the fall of 2001. With punchlines for days and a musical ear that reminded listeners more of the Dungeon Family than the No Limit Soldiers, the CunninLynguists readily secured a cult following and amassed friendships with like-minded artists who felt they had nowhere else to turn.
Will Rap For Food surprises in that it sounds like nothing that could be classified as a "Southern" album. The beats, mostly provided by Kno himself, knock, while the lyrics alternate between goofy and serious with such swiftness that you'll be convinced that Deacon, the standout of the two (although Kno gets in many good lines throughout), has already released seventeen albums, he sounds that fucking polished.
Since so many of you two have been waiting very patiently for me to get to this crew, I'll skip the bullshit and get started already.
1. WILL RAP FOR FOOD
The mandatory rap album intro. Well, at least it's short.
2. LYNGUISTICS
“Lynguistics” acts more like a proper rap album intro, in that it actually introduces the CunninLynguists to the listener. Kno and Deacon throw a bunch of punchlines at you, and surprisingly, most of them stick, and Kno's string-based production gives the track immediate replay value. This shit is nice as hell.
3. MIC LIKE A MEMORY (FEAT KORY CALICO)
The overall playful tone of Will Rap For Food (which, admittedly, was only established on one song so far) shifts suddenly into much more serious territory, with Kno's instrumental taking on a reflective air as Deacon, Kno, and their guest relate the struggles of their life and how hip hop has played a vital role. Within the span of two tracks, the CunninLynguists have already proven that they can alternate between frivolous boasts and deep thoughts with the snap of their fingers, because both rappers take their shit seriously. Good work, guys.
4. SO LIVE!
I can't place my finger on it, but while I liked the beat on here, producer Celph Titled's work sounds artificial and empty on here, at least in comparison to the previous two tracks. I realize that sentiment is contradictory, but it is what it is. Deacon and Kno pass the mic back and forth with a palpable chemistry, though, and they work hard to overcome the song's shortcomings. The song ends without much of a conclusion, which threw me off a bit, but at least the rhymes were entertaining.
5. HEY
A brief instrumental interlude that ends kind of abruptly by design.
6. FUKINWICHU
There isn't much to this song: Deacon and Kno string together random and unrelated fucked-up ideas for shock value's sake, except it is obvious that they're just trying to make each other laugh. And the concept works: a lot of these lines are fucking hilarious, especially at the very end, when Kno proclaims “I'll go but every Will Smith CD...with my own money!”, which is fucked up, indeed. The beat basically lays a foundation and stays the hell out of the way of the constant goofy threats, and the track is all the better for it. The skit at the very end continues the general theme from the intro, and while it is unnecessary overall, it was also kind of funny.
7. AIN'T NO WAY (FEAT ANETRA & MR. SOS)
The most memorable thing about this track is the singing that unexpectedly closes out the song. Otherwise, everything from the beat to the lyrics sounded technically proficient, but I can't come up with any word other than boring to describe the proceedings. Oh well, they can't all be winners.
8. MISSING CHILDREN (FEAT BRAILLE)
After a brief interlude, the CunninLynguists swing back to the serious side of hip hop for a track about loss: loss of a loved one, loss of childhood, loss of innocence. The instrumental maintains its overall dark tone even as it takes on an experimental flavor toward the end, which is a masterful feat in and of itself, and the lyrics force you to pay attention and even care a little bit, something that may not have happened on “Fukinwichu”. Not bad in the least.
9. MIDNIGHT
An instrumental interlude.
10. THUGGED OUT SINCE CUBSCOUTS (FEAT JUGGA THE BULLY & MR. RAW)
The title of this gangsta rap goof is absolutely fucking brilliant: it tells the listener in four words exactly what they should expect from this track. Everyone involved has some fun with their random boasts and threats which, when taken literally, make no actual sense, but most hip hop doesn't make any sense anyway. This was most certainly not boring.
11. KNO'S DIGGIN'
Kno gets his DJ Shadow on, mashing multiple samples together for this brief interlude. It sounds decent enough, but only the one time.
12. HALF ANIMAL
Just like “Fukinwichu” before it, “Half Animal” features an Eminem vocal sample, which made me wonder why nobody else ever seems to look at Marshall's back catalog for sound bites to mix within their own beats. (Nas gets sampled on here as well, but he definitely doesn't share the same problem.) Em's words only serve to provide the track with its title, leaving Kno and Deacon to veer off topic just to make the song sound a little better. It's alright, but it's not real.
13. FAMILY TIES (FEAT CASHMERE THE PRO)
Wow, these guys really hate their parents. The misleading title, which may give you flashbacks to the days of Alex B. Keaton (I realize that a lot of you two may have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, as Family Ties may be before your time, but I don't care), leads listeners down a narrow street where there simply isn't any room for ambiguity or the duality of mankind: these two simply hate their parents. But their litter their debate with eloquent word selections that will easily have you taking their side. Kno's line about being so poor during his childhood that he thought the poverty line was the horizon was especially touching.
14. DIRTY SOUTH
This instrumental interlude sounds nothing like anything you would ever expect from the Dirty South. Which, of course, was the point.
15. MINDSTATE
I didn't care for this song. Sorry.
16. TAKIN' THE LOSS (FEAT JUGGA THE BULLY)
The hook isn't completely terrible, but there isn't much to it. The lyrics are, unfortunately, drowned out by Kno's beat, which is too bad, as Deacon and Kno traffic in highly inventive punchlines that get ignored when the music constantly gets in the way. Had this been mixed down differently, “Takin' The Loss” would have been one of the best tracks on Will Rap For Food, no question. Instead, it has to settle for being merely good, although the drum-and-bass breakdown at the end tips the scales a bit.
17. NOT GUILTY
A fairly dramatic Kno instrumental that sounds a bit out of place, but hey, why the hell not? Besides, this shit is dope. It may even inspire you to be creative, which, to me, is the ultimate goal of a talented artist in any medium. So give it a spin and let the creative juices flow.
18. 616 REWIND (FEAT CELPH TITLED, KASHAL-TEE, SANKOFA, & TONEDEFF)
Deacon's instrumental (with an assist from his partner) sounds like the theme music to one of those Merrie Melodies shorts from Warner Brothers, which works in its favor: it gives this underground posse cut a whimsical feel that is typically absent from our chosen genre. This shit is enjoyable as hell, as rap music is supposed to be. The fact that everyone spits without relying on the oft-used crutch of a chorus helps things immensely. A great way to end the evening.
FINAL THOUGHTS: With Will Rap For Food, the CunninLynguists bring listeners on an outright entertaining adventure through a twisted version of the Dirty South, one that believes itself to be located on the East Coast. Deacon the Villain and Kno have a great chemistry behind the mic, damn near finishing each other's punchlines, which are actually pretty funny, unlike some certain mixtape rappers. Kno's production work, which takes up the majority of the Will Rap For Food, is also very highly accomplished for what is supposed to be a debut album: the man selects his samples with a master's hand, and crafts compositions that have no true regional qualifier. As a result, everything on Will Rap For Food is seen not as Southern rap music, but as music, period. I'm actually pretty pissed off that it took me this long to bring it out of the crates.
BUY OR BURN? This one's tricky. I want to tell everyone reading this review to purchase this album, because you will not regret spending the money, but it's kind of hard to find without dropping over one hundred dollars on an out-of-print copy. If you happen across it, don't hesitate to pick it up. (Amazon.com is offering an mp3 download of the entire album for $8.99, so that may be an easy way to support the artist (and the blog, if you click on the links scattered throughout! Shameless plug!).
BEST TRACKS: “Mic Like A Memory”; “Lynguistics”; “Not Guilty”; “616 Rewind”; “Thugged Out Since Cubscouts”; “Missing Children”; “Family Ties”; “Fukinwichu”
-Max
So, yeah, the blog has been around for three years today. I can barely believe it myself. But I hope that at least a couple of you have discovered something new to listen to that you actually like.I'm going to take a few days off to gather my thoughts. When I return, I'd like the reviews to come back at full force (as I blatantly drop hints to those who wish to contribute Reader Reviews), but until then, drop me a line to let me know what albums you want to see reviews for, or what you want to see more of on the blog in general. Thanks for all of the comments so far, and hopefully I won't let you two down in the future.-Max
(For today's Reader Review, Dag Diligent tackles Murs For President, the major label debut from the west coast stalwart title character. If you enjoy this write-up and want to see more like it, be sure to leave some comments below.)
Since his debut in 1993, West Coast rapper Murs (also known as Nick Carter) has dropped seven solo albums and has been part of too many groups and collaborations to list. He has kept busy building his credentials and gaining a rep in Los Angeles as the underground hip hop king. He's even been looked at as one of the hardest working emcees in the industry, due to the sheer amount of product he has pushed out during his career. Recently, he was found teaming up with producer 9th Wonder, dropping tracks which have caught the ears of a slightly larger audience, all while remaining an underground star. In 2008, Murs released Murs for President, his first major label release and what many consider to be his crossover album.
If you're not familiar with Murs, you should know that he is a smart emcee with an ability to speak on behalf of the common man without coming across as corny. Some people believe his skills to be subpar, but I think that his effortless delivery masks his true abilities, kind of like when you see Tony Hawk do some skateboard flips and you think, “Oh, that’s easy”, and then you try it and end up on life support. He makes fun of himself and his weaknesses often, but still comes across as sharp. He definitely maintains a west-coast style, but incorporates the best of conscious rap, raw hip hop, and even the old school. He is often described as having a fresh sound because he’s not afraid to take risks. His recent albums have been generally well received by critics, but haven't caught on with the mainstream.
But are they as good as the reviews claim them to be? Has going mainstream cost him his credibility? Will his skills appeal to heads in the east? Is this album good at all?
Let's find out...
1. INTRO
A typically lousy and overproduced rap album intro. Here we have some fake news coverage of presidential candidate Murs and his motorcade, and the press conference that follows. The only real question asked by the fake news media is if Murs is planning on changing the way he does things to please more people. He acknowledges his attempt to cross over to the mainstream.
2. I'M INNOCENT
9th Wonder shows up to help him sort out his campaign by contributing a slamming beat. Murs comes out swinging, clearly wanting to prove himself right out of the gate with some high-octane conscious rhymes. He makes it clear that he is not sacrificing lyrical quality for fame: "I'm anti-thug and anti-drugs / brought peace to the party and got anti-love"; “It's sicker than syringes streamlined with strychnine / Vegan diet, healthy heart and soul with a sick mind / Inclined to flip, split minds when I spit rhymes / So go ahead kick yours, hope I don't kick mine”. The song ends with a cold drop off on some professional hip hop shit.
3. LOOKIN FLY (FEAT WILL.I.AM)
This song definitely keeps the momentum up from the previous track, but the style switch from the last song hit me like a punch to the chest. The beat is clearly aimed at clubs, with its down south bounce. will.i.am, from the sell-out supergroup Black Eyed Peas, drops in for an early appearance to co-produce to motivate the “crowd” by spouting some inane nonsense. I was impressed with some of the lyrical content, but I was also disappointed with some of the garbage. This is all a little too slick for me, and the chorus is indefensible: “I’m looking fly / ooh, I’m bout to spread my wings”. Skip.
4. THE SCIENCE
Ladies and gentlemen, we're back. Thanks for sticking with us through that dance break: now we have some science in the tradition of the old school. Featuring some intelligent lyrics, a decent flute and bass beat, and relevant content about just about everything, hip hop heads should be loving this one.
5. CAN IT BE (HALF A MILLION DOLLARS AND 18 MONTHS LATER)
Scoop DeVille produces his second song in a row and delivers again. Murs is on fire all the way through: "I coulda done a Nas and screamed hip hop is dead / I got up off my ass and I did something instead / signed with the devil, brought the scene up a level / killed the beast from within, I'm a born again rebel". Conscious rap over a great beat. Nice.
6. EVERYTHING
Now this is how you do a positive song. It's got a slick epic sound that typically wouldn't appeal to me, but it delivers some essential elements (scratching, sampling, real emceeing) and sounds alright. The lyrics are amazing and easily make up for the beat. Great job.
7. ROAD IS MY RELIGION
The beat is a step down from the previous three tracks, but is still okay. Once again our host's rhyme skill and honesty help him make the most out of a subject that doesn't really interest me (touring). Not bad for a filler track.
8. SOOO COMFORTABLE (FEAT KOKANE)
The title should read “featuring a fake George Clinton”. Here we have a typical G-funk beat, with a nice hint of ruggedness, but that isn't even close to enough to save the track. Murs does his thing well enough, but you should still skip this song.
9. TIME IS NOW (FEAT SNOOP DOGG)
Murs starts things out horribly with some jazz club style introductions for everyone featured on the track. After that mess, a really bad gospel beat starts working my patience. The chorus is surprisingly bad, especially when compared to the previous material on this album: "The time is now / it's going down in the town" (it sounds worse than it reads. Think about that). I'm sure Murs was glad to have a big name like Snoop come by to help out. Well, maybe not that glad, because Snoop drops a weak verse. Easily the worst song on the album.
10. THINK YOU KNOW ME
Wow, things have fallen apart quickly. The beat sounds like something Nottz found in Dr. Dre's trash can, and Murs' flow might have come from there too. The lyrical quality may or may not be good; I don't have the energy to sort through the musical garbage to find out. SKIP.
11. ME AND THIS JAWN
Nottz takes a sample from the hip-hop staple "For the Love of You" by the Isley Brothers and flips it a little too hard, with the result being a really irritating beat. The lyrics are well constructed and describe the trials of a long term relationship, but the track just doesn’t work. On a side note, this is the exact same sample that Masta Ace used in "The I.N.C. Ride" way back in 1995, but Ace used it brilliantly and made a classic track. Murs used it to make a definite skip. Honestly, I dug up the Masta Ace song to make sure that I had my facts straight for this review, and damn, that song is amazing. I didn't even finish the Murs song; I listened to Ace instead, so I guess something great could have happened at the end of "Me and This Jawn", but I doubt it. (Note: The Masta Ace song was stuck in my head all weekend. Good job,Ace.)
12. LOVE AND APPRECIATE II (FEAT TYLER WOODS)
Thank goodness 9th Wonder is back, I was starting to regret my decision to listen to this album all the way through. But, oh no...Murs starts out this track by announcing that this is a love song. Shit. Can they pull it off? Well, it's got a good slow beat, Murs almost brings his "A" game but not quite, so the only thing dragging down the track is Tyler Woods R&B chorus. Overall, not bad for a love song.
13. A PART OF ME
A marching beat, heavy R&B, and then, uh…heavy rock guitars. Well, this song is at least very well produced. Murs drops rhymes about his lady leaving, and he brings some real emotion into his lyrics and delivery. But this is definitely a rock song, or maybe even a pop song. Think Jay-Z and Linkin Park’s Collision Course album. Skip.
14. BREAK UP (THE OJ SONG)
This song starts on a nice hip hop beat, but quickly goes West Coast in bad way after a hard change up. Once things get slick, Murs talks about a difficult break up. He does a good job considering the topic, but the chorus is awful: “Everything I do, it reminds me of you / Everything I see, it reminds me of we”. The song is a little too smooth for my taste, but as with almost every song on the album the lyrics are solid and surprising: “I ain't gonna lie, sometimes I just don’t feel you / but find another man and I just might kill you”. Um, okay, if you’re that mad I guess I won’t ask why this song is subtitled “The OJ Song”.
15. BREAKTHROUGH
Murs starts off the final track by announcing that he is the realest rapper in the whole world because he has his mother in the studio. Okay, well, I’m glad 9th Wonder was in there too, because the beat is solid. This is the type of track where Murs really shows what he is capable of “Man I’m happy as hell / might get a job if this record don’t sell / What? Burger King, McDonald's? Best Buy or Target? At least I’ll get a discount! / Oh well, I’ll be employee of the month / you’ll never see your boy on the tube with gold fronts”. Not bad.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Murs is a rap veteran and he covers a lot of ground on Murs For President in terms of style. There is no doubt that he and 9th Wonder make a great team, but some of the other production work on this album is just weak or uninspired, making for an inconsistent album that swings back and forth between extremes. When the album is good, it’s great, but when isn't working, it’s pretty terrible.
BUY OR BURN: It would be nice to buy this album and help out a rap veteran who is making real hip hop, but at the same time, it might encourage more of the wack shit that is included on this album. So I'll just recommend a burn. Actually if you simply track down the tracks listed below, that would probably be good enough, as you'll be glad you did.
BEST TRACKS: "I'm Innocent", “The Science”, "Can it Be", "Everything"
-Dag Diligent
(Be sure to leave some comments below if you agree, disagree, or flat out don't care about this post. Although if you didn't care, you probably wouldn't have read this far, so I'll give you that.)
The year before the release of The Documentary, the Aftermath/G-Unit/Interscope release that would briefly swing the hip hop pendulum back West towards gangsta rap, Jayceon Taylor, better known as The Game (now known simply as Game after undergoing a name change that now makes him sound ten times more generic, like a store brand of laundry detergent), released the second installment of his mixtape series, You Know What It Is Vol. 2: Throwin' Rocks At The Throne.
At this point, Jayceon had already been a part of Dr. Dre's record label for quite a while, but there was little to no movement on his debut, and the man was in danger of getting his ass dropped from the very label that bigger names such as Rakim, King Tee, and Eve couldn't release albums on if their lives depended on it (because of Andre's predisposition toward perfection, which strangely didn't prevent him from recording a bunch of crap, but that's neither here nor there). While facing the very real possibility of label limbo, Jayceon kept busy, recording a ridiculous number of songs, many of which ended up either on mixtapes or leaking on the Interweb, while JT The Bigga Figga, the CEO of Get Low Records, released a couple of volumes of older Game material, in an effort to capitalize on the name before a major label could.
You Know What It Is Vol. 2: Throwin' Rocks At The Throne found Jayceon at a time when Curtis Jackson (reluctantly) took him under the wing of G-Unit, and as the loyal soldier he was at the time, The Game immediately adopted all of Jackson's beefs and started dropping the names of his new coworkers as if he was returning DVDs at Blockbuster. This mixtape, presented by both DJ Ray and Boost Mobile (no, seriously), features The Game hijacking beats from better-known artists, aligning himself with more marketable artists such as Snoop Dogg and Lil' Flip (no, seriously), and taking multiple pot shots at Joe Budden. (Hell yeah this sounds dated!) His fellow G-Unit teammates also periodically pop up to chat, to sing hooks, and to generally annoy the shit out of me, all in the name of sparking a buzz to move units of The Documentary for Jimmy Iovine.
What say you, Game fans?
1. INTRO
Every time a mixtape begins with an intro, an angel gets its wings.
2. THE BREAKDOWN (200 BARS & RUNNIN')
The Game tears through over nine minutes of new material over the beat to Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg's “Deep Cover”, an instrumental that you won't necessarily want to listen to for nine minutes straight. Some of the bars were fairly clever, but unlike his later lengthy rants against the entire G-Unit, he only attacks Joe Budden over a few sentences, and saves the rest of the track to talk about jack shit. Could have been better, but this is the kind of track that modern day mixtapes were invented for.
3. FLY LIKE AN EAGLE (FEAT SNOOP DOGG & WC)
Being aligned with West Coast legends this early in The Game's career may say a lot for the man, but hearing both Snoop and WC out-rap the upstart over this boring-as-shit beat just shows that Jayceon still has a ways to go before he'll be at that level.
4. GUNNED DOWN (FEAT JIM JONES & CROOKED I)
Game refers to himself as B.A. Baracus on this dull song, which is weird, as he was rumored to play that role in the big-screen remake of The A-Team for a short time. Only Slaughterhouse's Crooked I impressed me with his verse, but considering the rest of the guest list, that shouldn't be a surprise.
5. WARNING (FEAT 50 CENT)
As much as I hate to admit it, Curtis Jackson used to be able to write a catchy hook: his most popular songs lived and died by their choruses. The one that appears on here is decidedly less mainstream, and, maybe not coincidentally, it also sucks donkey cock. How is it possible that Curtis sounds better than Jayceon on a song? Here's how: Curtis chose a theme for the song and fucking stuck with it.
6. MORE BOUNCE (OLD SCHOOL)
A weird interlude that was more jarring than transitional. Was this truly necessary?
7. FALL BACK (VITA FREESTYLE) (FEAT VITA)
Vita (formerly of the Murder Inc. crew, led by Curtis Jackson's enemies Ja Rule and Irv Gotti) jacks Terror Squad's “Lean Back” and manages to make the above-average Scott Storch beat sound fucking terrible with her half-assed violent-for-no-reason rhymes. Groan.
8. BUDDENS (REMIX)
Jayceon dissects Joe Budden over Ice-T's “Colors”, and manages one line that I thought was fucking hilarious: “You only sold ten records, n---a, now move on!”. It seems that the beef was more of something fabricated with the aid of a mixtape deejay than it was Joey opening his notoriously big mouth, so it makes sense that these two kissed and made up rather quickly. However, it is funny when Game threatens Joe with a “celebrity beatdown” that he says he'll also record on camera. On an unrelated note, The Game has also worked alongside Raekwon the Chef. Hmm...
9. GOTTA GET IT (FEAT DR. DRE & JAY-Z)
I have no idea what the origin of this track is, but I'm fairly certain it's just a mash-up, or at least Hova's lyrics are, as they sound like they're from the Reasonable Doubt era. (Which they may very well be, but I can't be bothered to place them right now.) If one pretends that Dre, Game, and Shawn were all in the same room when this was recorded, than this song is much more enjoyable. That said, this still wasn't bad.
10. LOUSAFER (FREESTYLE)
Jayceon jacks Hova's Kanye West-produced “Lucifer” and bores listeners to death. He even trashes Joe Budden at one point, two tracks after he swore that he wouldn't ever say the man's name on wax anymore. Well, that promise certainly didn't take long to break.
11. GAME OVER (REMIX) (FEAT LIL' FLIP & SNOOP DOGG)
Houston rapper Lil' Flip dressed up as a leprechaun for one of his album covers. And that's why I will never take this motherfucker seriously: I remember first seeing The Leprechaun in a Sam Goody and laughing so hard that I fell to the ground and knocked over a display of value-priced CDs. I never cared for his use of the Pac Man music, either, so I didn't like the original song this remix is based around. Game's namedropping isn't more palatable when it's chopped and screwed, and Snoop's verse is much more profane, almost comically so, than what you expect of the man now.
12. THROWIN' ROCKS AT THE THRONE
The Game swipes Kanye West's “Two Words” for a track which is lyrically incoherent, in that Jayceon is all over the map with his topical selections, picking up new ones and littering others on the ground at will. The Al Green interlude at the end was also entirely unnecessary.
13. LET THE GUNS GO (FEAT JUELZ SANTANA & BILLBOARD)
Unless my eyes caught a shiny object and I wasn't paying attention, The Game doesn't appear on this track, so it's already kind of useless, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the first verse is gimmicky and corny. The constant gunfire also won't help you recover from your migraine.
14. DEAD BODIES (FEAT PRODIGY)
The Alchemist provided a boring Dr. Dre-esque beat for The Game and Cellblock P to spit over, and to be honest, the instrumental is so bad that Prodigy can do nothing but sound good. Game is blah, though. They sure do seem friendly on here, don't they? (Prodigy's rhyme partner Havoc also supplied a beat for The Documentary.) That would quickly change, when P turned on The Game after Mobb Deep sold their souls to G-Unit. ("Dead Bodies" also appears on Al Maman's 1st Infantry.)
15. YOUNG CALIFORNIA (LIFE FREESTYLE)
Hearing the beat from Tha Dogg Pound's “New York, New York” makes me want to forget about this shit and listen to Dogg Food again. Actually, that's a pretty good idea.
16. CONFESSIONS
I can't place the beat, which sounds like DJ Premier, at the moment, which means that it'll come to me at the most inappropriate time. Jayceon seems to have a problem with Carmelo Anthony, too. His beefs, apparently, aren't limited in scope to just rappers: he just hates everybody that looks at him funny. I look forward to the day that The Game grows the fuck up and stops beefing with folks just because his feelings are hurt.
17. UNBELIEVABLE
Jayceon steals the beat to Biggie's “Unbelievable”, and, hilariously, ambivalently dismisses Puff Daddy's rhyme skills. I mean, his opinion is dead-on, but you would think that he wouldn't have been so quick to burn a bridge leading to a fucking media mogul. He also trashes former G-Unit member Bang 'Em Smurf, who is of no consequence. And that's a horrible rap name anyway.
18. TWISTED (VITA FREESTYLE) (FEAT VITA)
Vida takes Mobb Deep's “Got It Twisted” and annoys listeners with a single verse. She says at the end that she is posted up in Jersey “waiting to eat”. Well, prepare to continue waiting: I don't think Murder Inc. is producing any sort of royalty checks,
19. CERTIFIED GANGSTAZ (FEAT JIM JONES & LIL' FLIP)
If I'm not mistaken this Jim Jones song was responsible for the first video appearance of The Game. Which means that both Dr. Dre and Curtis Jackson screwed the pooch. Although I didn't really care for this one anyway, so maybe they both dodged a bullet (or nine).
20. COMPUTER LOVE (OLD SCHOOL)
Interlude...
21. I'M SO SORRY (FEAT G-UNIT)
Typical of G-Unit crew boast-fests, except that the beat is boring as shit. I'm not a fan of Curtis Jackson, which should be obvious to anybody who has read this blog for more than two minutes, but I can appreciate braggadocio if it's entertaining, and this song simply isn't.
22. WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN (FEAT LLOYD BANKS)
This track also appeared on The Hunger For More, the debut solo album from Lloyd Banks. The beat (credited to Black Jeruz and Sha Money XL) isn't bad, but Banks sounds uncomfortable. Game, of course, refuses to adhere to any sort of theme and decides to talk about himself, dropping names with reckless abandon: that trait will be the ultimate reason why The Game will never appear in the gangsta rap hall of fame. Luckily for him, though, every passing moment is an opportunity to turn it all around.
23. DOWN HERE (FEAT JUELZ SANTANA)
Meh.
24. WHAT DEM WANT (FEAT RAH DIGGA)
Hearing Rah Digga on this song reminds me of the fact that she was a pretty decent rapper. I wonder if she signed on to record an album track for what would become The Documentary, and was pissed that it ended up on a mixtape instead.
25. I LOVE THE HOOD (FEAT YOUNG BUCK)
The Game should never try to speed-rap again. Young Buck didn't do it on here, and he's better suited for it, so who knows why Jayceon was so compelled.
26. LIFE'S A BITCH
If I'm not mistaken, The Game is actively imitating AZ's flow on “Life's A Bitch” from Nas. Which is kind of funny, if it's true. This is still a poor way to end the mixtape, though.
SHOULD YOU TRACK IT DOWN? Only if you're a diehard fan of The Game. You Know What It Is Vol. 2: Throwin' Rocks At The Throne finds Jayceon enjoying the trappings of aligning with Dr. Dre and the G-Unit, but his lyrics, without fail, never deviate from the man talking about his own damn self, which makes for a frustrating listen over the course of twenty-six tracks. This mixtape also doesn't have the humor that is paramount on his later releases: when he (repeatedly) disses Joe Budden, you find yourself not really caring, for the most part. Some of the beats he chose were inspired, but this mixtape is ultimately a bust: everything that The Game had to say on here could have been compressed onto a single song. Oh well.
-Max
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You can find more on The Game by clicking here.
(For today's Reader Review, Jason revisits the soundtrack to the Warren Beatty film Bulworth, a project that I named as a Drink Coaster some time ago. This will make for the second Drink Coaster that has been contested by the same guy: personally, I'm waiting for someone to prove me wrong on Foxy Brown's Ill Na Na. Until then, enjoy today's post, and be sure to leave some comments for Jason below.)
There are a lot of hip-hop soundtracks. No, seriously, a lot. They’ve even made soundtracks for movies that don’t exist. (Did they ever make that Bobby Digital movie?) Some are disappointments, some are guilty pleasures, some are surprisingly good, and some become indisputable classics of the genre.
While Bulworth isn’t the best of the hip-hop soundtracks out there, it may be the best compilation of the art form’s talent onto a single album. (The Above the Rim and Juice soundtracks are also legitimate contenders for this crown.)
Bulworth isn’t a perfect album. Hell, it’s not even a great album, but it’s certainly better than a drink coaster, which was Max’s earlier designation. It’s sorta like...well, remember two paragraphs ago when I wrote that hip-hop soundtracks can be disappointing, guilty pleasures, surprisingly good or classic material? That’s Bulworth. There’s a little bit of all of those designations on this album.
What songs are which? I’m glad you asked.
1. ZOOM (DR. DRE & LL COOL J)
Dr. Dre and LL Cool J? What a way to kickoff the album. It would be almost impossible for this track to meet expectations, so, naturally, it doesn’t. I can’t call this song outright bad, though, as it features two consummate professionals digging into their respective bags of tricks. LL provides two competent, if unmemorable, verses, one of which even features him singing, while Dre provides a workmanlike, but not bracing, beat. Perhaps that’s the problem. With a lineup this talented, you can only exceed expectations or fail. And this one fails. (What, no mention that this was originally a Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg reunion song, before Death Row Records called foul and demanded Snoop be deleted? For a better version of this track, or at the very least for something that will satisfy the curious, go Google the original version.)
2. GHETTO SUPERSTAR (PRAS FEAT OL' DIRTY BASTARD & MYA)
Sampling another Brothers Gibb song, eh, Wyclef? It wasn’t enough to beat-jack “Stayin' Alive”: you had to rework the one they wrote for Dolly freakin’ Parton? And then give it to Pras? Pras, of Tony Yayo/Jim Jones/Tony Yayo/Sheek Louch/Tony Yayo/Weakest-Out-Of-The-Crew fame? And yet, somehow it works. ODB’s barely coherent rapping stops this from devolving into ridiculous pop-rap. (ODB was usually good for that. Unfortunately, he tried to stretch that gift too far by appearing on a remix for a JC Chasez song later in his career.)
3. HOW COME (CANIBUS & YOUSSOU N'DOUR)
Wyclef provides a decent musical backdrop and gets African legend Youssou N’Dour to sing the hook. (Oh, you don’t know about Youssou? He’s been holding it down since Paul Simon’s Graceland.) Canibus supplies two fire verses, including interesting bars such as, “Sometimes I wonder how come/ We can’t live without guns/ What would have been the outcome/ if the South won/ Think about that son/ What in the hell caused the assassination of Malcolm?” But the song doesn’t work because Canibus and Wyclef have zero chemistry. This should have warned us that Can-I-Bus was not going to be what we expected.
4. BULWORTH (THEY TALK ABOUT IT WHILE WE LIVE IT) (PRODIGY, KRS-ONE, METHOD MAN, & KAM)
First, the lineup: Prodigy, KRS-One, Method Man and Kam provide verses, while DJ Muggs (of Cypress Hill) provides the beat. That’s a pretty serious starting five, but “Zoom” has already taught us the dangers of banking on a song's lineup. However, this song is incredible: all four MCs spit flames. KRS-One rightfully smashes magazines that cover hip-hop but fail to understand the culture. However, it is west coast wunderkind Kam who spits the best verse: “What kind of party is this? It’s that political kind/ Where America’s best, most hypocritical minds/ Try they hands at keeping you deaf, dumb and blind/ And for the right dollar sign, do white collar crime.”
5. HOLIDAY / 12 SCANNER (WITCHDOCTOR)
I love Organized Noise Productions so much that I have purchased some awful shit in the name of ONP. (I even have that first Youngbloodz LP somewhere.) Even with their cosign, I was hesitant about Witchdoctor, an arrhythmic, spiritually-minded MC, but “Holiday/12 Scanner” works, thanks to a memorable percussion line that makes the most of Witchdoctor’s distinctive style. This track is among the best on the entire soundtrack.
6. THE CHASE (THE RZA)
Rza is, at best, an uneven solo artist. He needs the rest of the clan to stop him from indulging in his more irritating habits (such as writing stupid hooks, losing coherence within his verses, saying “Bong, Bong!” all the time). But “The Chase” is a success for three reasons: (1) It has a great beat, (2) Rza sticks to the topic, and (3) it’s short, ending before Rza can spell the name Bobby Digital sixty-seven more times.
7. EVE OF DESTRUCTION (EVE)
I believe this was the multi-platinum-selling, sitcom-starring Eve’s introduction to the mainstream. Before ryding ruff, she was down with Dre’s Aftermath camp, and she rides this Mel-Man beat like French toast coasting over a river of butter. She switches tempos, flips Jamaican patois and even sings on here. It’s not her best work, but you can hear her hunger: it's easy to understand why so many record executives rushed to sign her once the Aftermath deal fell through.
8. MANIAC 'N THE BRANIAC (ICE CUBE & MACK 10)
Ice Cube and Mack 10 turn in a lazy performance that is only saved by Cube’s hysterical expulsions of “yeah-yea.” Their fellow Westside Connection partner WC is missed, as he could have provided some much-needed levity.
9. FREAK OUT (NUTTA BUTTA & ANONYMOUS)
The Bulworth soundtrack was released during the era of cliques, one which we haven't fully emerged from. Every successful hip hop outfit surrounded themselves with a posse. Some became legendary (such as the Dungeon Family, Outkast and Goodie MoB's attempt to keep their friends employed), and some had talent but never reached their full potential (Wyclef had a Navy Seals outfit that disappeared almost as soon as it was introduced), but most of these extended family members diluted their respective brands. “Freak Out” featured a few forgettable rappers from Teddy Riley’s crew. It ultimately ends up being forgivable pop rap, but there’s a reason no one clamored for more Nutta Butta or Anonymous tracks. (It doesn’t help that Riley samples “Le Freak,” the second most overused Chic song ever.)
10. JOINTS & JAMS (BLACK EYED PEAS)
Max hates the Black Eyed Peas, to the extent where I suspect any positive review of this song would feature italicized commentary. (Naah, I'll be nice this time around.) I’ll make no pretense: I was a big fan of the pre-Fergie Peas. They had a distinct sound, indebted but not bitten outright from the Native Tongues. Also, will.i.am has always had a better sense of melody than ninety-five percent of all hip-hop producers. This song is just a trifle - a catchy beat, three serviceable verses and a hook that will get stuck in your head - but it’s fun without being condescending. And didn’t hip-hop start as party music?
11. RUN (CAPPADONNA)
Is it coincidence that the two Wu-Tang Clan solo cuts on this soundtrack, “The Chase” and “Run”, mine similar territory? Cappadonna gets a solid RZA beat and gives one of the more impassioned performances of his career. The product is good, not great, but I’d rather hear an average MC try hard than a great one coast. (“Run” would later also appear on Cappadonna's solo debut album The Pillage, albeit in a slightly truncated form, so this is the go-to if you love Rza's beat and want to hear more of it.)
12. LUNATICS IN THE GRASS (B-REAL & SICK JACKEN)
Some of you may remember The Psycho Realm as B-Real’s side project while the other members of Cypress Hill were doing their own thing, but I prefer to think of them as the west coast Gravediggaz. Both groups were interesting entries in the oft-misunderstood sub-genre of horrorcore, sharing similar approaches and subject matter. The main difference between the two was that the Gravediggaz were more willing to be goofy, while Psycho Realm tried their best to sound threatening. On this particular track, the threats become downright cartoonish, but the song is still pretty good. B-Real and Sick Jacken spit fantastic-sounding nonsense over what sounds like (but isn’t) a Muggs production.
13. KILL 'EM LIVE (PUBLIC ENEMY)
Public Enemy was experiencing a revitalization in 1998 thanks to the soundtrack from Spike Lee’s He Got Game. While this won’t replace "Welcome to the Terrordome" in anyone’s iPod, it’s good hip-hop and indicative of their late 1990’s output. My favorite Chuck D quote: “Behold the pale horse/Supreme Court/Sweating n----s like sports.”
14. BITCHES ARE HUSTLERS TOO (D-FYNE)
The Bulworth soundtrack includes artists such as LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, KRS-One, Teddy Riley, various members of Wu-Tang Clan, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, two guys from the Fugees, and two members of Cypress Hill. It also introduced two artists (the Black Eyed Peas and Eve) that would later go on to sell millions of records. And then it ends with this: a generic hustler-rap song from D-Fyne, a female rapper who I had never heard of before and have never heard from again. It’s not D-Fyne’s trite subject matter that irritates me: Too $hort, Ice-T, and others have been rapping about pimping since pimping been pimping, and D-Fyne has the opportunity to provide a uniquely female perspective, because “Bitches Are Hustlers Too”, after all. But D-Fyne is so overblown and humorless, she's difficult to even listen to. This is the only straight dud on the album, and it’s a shame that it’s sequenced last.
FINAL THOUGHTS: With the exception of the last song, everything on Bulworth has some merit. If you like pop rap, you’ll love “Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)”, “Freak Out” and “Joints & Jams”. If you want something more thoughtful, there’s “Kill Em Live”, “How Come” and the title track. If you like the West Coast, you have Ice Cube, Mack 10 and Dr. Dre. If you want East Coast, there’s LL and the Wu. If you want some Dirty South, you have the Witchdoctor. But having something for everyone means very few people will love the entirety album. However, as a sampler of late 1990s hip-hop, Bulworth works extraordinarily well.
BUY OR BURN?: This is a difficult question. It depends upon how you feel about late 1990s hip-hop. If you were finished with rap by 1993 or didn’t start listening to it until Young Jeezy, there’s very little to recommend here. (Also, what the hell are you doing on this blog?) But if you want a glimpse at the twilight years of hip-hop’s finest era, this is a worthwhile listen. I’d recommend a buy, but you may be better off listening first and purchasing a few selected tracks from iTunes.
BEST TRACKS: “Bulworth (They Talk About It While We Live It)”; “Holiday”; “Kill Em Live”
-Jason
(I don't agree with the write-up: I think my original opinion is pretty spot on. I'd personally rather listen to the score, which was apparently composed by Ennio Morricone. I know, I had no idea, either. Anyway, leave your comments below if you agree or contest this post, and whenever you get a chance, you can click here to see my original views on the soundtrack.)
(Today, A.R. Marks provides a second take on 2Pac's Me Against The World, an album that took me forever to actually get to. In fact, it took me receiving this write-up in my inbox to finally get motivated to give it a spin. So, for those of you who are appalled that I haven't gotten to your favorite albums yet, let that be a lesson to you. Anyway, enjoy yet another Pac review.)
I don't necessarily always agree with Max when it comes to what sounds good and what doesn't (something he'll probably be quick to point out I don't have to do, and neither do either of the two readers out there [side note: I always picture the infamous “two readers” as the old heckling film critics in the balcony on The Muppet Show]). However, I did find empathy with his statement that he likes any 2Pac music that doesn't spout off at the mouth, like the types of "bitches" that thug-ass gangsters like to screw in their spare time. So I took it upon myself to throw Max a bone by reviewing a 2Pac album that doesn't suck, which may bring him more Shakur-fanatic readers who are otherwise turned off by his reviews of the man's material.
Which brings me to Me Against the World, the only (if you didn't hear it, I said only) 2Pac record that I have ever felt the need to own. The album came in the midst of a clusterfuck of bullets, media controversy, fan adoration, and imprisonment for a rape charge—and this wasn't even the most controversial point of his career. This was also at a time when he and the Bad Boy camp had been on friendly terms, a fact punctuated by Easy Mo Bee's inclusion and the overall Ready to Die-esque sound of the album. All the controversy shows its influence, especially considering that his former friend, Stretch, was completely removed from the final cut of the album. (Stretch was also murdered execution-style, exactly one year to the day of Shakur's 1995 shooting, but that must just be a coincidence, right?)
1. INTRO
While this is slightly more impressive than most intros, it's mainly just the jaw-dropping effect of listening to media coverage of all the different shit the person formerly known as Parrish Crooks got himself into. That effect could get old after not too long.
2. IF I DIE 2NITE
Heads right into possibly my favorite song on the album, and the one I tend to point to when people say 2Pac couldn't rap very well. One of the two Easy Mo Bee-produced songs, and some of the producer's best work, I should say. Pac also rips the fuck out of the beat solo, which helps.
3. ME AGAINST THE WORLD (FEAT DRAMACYDAL)
A pleasant, jazzy instrumental, this is an appealing mix of east and west coast sounds from the time period. Pac goes on to rap more thought-provoking and (gasp!) technically impressive lyrics; it's also the first appearance on one of his albums of any of the rappers who would eventually make up the Outlawz; I always liked Yaki Kadafi (the first rapper after Pac) and Hussein Fatal (who doesn't make an appearance, as he was never in Dramacydal), but the rest were interchangeable to me.
4. SO MANY TEARS
Shock G, the guy that gave 2Pac his first shot in the industry, provides a pretty entertaining instrumental, but I always preferred Easy Mo Bee's original, which also featured Stretch.
5. TEMPTATIONS
The second of Mo Bee's contributions, this is another highlight of the record: 2Pac's honest appeal to the opposite sex about trying to be faithful while touring. (The sheer amount of women that 2Pac apparently fucked on the road makes one question why he would need to rape anybody, but I guess the jury didn't think of that). Makes better use of a singing Erick Sermon vocal sample than Sermon did in the first place.
6. YOUNG N----Z
A nice, cruising instrumental in step with the rest of the album so far; 2Pac takes the point of view of a young hustler trying to survive, although he did drop the "indo/window" couplet that would become repeated several million times throughout his catalog.
7. HEAVY IN THE GAME (FEAT LADY LEVI & RICHIE RICH)
The first misstep; over a forgettable pseudo-reggae beat, this is the exact song on this album where 2Pac begins to repeat his previous subject matter, a theme that would start to permeate his music later on. It also features Lady Levi, whose bombaclat bloodclot Jamaican talk wears thin, and Richie Rich, a completely forgettable West Coast rapper.
8. LORD KNOWS
Somewhat back in step, this song is pretty upbeat and entertaining, but not essential.
9. DEAR MAMA
Needless to say, a highlight, and one of 2Pac's most popular songs; this introspective song was the single that drove Me Against the World to number one on the charts and fueled claims by fans that 2Pac was one of the most down-to-earth, soulful rappers of the generation.
10. IT AIN'T EASY
A pretty low-key, repetitive song that could have benefited from some remixing by someone who knew what the fuck they were doing.
11. CAN U GET AWAY
A much, much less engaging version of “Temptations.”
12. OLD SCHOOL
Another Pac classic. Damn, this sequencing seems pretty random, doesn't it? Over a euphoric beat of the style that apparently only that time period of hip-hop could produce, Shakur waxes poetic about his influences and the rappers he loved growing up, sounding very genuine about his love of the art form.
13. FUCK THE WORLD
The other single that gripped the world's attention, although the reason for this one eludes me completely.
14. DEATH AROUND THE CORNER
And, true to form, comes another standout track. This one shows 2Pac's trademark paranoia had manifested in his music a full year and a half before his morbid instincts were proven right.
15. OUTLAW (FEAT DRAMACYDAL)
This song might be referred to as “the other song featuring Dramacydal,” and there might be a reason for it. That reason might be the boring-ass beat, the shitty-ass hook and the dumbed-down delivery from the main star of the album.
FINAL THOUGHTS: I tend to be a fan of 2Pac music where more than two bars work consecutively to relate a concept. Me Against The World does that and more: it recalls a time when 2Pac wasn't the egotistical asshole who beat up the Hughes brothers or claimed he'd fucked Biggie's wife. Dr. Dre's one-time right hand man Bruce Williams wrote a book about working at Death Row, in which he observed that 2Pac was a guy who could turn wack beats into hits; to an extent that holds true here, as some of the beats are truly forgettable, but not as bad as they had been before or would be again.
BUY OR BURN?: Definitely buy this record. It could have benefited from some editing, and the inclusion of some tracks that didn't make the cut, but overall it's one of the Pac fanatics' most beloved albums for a reason.
BEST SONGS: “If I Die 2nite,” “Me Against the World,” “Temptations,” “Dear Mama,” “Old School,” “Death Around the Corner.”
B-SIDES TO TRACK DOWN: Easy Mo Bee only contributed two tracks, but recorded several other songs for 2Pac in 1995 that didn't make the cut, including the original “Runnin' From the Police” with The Notorious B.I.G., Stretch, and Dramacydal; the original “So Many Tears,” featuring Stretch; and “God Bless the Dead”, which popped up on 2Pac's Greatest Hits CD (this song also starts off “Rest in peace to my motherfuckin' n---a Biggie Smalls,” which confused me to no end, until I realized he was talking about a deceased DJ whose nickname Biggie borrowed in tribute).
-A.R. Marks
(Okay, including the b-sides was a pretty nice touch. Be sure to leave some comments for A.R. Marks below. And if you're interested, here's a link to my original write-up.)
