(No, it's okay, this isn't a rerun. Today, Keeshawn provides an alternate take on my Inspectah Deck write-up for Manifesto. I originally wanted to combine both reviews, but I felt that it might have been too hard to follow, and also, I got really fucking lazy at the last minute. Enjoy, and leave some comments for Keeshawn below.)
Inspectah Deck, of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan, shouldn’t have a problem defending his skill behind the mic. If you’re a fan of the Wu-Tang, it’s safe to say that Deck has undeniable skills which help him to always deliver an insane verse when needed. His unforgettable verses throughout all of the Clan's group albums surely make him one of the better rappers in the Wu. Back in the 1990’s, Deck truly wasn’t one to be fucked with. The man was a god when he was holding a mic. Sadly, we never got to hear his RZA-produced solo album during the golden Wu years (due to the mythical flood that took over Prince Rakeem's basement and destroyed a lot of master tapes), but he made up for it by turning in a magnificent performance on the Clan’s second album, Wu-Tang Forever. When the time finally came for Deck to release his debut, Uncontrolled Substance, I’m sure ninety percent of his fans were let down. The man had released some bangers such as “Let Me At 'Em” prior to Uncontrolled Substance, and we wanted to hear more of that kind of music, but instead, Deck released an album that was full of magnificent lyrics backed up by sub-par beats. The man was still burning hot behind the mic, turning in great performances on other Clansmen albums, but he didn’t have a classic album to call his own.
Fast forward to today. Inspectah Deck still hasn't turned in a classic album. People now doubt that Deck can even rhyme because of the lack of said classic album, even though we true Wu fans believe Deck still has it in him. His most recent album, Manifesto, is what Deck described as a way for him to throw his name out there. He wanted people to realize that Inspectah Deck was still working the long hours. The purpose of Manifesto was to prepare people for the eventual follow-up, The Rebellion, which is supposed to be entirely produced by the Wu Elements, which could mean that his classic album is still on the way. Whether of not you believe any of that is up to you. All I’m saying is that we need that classic Inspectah Deck album now.
If Manifesto was truly an album created just to get his name out there again, I’m not expecting this album to be very good. Regardless, I’m going to dive into this album with a clear mind. I had to actually listen to Manifesto three times before I could actually write a review for it, but I believe it still qualifies as a Gut Reaction post.
Make me proud, Deck.
1. TOMBSTONE INTRO
No kung-fu sample to start things off? Damn it. Instead of kicking things off the proper Wu way, this slow paced instrumental killed every Wu-fanatic’s expectations, although it does become surprisingly better the longer you listen. The piano keys have a RZA feel to it, and then Deck starts rhyming. (Yes, Inspectah Deck is rhyming on his rap album intro. Trust me, I didn’t see it coming either.) To my surprise, Deck sounds hungry. His flow has changed a bit, but he doesn’t sound completely terrible. The lyrics even have some depth to it, and just like that, Deck sets a proper mood for the rest of Manifesto. Huh.
2. THE CHAMPION
The first official song of the album, and it actually doesn’t sound bad. The Alchemist’s beat isn’t something to salivate over, but Deck manages to rip shit the fuck up. He rides this beat with ease as he uses a pretty revolutionary rhyme pattern. The lyrics are on point, his delivery is fierce, and the flow is consistent. Double huh. A surprisingly good intro, and a great song to start things off? Can this really be?
3. BORN SURVIVOR (FEAT CORMEGA)
This sounds nothing like what you would expect (or want) a Wu-Tang swordsman to spit over. Cormega does a commendable job kicking things off and setting the stage for our host, but Deck sounds as though he doesn’t even want to rap over this. Sure, Deck’s lyrics are strong, but the delivery and instrumental come off really lazy. I knew this was too good to be true.
4. THIS IS IT
Yet another sub-par instrumental. This song suffers from what Max calls “Ras Kass Syndrome”: the host does a great job on his part, but the producer simply can’t deliver. Other examples of this growing concern can be found on every other Inspectah Deck album ever released. It’s sad, really.
5. LUV LETTER (FEAT FES TAYLOR & MS. WHITMEY)
Deck’s first production credit on Manifesto. If you’re familiar with Inspectah Deck's production, you'll get more of the same formula on here. In other words, to quote Max: Groaaaan.
6. P.S.A.
This is a big, big step in the right direction. The instrumental sounds dark and is exactly the type of beat that I want Inspectah Deck to rhyme over. Keeping this song short was a great idea, because I could see how the instrumental can get a bit repetitive. This song just gave me high hopes for Deck again.
7. T.R.U.E. (FEAT MESHEL)
Another Rebel INS donut. (And by “donut”, I mean instrumental, for those of you who aren't acquainted with the work of the late Dilla.) Doesn’t sound amazing, but it does sound better than his previous attempt. Deck, once again, spits some great rhymes, but his flow and delivery could use some work. The awful hook on here brings this song down from “so-so”, to “oh-no”.
8. WE GET DOWN
Huh. This Inspectah Deck instrumental is surprisingly good. Scratch that, this song is surprisingly good. If Deck keeps placing these kind of songs in between the other garbage, I might be able to make it to the end of Manifesto. On another note, the hook on here is fucking terrible.
9. THE BIG GAME (FEAT RAEKWON & AC)
What the fuck is up with the hook on this song? Seriously, what the fuck? The hook along with the beat sound like the garbage that has been polluting our radio stations (not that I listen to the radio or anything) for the last decade. This is the beat in which we get to hear the only other Wu-swordsman that bothered to show up to Deck‘s recording session spit over? That said, Deck chose the weirdest instrumental to turn in his best performance thus far. Both Deck and Rae sound great on this song, but that instrumental… *sucks teeth*
10. TOMBSTONE INTERLUDE
If you've gotten this far into Manifesto, congratulations! This is the halfway point. As I look back and see at what I’ve listened to so far, I noticed that five out of the last nine songs were between average and above-average. That is… surprising. I feel like I have trashed this album more often than I’ve been in favor of it, but the statistics tell me other wise. Maybe this album is worth listening to. This is exactly the mood I need to be in as I enter the second half of this album. As for the interlude, not bad. It’s the exact same beat as the intro, but it actually sounds even better. Way to go, Deck. I’m now rooting in your favor.
10. 9TH CHAMBER PART II
Believe me when I say that this song is no where near as good as its predecessor from Uncontrolled Substance. That said, this song is a love-it or hate-it thing. If I were to describe this song, I’d say that it’s just Deck yelling his verse with an incredibly awkward delivery, over a pretty decent instrumental (which has Deck‘s fingerprints all over it.) Sounds unattractive, but the more you listen to it, the more it grows on you. I’ll warn you though, upon first listen, it really isn't that good.
11. REALLY REAL (FEAT CARLTON FISK & FES TAYLOR)
Carlton Fisk? Really? His presence alone gave me high hopes for this track. It’s a shame I was let down, though. I want to say this song is good, I really do, but there seems to be something missing. Maybe with a few more listens, it’ll grow on me. After all, Carlton Fisk is an “ill muthafucka”, after all.
12. SERIOUS RAPPIN' (FEAT TERMANOLOGY & PLANET ASIA)
Good song. Once again, not what is expected from a Wu member, but still good. Termanology and Planet Asia both turn in great performances, but I am glad to say that Deck pulled the carpet right out from underneath his guests. Consider this one of those songs that keeps you interested in the album. Color me impressed.
13. DO WHAT U GOTTA
Two good songs in a row? Deck is just trying to show off now. There is fantastic chemistry between Deck and the instrumental. This shit is fucking nice. Just like almost every other song on the album, though, the hook is atrocious. It should be illegal for INS to sing. But still, this was a good song.
14. CRAZY
Holy fuckstick, Batman! Inspectah Deck just turned in his third good track in a row!
15. GOTTA BANG (FEAT KURUPT & BILLY DANZE)
With a lineup like that, it’s easy to be disappointed by the outcome. Luckily, the only thing disappointing about this song is Deck’s hilarious attempt at singing a hook. No, this song doesn’t sound as majestic as it reads, but it is really satisfying. Kurupt sounds fantastic on here, as well.
16. THE BAD APPLE
Inspectah Deck made it his fucking mission to have the second half of Manifesto sound way, way better than the first half. This song is simply awesome. I would’ve preferred Rae to spit over this beat instead of the piece of shit beat he ended up on. Come to think of it, this song would’ve been great for us to hear Deck drop knowledge alongside Rae and Ghost. That would definitely make this the highlight of the album.
16. BROTHAZ RESPECT (FEAT CAPPPADONNA & FES TAYLOR)
Throw some dusty, gritty drums on this instead of the ones used, and it could possibly make for a weak RZA beat. Since we all recognize RZA’s genius behind the boards, that is a pretty big compliment. Overall, this song kind of works. The brief sword sound effect during Cappa’s verse got me a little excited. Speaking of Cappa, he didn’t embarrass himself. Way to go Cappa.
17. 5 STAR G
Meh. What a terrible moment in your album to have a “meh” song.
18. THE NEVERENDING STORY (FEAT PLEASANT)
A pretty effective way to end your album. I didn’t even mind the singing on the hook. Whether or not it’s due to the fact that Deck didn’t try to sing it himself may have something to do with it, though.
THE LAST WORD: Inspectah Deck really needed Manifesto to be that breakthrough album to keep his name relevant in hip hop. Raekwon resurrected his fucking career with Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Part II., and Deck wanted to have a similar impact. Sadly, he isn't able to pull that off: he put out a album that flew right above people’s heads because I’m sure most of them didn’t even bother to listen to the second half. The only people that would give this a full listen would be those hardcore Wu fans who would be disappointed with the final outcome anyway, because it didn’t sound like a Wu album. Rebel INS may have made an album that sounds as far away from what a Wu album should sound like, but that doesn’t mean it is bad. I would recommend that you buy this motherfucker. Manifesto definitely has its clunkers, but it also has its shining moments. Luckily, the better songs outshine the bad ones here, so it’s worth the money.
-Keeshawn
(Questions? Comments? Concerns? Is there an album that you absolutely love that you feel everyone else should know about? Or is there an overrated album that you want to warn others about? Hit me at the e-mail address in the sidebar, and we'll talk. In the meantime, here's a link to my own review of Manifesto, for comparison's sake.)
(For today's Reader Review, Patrick lets us know about Canadian emcee Shad's first effort, When This Is Over. Be sure to leave your comments and questions for Patrick below.)
Regardless of what you may think, we have emcees in Canada who aren't named Drake or Snow. Some of the most notable ones include k-os, Choclair, Saukrates, Classified, Rascalz...I could go on, but today I'm going to focus on Shadrach Kabango, who performs as simply Shad (or Shad K, if you wish to be formal).
If you're not familiar with Shad (and most people aren't), allow me to expand on his story. Shadrach was born to Rwandan parents in Kenya, but was quickly relocated to London, Ontario, Canada, where he grew up. So for those of you who heard that he was from London and were wondering where the hell his accent was, now you know. Yes, Canada does have a London (and a Paris, too, but I digress).
After starting classes at University, I can only assume that he woke up one morning and decided to rhyme, as he entered and won a radio station freestyle competition, walking away with $17,500, with which he recorded his debut album, When This Is Over, which was a showcase for both his writing skills and his guitar playing abilities (k-os plays guitar, too – hey, the more you know).
So. (*presses play*)
1. NEW SCHOOL LEADERS
To me, Canadian Hip Hop has always had a unique sound. It isn't as though all of the beats are completely different than they are anywhere else: it's just that you can usually easily distinguish between a Canadian producer (or emcee) and their American peers. With that being said, this beat is upbeat, light, and awesome. Once Shad starts to rhyme, you can tell what kind album you are in for. Scratches are included, and as almost every hip hop song benefits from these, their appearance was appreciated. Although the scratches at the end are little off-sounding, they are there to demonstrate Shad's point of only being in music for the right reasons. I wonder if Busta Rhymes is mad about this song's title.
2. I GET DOWN
Another great beat; I'm not sure if Shad is playing his guitar on here, but there is clearly guitar on here. Shad starts off by giving props to 91.5, the radio station that put on the contest. Shad comes with some ridiculously corny puns, but he manages to get away with it. Some sample lyrics: “I'm the biggest thing out of Canada since Pamela's double D's"; "My IQ is so high you couldn't even fly to it"; “And try to fit with the killers like OJ’s glove”. So far, Shad is two for two.
3. OUT OF LOVE, PART I
The sample on here reminds me of some Dilla/Kanye West soulful hybrid, but not really. On here, Shad rhymes about his frustrations with love and women. Apparently, he's looking for his Claire Huxtable. The lyrics are also quite conscious, but don't let that scare you off.
4. I'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND (FEAT BERNADETTE KABANGO)
With Shad’s parents being Rwandan, you shouldn't really be surprised by this song's lyrical content. The drums don’t kick in until the 1:40 mark, but the story is so powerful that you won’t even notice. Shad alternates his rhymes with his mother’s spoken word performance (one of her lines being “I untied the chains / letting go /of those who propelled the grenade scattering my brother's brains”; yeah, now you have an idea how strong this is). They even shot a video for this track, which you can view by clicking here. So far, Shad is four for four.
5. ROCK TO IT
Okay now this is definitely Shad rocking the acoustic guitar (with a backing band... or at least a drummer and a beat-boxer), but don’t let that discourage you, as this is a great example of how rock music and hip hop can coexist. My favourite lines: "Even back in '82 my ultrasound was the jam”; “I could fill my mouth with Prozac pills and I’d still get down”; “If you want to make dough, then homey move to the States” (sucks, but he's right).
6. THE GREATEST CONSTRUCTION CREW
A very dope concept. A crew of people (with names such as 'Imagination' and the like) with a female foreman ( named 'Intellect') building a human being. Beautifully constructed. The song, anyway, not the person (although I'd bet they have a great personality.)
7. QUESTION MARKS
The concept is good, and if I'm mellowed out enough I love the beat. But it is quite slow and Shad's flow is delivered quite softly, so much so that you may fall asleep to this song. If you are able to stay awake, you will hear Shad discussing the Bible, religion and existence. He doesn't use any biblical quotes or overly religious tones (I'm not sure how that's even possible, but trust me on this one), so it isn't exclusionary in any way. This is really a great song, but the beat and the lyrics make it very hard to stay awake. Damn. And When This Is Over was doing so well, too.
8. REAL GAME (FEAT B. GREEN)
I don't want to say this, but I have to: meh.
9. WILD
Less chipmunk-like then Kanye West’s beats, but this song will wear on you. Lyrically, though, Shad does a great job. I guess you have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy this track.
10. A STORY NO ONE TOLD
Rather slow paced, but I still find this song amazing. This simple tale is summed up with a quote toward the end: "The greatest story no one ever told was just the story of an ordinary man growing old”. There is some great lyricism to be found here, too. Well, at least it ended better than I had hoped.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Shad strikes me as Common plus k-os, with a dash of Will Smith/Fresh Prince (because of his profanity-free lyrics) and something unique. I can say I really liked When This Is Over. The first six songs were bangers, and the entire album only runs for ten tracks, so that ratio is amazing in hip hop. When This Is Over is a fun listen, full of humour and great beats. You’ll find yourself hitting 'rewind' to catch all of his jokes and you’ll be very surprised that Shad doesn’t curse once, which is mostly unheard of in hip hop.
BUY OR BURN?: Unfortunately, if you want a physical copy, the only place you may get it is London, Ontario, and I do mean only in that town. I personally live a couple of hours away from there, and I can't find any copies anywhere. So it will have to be a digital copy, which can easily be found on Amazon. If you are still on the fence, you can listen to some of the man's work on his official website.
BEST TRACKS: On a good day, all except “Real Game”; on a bad day, all except “Question Marks”, “Real Game”, “Wild” and “A Story No One Told”.
-Patrick (or exkimo64 (my YouTube Channel))
(Questions? Comments? Concerns? Hate mail? Leave your comments below. And if you wish to share your thoughts about your favorite albums, hit me at the e-mail address in the sidebar.)
After listening to The Resident Patient 2, the never-really-released Inspectah Deck album that consisted solely of shitty freestyles that he apparently posted on his MySpace page first, I completely lost faith in Jason Hunter. When combined with the blunt force trauma that made up his second and third efforts (The Movement and the original The Resident Patient, respectively), Inspectah Deck has essentially squandered all of the goodwill he accumulated during his masterful verses on the Wu-Tang Clan albums, both crew and solo. But being that I'm a Wu-Tang stan, and that's not something that you can cure overnight with pills, when Deck's fourth actual album, Manifesto, was announced, I planned on picking it up anyway, if only to put off listening to the Ghostface Killah R&B album that much longer.
It helps that I didn't mind his cameos on Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Part II and the Wu-Debacle Massacre album, too.
Manifesto was originally supposed to be entitled The Rebellion, the name that Jason has reserved for whatever would end up being his final album. However, seemingly re-energized, Deck switched up the name, thereby threatening hip hop fans with even more material in the future. Manifesto finds the Rebel INS at a crossroads, trying to win back old fans while staying true to himself and his place in the genre. No matter how you look at it, Jason Hunter is a rap veteran now, and he does actually deserve an opportunity to get his name back out into the world.
So here we have Manifesto, which consists of some tracks that were originally earmarked for an earlier version of an album that was supposed to be called The Resident Patient 2, which only confuses matters even more. So you can understand that I'm not hyper-excited about this shit.
Maybe I'll be wrong?
1. TOMBSTONE INTRO
The list of artists who should never attempt speed-rapping includes nearly every single rapper in existence. Inspectah Deck is one of them. But hey, at least this rap album intro consists of a verse, right? Right? Yeah, I know, that doesn't really count for anything.
2. THE CHAMPION
It should be obvious to longtime readers that I, unlike most bloggers, don't automatically suck at the teat of The Alchemist: his production work is very hit and miss, falling into the latter category more often than not. “The Champion”, predictably, is a miss, as Deck finds himself stuck with one of the most boring Al Maman beats in history, but he decides to go for the gusto anyway. While the Rebel's lyrics sound downright dull as a result, at least he seemed to try.
3. BORN SURVIVOR (FEAT CORMEGA)
Features an uncredited cameo from Barack Obama. Most will say that MoSS simply sampled from one of the President's many speeches, but I like to think that Barack is a secret Inspectah Deck fan that really wanted to give Jason a fighting chance this time around. Without even waiting around for a few bars, Mega Montana launches into a missive that sounds awkward against the poppy instrumental, while Deck provides the other two verses with no real lyrical gems to speak of. I have a bad feeling about Manifesto.
4. THIS IS IT
There was obviously room for a weak-ass chorus on this song, but surprisingly, no such hook is provided. Was this Deck's true intention, or was Manifesto rushed to store shelves? And while we're on the topic, did Jason consciously name this song after the Michael Jackson posthumous documentary-slash-concert film? I may never know the answer to these questions, but I can say with all honesty that “This Is It” wasn't terrible. The lack of a hook was a definite plus, even if it resulted in a lot of dead air between verses.
5. LUV LETTER (FEAT FES TAYLOR & MS. WHITNEY)
Inspectah Deck has been trying to perfect the rap love song ever since his debut, Uncontrolled Substance (which, admittedly, had a couple of similar tracks that actually worked). Deck's swooping instrumental provides more atmosphere than any other song on Manifesto thus far can claim, and Deck doesn't sound too shabby with his praise of a woman who stuck by his side through all of the bullshit (I can only assume he's referring to his career highs and lows), even though he believes it would have made complete sense for her to jump ship. The tacked-on final verse from his weed carrier Fes Taylor wasn't necessary, but overall, this could have been a lot worse.
6. P.S.A.
Holy shit: this song is actually good. Deck uses the Shawn Carter blueprint (ha!), delivering two short and sweet verses over a relatively dope Lee Bannon beat. “P.S.A.” doesn't stick around long enough to grow annoying, and as a result, this shit is nice. Maybe everything really is coming up Milhouse.
7. T.R.U.E. (FEAT MESHEL)
Deck's recent discovery of acronyms has led to his use of two of them as back-to-back song titles. Ultimately, though, this plea for everyone to “stay true” doesn't get the job done, thanks to a Deck instrumental that gives Jason's lyrics an air of inauthenticity. Moving on...
8. WE GET DOWN
Theweak-ass hook dominates this track, which was a mistake, as otherwise Deck sounded decent enough. I feel that the hookless concept of “This Is It” may have been a better fit for this particular track. I'm just saying.
9. THE BIG GAME (FEAT RAEKWON & AC)
Wow, so underground stalwart and blogger favorite AC (whose love and appreciation for the Wu-Tang Clan led to his own “Rae Told Me”) actually landed a guest spot on a Wu-Tang album? From one of the original nine members? That's not a bad look at all. Too bad he's only used for an ineffective hook (which he sings): somebody truly screwed the pooch here. Raekwon's short verse barely registers (I believe he recorded it while still engaged in REM sleep), so this may as well have been a Deck solo. Had that been the case, he may have been better off, since he seems to enjoy running rampant over the Mental Instruments backdrop.
10. TOMBSTONE INTERLUDE
I have to appreciate that Deck is eschewing the typical rapper laziness by actually performing on both the intro and this interlude. He fares much better on here, even though that speed-rapping complaint I filed earlier still applies.
11. 9TH CHAMBER PART II
On this sequel to a far superior album track from Uncontrolled Substance, Deck refers to this project as The Resident Patient 3, which dilutes the swagger he's trying to swing around considerably. I've always felt that any Wu track with the word “chamber” in it should automatically be a posse cut (see: the Wu's “7th Chamber”, GZA's “4th Chamber”, Bronze Nazareth's “5th Chamber”, and “Graveyard Chamber” from the Gravediggaz, to name a few examples), but maybe everybody was too busy ignoring Inspectah Deck's calls to make an appearance. For what it's worth, this wasn't that bad, but the Nas vocal sample during the chorus was pushing it.
12. REALLY REAL (FEAT CARLTON FISK & FES TAYLOR)
Because Carlton Fisk first appeared on Method Man's Tical, I keep forgetting that he's actually one of Deck's flunkies, but because I liked Fisk on Tical, I find myself disappointed by his verse on here. Fes Taylor sounds like a cross between Jim Jones and Sheek Louch, which is just a bizarre combination, like peanut butter and meatloaf. To his credit, Inspectah Deck actually fares pretty well over his own beat, which was unfortunately attached to a generic rap song title. Come on, Jason, you can do better.
13. SERIOUS RAPPIN' (FEAT TERMANOLOGY & PLANET ASIA)
I have to give credit where credit is due: while Termanology and Planet Asia win the prize of being the least likely artists to ever appear on a Wu-Tang Clan member's solo album, Inspectah Deck seems to be the only guy in the collective that can actually sound like a natural fit with them. (I haven't forgotten about Planet Asia working with The RZA on “Intermission” by DJ Muggs, either; while I love that song, Deck sounds better equipped to handle his issues.) And he does not disappoint: when removed from his boring House Gang and disinterested members of the Clan, Deck can actually sound pretty good, probably because he wanted to make sure he would be taken seriously amongst two of the underground's most popular acts. The guitars on the beat give the track a weight that it never really earns, as nothing on here is remotely deep, but this effort is actually really good. Huh.
14. DO WHAT U GOTTA
To be fair, there weren't many ways that Deck could have successfully followed up “Serious Rappin'”, but at least he could have tried, instead of just throwing this shit at the listeners who don't actually exist at this point.
15. CRAZY
Everybody in the Wu needs to put the soulful vocal samples down and step away from them immediately: they've long since become a crutch (see: “Crazy”, or even “Our Dreams” from Wu-Massacre). Deck's monologue, describing how crazy life can be when circumstances turn against you, fails to resonate, as it seems that he heard the vocal sample first and then decided to craft an entire song around it, instead of, I don't know, writing lyrics that provide even a little bit of closure to his tale. What the hell?
16. GOTTA BANG (FEAT KURUPT & BILLY DANZE)
Given Deck's work alongside Kurupt on Pete Rock's “Tru Master”, this collaboration isn't that farfetched. Shorty 140 tries his hand at a West Coast-ish sound and doesn't do half bad: indeed, the only misstep here is Deck's own verse, as, apparently, performing on a song with artists who have been in the game roughly as long as he has seems to have inspired a sense of entitlement, and as such, Deck isn't even hungry. What a shame. Kurupt and M.O.P.'s Billy Danze at least put some effort into their contributions.
17. THE BAD APPLE
Eventually, rappers will run out of ways to call New York City a dangerous place to be. Oh wait, with this track, that just happened. Deck slows his delivery down to a crawl, trying to get a point across that nobody really needed to be convinced of. It would be kind of funny to insert Alicia Keys singing her chorus from Hova's “Empire State Of Mind” over this song, though. Maybe it's time for all New York-based rappers to move to Connecticut, just so they can have something new to fucking write about.
18. BROTHAZ RESPECT (FEAT CAPPADONNA & FES TAYLOR)
This is kind of mean but absolutely true: had Deck not lucked into the Wu, he may have still eventually gotten a record deal, but nobody would give a fuck about him. He should rightfully take some credit on here for the Wu breaking through in 1993, but there were eight other guys with him (who, admittedly, he does remember to acknowledge): couldn't he have invited any of those guys to appear on here instead of the boring Fes Taylor and a gypsy cab driver? Sigh.
19. 5 STAR G
Erase the awful hook and you would have a fairly entertaining track. Deck follows the lead of the MoSS beat and hugs it like he's driving too close to the curb. This song features the most playful-sounding Inspectah Deck in recent memory, so it's too bad that he succumbed to such a lame-ass gimmick as a topic.
20. THE NEVERENDING STORY (FEAT PLEASANT)
One of the funniest titles in Wu-Tang history also made me fear that Manifesto would, indeed, never actually end. For his part, Deck spits a serious monologue that could have been lifted straight from The Movement, but Agallah's instrumental is like an undercover officer in plain clothes filing his paperwork at the police station: unconvincing. And just like that, Manifesto was gone.
THE LAST WORD: This isn't saying much, but with Manifesto, Inspectah Deck successfully eradicates the memory of both The Resident Patient and its shitty “sequel”. The problem is that Jason seems to have forgotten what it takes to craft an entertaining album (um, the music has to be good) and what Wu stans actually want to hear (read: collaborations with other Wu-Tang Clan members, some Wu-Elements behind the boards). Thankfully, Deck has mostly stepped away from producing on Manifesto (save for a few tracks, of course – he couldn't run away like that without leaving a note) to focus on his words, but most of the beats present on here are still boring as shit. The multiple cameos from his apprentice Fes Taylor are also unnecessary. However, Manifesto displays a trait that his other recent projects lacked: he's actively trying this time around. So his failure is more due to outside factors and not his own hand. Deck just needs to scrap some money together and get some better, more appealing instrumentals: that way, he might just win back Wu stans. But for now, we should consider Inspectah Deck a work in progress. Manifesto isn't really all that good, but it could have been a lot worse, I guess.
-Max
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(For today's Reader Review, frequent contributor Dag Dilligent listens to B-Real's solo album Smoke N Mirrors for the first time. I had completely forgotten that this album even existed, so odds are that you have, too. Enjoy the review, and leave some comments below.)
I was digging around online looking for any music that might interest me, and I came across an interview with B-Real about his first solo album Smoke N Mirrors, which was released in 2009. The first thought that crossed my mind was this: how the fuck has B-Real (aka Louis Freese) been in the industry for twenty years and not made a solo album yet? I’m not talking about his Gunslinger mixtapes that nobody ever listened to, or his Psycho Realm side project; I’m talking about a real solo album. I mean, DJ Muggs dropped his first album like fifteen years ago, and he doesn’t even rap, so what the fuck took so long? Was it the weed? Yeah, probably.
B-Real claims that he wanted to release a solo album to show his abilities and unique skills beyond Cypress Hill, and while I am a Hill fan, I haven’t played any of their albums for quite awhile, as they are typically boring and inconsistent. While B-Real’s distinctive nasal flow balances nicely against Sen Dog’s angry flow (like a fucking see-saw), neither of them ever impressed me all that much on the mic. But they still sound good together, and it seems like no matter how much they fuck up, they still get a pass. (Does that remind anybody of a nine member crew from the same era, one which shall remain anonymous?)
Once I got my hands on a copy of Smoke N Mirrors, I had the feeling that it was going to suck. I’m assuming that there will be an overdose of drug references, low quality production, and irritating nasal voices. Even the album cover is poor: its look is similar to all of those free mixtapes that Louis kept trying to give away, but this one is actually intended for sale to a paying audience. I also noticed Smoke N Mirrors was released in a partnership between B-Real’s own label, Audio Hustlaz, and Duck Down Records. What the fuck? B-Real has sold like fifteen million albums in his career, and he co-signs with Duck Down, a respected underground label that, nevertheless, isn't well known for breaking sales records? That's never a good sign. Then I browsed the track list and noticed that DJ Muggs was nowhere to be found, which is another bad sign. Muggs is like a animal handler at the circus, in that he has to deal with a lot of weird shit (in B-Real’s case, his voice) and still manage to put on a good show.
What Smoke N Mirrors does seem to contain are a lot of guest appearances, so maybe Louis finally realized that his flow can be a bit grating, so he tried to bring in some of his friends to help keep things balanced.
So does he pull it off? Lets find out.
1. SMOKE N MIRRORS (FEAT BO ROC)
I really like the way this song starts: producer Scoop DeVille plays a pitched-up old school cut that nicely sets the mood for the album. This is an album that spends some time reminiscing, while at the same time embracing the need to stay sharp for the present and future. After giving a little time to relax to the mellow groove, a pretty nice beat drops with a heavy bass line, some nice strings, and impressive bongo change-ups. The "Children of the Night" loop is ill, and Bo Roc (formerly of The Dove Shack) makes his way out of the unemployment line to deliver a decent chorus. B-Real comes hard and a little paranoid, but it works. Also, B-Real continues the Cypress Hill tradition of very short interludes that I actually like, tacked onto the end of tracks and usually make the overall product better.
2. GANGSTA MUSIC (FEAT BO ROC)
Soopafly (formerly of Death Row Records) produces a hard but uninspired beat with a synthesizer looped over a funky guitar. Louis is lacking, but I cant tell where he's going wrong because his content sounds polished and his rhymes aren’t that bad. Maybe he just needs to play his verses off another emcee. Or maybe he needs a producer who can work miracles, which he doesn’t have here. Plus his voice sounds a bit slowed down, which gives the impression that his mouth is full of gravel. Like a lot of the songs on Smoke N Mirrors, the hook is repetitive and terrible, as we are informed numerous times that “This is gangsta music”. Bo Roc hurts the track more than he helps and leaves us with an excellent example of average.
3. DON'T YA DARE LAUGH (FEAT XZIBIT & YOUNG DE)
The first single off the album delivers a nice G-Funk beat with some greatly appreciated raw elements and the mandatory garbage hook. Young De brings a decent verse, except for his pronunciation of the word “camaraderie”. As expected, X dominates without really saying anything. (Side note: on top of all that, some versions of this song layer a sample of Suzanne Vega's terrible “Tom’s Diner” over the chorus (which follows Vega’s annoying melody); it is extremely distracting and should be avoided in all future musical output. I suspect there was an issue with clearing the sample as it sounds as though was pulled from the official release, but it is definitely present on some online leaks.)
4. EVERYTHING U WANT (FEAT BUCKSHOT)
Buckshot and B-Real have both been in the industry since the early 1990s, but I would have never expected to hear them together on the same track. Buckshot should have killed B-Real lyrically, but even though he spits solid, B’s veteran-level rhymes absolutely destroy the Black Moon legend. The Soopafly produced beat is pretty good, especially as it has that “Duck Down” sound, a definite departure from the West Coast flavor of the rest of the album, but it works. Not bad.
5. 6 MINUTES (FEAT YOUNG DE & TEKNEEK)
The Alchemist’s boring beat sounds like a 1960’s car chase with some sci-fi sounds laid over the top. This track clearly references the far superior Doug E. Fresh song “The Show”, but instead of introducing listeners to Slick Rick, it focuses on how hard it is for young rappers to come up and stay relevant. Tekneek handles the chorus and changes Ricky's classic “6 Minutes, you’re on” line to “6 Minutes you’re gone”. B-Real makes some good points, but Young De doesn’t really have the stripes to rhyme about mastering the rap game, even though he does mention that he’s doing just that by learning from veterans. I suspect this whole track was the result of a head-injury. Skip.
6. PSYCHO REALM REVOLUTION (FEAT SICK JACKEN)
Psycho Realm was a small underground group that B-Real joined at the height of Cypress Hill’s fame. Sick Jacken, one of its three members, produced this horn-heavy beat which is exactly what I expected for this album, and while the loop is nice, the change-up for the chorus and the chorus itself are appallingly bad. Neither emcee spits anything impressive, and the rhymes in Sick Jacken’s first verse are nearly undecipherable. The loop on this song is so good that I would almost recommend the track, but everything else brings it down to skip status.
7. FIRE (FEAT DAMIAN MARLEY)
The mandatory drug song, and surprisingly the first visit to this topic on Smoke N Mirrors. Reggae and B-Real seem like they should be a great combination but our host's uninspired beat plays it safe and ends up sounding like diet reggae. Damian Marley brings a nice level of energy to the track, especially with his chorus. The Spanglish and bass breakdown is fucking brilliant (do more shit like that, Louis, and you might make a track I can resist the urge to skip), but the song still ends up sounding pretty mundane. I would love to see these two work together more often if they can get their shit together.
8. 10 STEPS BEHIND (FEAT YOUNG DE & TEKNEEK)
Another gangsta track. B's lyrics are above average, but the beat is very repetitive and the hook is terrible. Young De spits a nice verse, but it’s hard to concentrate on anyone’s skills because of the wackness of the beat. Honestly, if you tried to sit through the instrumental version of this track you’d end up looking like Saddam Hussein when they pulled him out of that spider hole: mad disheveled.
9. GET THAT DOUGH (FEAT BABYDOLL REFRESH)
B adjusts his flow to match the terribly bouncy beat from Digital Underground’s Young Mass. B's lyrics are okay and his rhyme scheme is impressive but sounds odd coming from him. The topic of the song is about as played out as the Humpty Dance at your cousin's bar mitzvah, and it makes me wish that B had a gimmick like Shock G's fake nose just so I’d have something else to focus on as the track dragged on. The synthesizer-heavy beat and chorus are so bad that the song becomes an automatic skip.
10. DR. HYPHENSTEIN (FEAT SNOOP DOGG, YOUNG DE, & TRACE MIDAS)
B-Real mans the boards again and delivers something that sounds more than a little bit Hyphy. The amount of work he put into his lyrics is apparent as he drops another good verse, but he should have spent some more time on the garbage beat and pathetic hook. Nobody’s going to be ghostriding their whip to this shit, but they will be temped to jump out of the car anyway. Snoop manages to drop a whole verse without saying anything, while Young De and Trace Midas fill the gaps. Skip.
11. STACK'N PAPER
One of two tracks that Louis had to hold down on his own. The quick paced beat is a bit more complex than the rest of Smoke N Mirrors with a flowing bass line and some mild electric guitar. Both of the breakdowns are fucking amazing, and B's lyrical section hits hard, but the turntable breakdown that concludes the track flat-out steals the show. But even with all that good shit going for it, the track still doesn’t rise above average.
12. 1 LIFE (FEAT SEN DOG & MAL VERDE)
Spanish guitar and a heavy Spanish chorus kick off this slamming track. B-Real reunites with his Cypress Hill colleague Sen Dog to tear up this energetic track in Spanglish, and tear it up they do. Sen Dog brings a level of energy that made me wish for another full fledged Cypress Hill album. Mal Verde handles the hook while B-Real handles the production, and it all works. Teamwork. Nice.
13. DUDE VS. HOMIE
The best song on the album, and B pulls it off without rhyme support. The beat starts off light but takes a slightly threatening tone as soon as our host starts spitting. The lyrics are a skillful story rap from the perspectives of both a dude and a homie: the homie is waiting to jack the dude, but doesn’t realize the dude is ready for him. Nice….uh, except for the wack chorus and the goofy title, but I’ll overlook those for the lyrical skill on the rest of the track.
14. WHEN THEY HATE YOU (FEAT BABYDOLL REFRESH)
B-Real works a sparse G-Funk beat all by himself (well, except for the chorus, which is sung by Babydoll). The beat and chorus make the song sound a bit too slick at first, but it slowly builds into a descent track. Once again B spits like the vet he is, describing what it takes to come up and the dangers of success: "They got the hunger for success but it comes at a price / you gotta sacrifice devices that'll put you on ice". But in the end, it still feels as though something is missing.
15. WHEN WE'RE FUCKING (FEAT TOO $HORT, KURUPT, & YOUNG DE)
Seriously, B-Real? A trip back in time to Death Row Records, circa 1995, is an odd way to close out your debut solo album. The topic and the beat sound like something that was dropped from Tha Dogg Pound's far superior Dogg Food. The song starts out with a “radio DJ” claiming that this song is for the ladies. Somehow, I doubt it. Too $hort drops the same verse he’s been using since 1994, while Kurupt pulls a verse from his “Let’s Play House” reject pile. But the weirdest thing is how out of place B-Real sounds on this type of beat: his flow and voice don’t mesh well with the other rappers. Maybe he’s fulfilling his dream of degrading women with some of the best in the business (and Young De, who only shows up for the chorus), but he probably should have kept this track for his private collection.
THE LAST WORD: I have nothing but respect for Cypress Hill and B-Real, but Smoke N Mirrors is mediocre at best. Even though it grew on me with repeated listening and some of the tracks did get stuck in my head (and on my iPod), it still isn't anything great. B-Real fulfills his mission of describing the reality of the streets, and he truly doesn’t paint a pretty picture of Los Angeles, as from his perspective there is danger around every corner: fake friends, shitty rappers, and venomous record labels. As for my initial concerns, the absence of DJ Muggs is definitely felt, and while some of the beats are hot, most of them are just mediocre. As for the lyrics, B-Real used his writing time wisely, as the rhymes definitely sounded above average (for him). He speaks from experience and gives an enlightening perspective on both life and business. As for his voice and flow, he managed to bring in enough guests to keep it from getting too tiring, but Smoke N Mirrors just solidified my opinion that B-Real is more of a team player than a solo artist. In the end it B-Real would have had to pull off a miracle for Smoke N Mirrors to rise above the anything in the Cypress Hill catalog, and there is nothing miraculous here.
-Dag Diligent
(Questions? Comments? Concerns? Leave your thoughts below, and make your opinion known.)
(For today's Reader Review, Miguel (who used to have his own blog, Music Lives, in case you were familiar with his work) visits Australia to spin State Of The Art by the Hilltop Hoods. Be sure to leave some comments for Miguel below.)
The long version of the story isn't that much longer, but it does contain a lot more dialogue.
After Snoop proved that he was capable of crafting an entire album without any input from Andre Young with Tha Doggfather, which didn't sell as well as Doggystyle but did okay enough, all eyes and ears were turned to Louisiana for Snoop's third full-length effort, Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told. When Master P came to his rescue, Snoop was happy to compromise, taking on the role of a simpleminded label employee (or “soldiers”, as No Limit referred to them as), and he allowed the direction of Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told to be influenced heavily by his new boss. This essentially means that Snoop's album ended up looking and sounding like everyone else's album that was ever released at that factory: the beats were almost exclusively provided by the in-house team Beats By The Pound (made up of KLC, O'Dell, Mo B. Dick, Carlos Stephens, and Percy himself), although P was nice enough to allow some outsiders into the studio to appease Snoop's Left Coast fanbase; the album was stuffed so full of songs (and only one interlude, which I'm actually thankful for) that the listener truly felt they got their ten dollars worth; some of the R&B samples used can only be categorized as “ridiculous”, but they resulted in quick, cheesy, instantly recognizable radio hits, not unlike what Puffy Combs managed in the 1990s; and finally, the album featured no less than nine hundred and seventy-two guest appearances, all but one handled by Snoop's new coworkers, including such highly-regarded names such as Mystikal, Silkk The Shocker (who I will always remember as climbing out of your grandmother's television set in those old ads from The Source), C-Murder, and, um, Fiend.
Not surprisingly, I never bought this album. I'm not a fan of No Limit's paint-by-numbers gangsta rap and their marketing technique, which was to flood the market with albums from every single artist they have ever signed, at least one per week for a couple of years (I'm surprised the EPA hasn't filed a lawsuit against Percy for destroying the environment with all of the fucking plastic that has to be sitting in landfills right now, as I don't know anybody who even considered thinking about buying the Lil' Soldiers album or the Mercedes one, of which all I remember from the label's ads in The Source is the female artist bent over the hood of a car). All of the Pen & Pixel album covers looked ridiculous as well, especially Snoop's, which you can see above, as all they accomplished was diluting New Orleans gangsta rap into specific key elements, such as diamonds, bitches, cars, and diamond bitches made out of the spare parts of vehicles. Everything about the No Limit outfit screamed “generic”, but I have to admit that they had their finger on the pulse of the market: apparently, the market liked being able to purchase a brand new album every week, albeit one that sounded exactly like the one released last week, but with all of the guest appearances shifted around a tad.
Anyway. Snoop Dogg's Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told was sold out around my way, so I couldn't have picked one up back in 1998 even if I really wanted to (and when I finally got my hands on a copy, the blue plastic CD case felt so cheap that I couldn't work up the nerve to actually walk up to the register: as such, right now I'm relying on a library copy). This was the case in most of the country: it was actually pretty successful, proving that Snoop Dogg had a rabid fanbase that would follow him anywhere, even if he sacrificed his sound and most of his ideals simply to get the fuck away from a bad situation at Death Row Records, where his old boss Suge Knight vented his frustration by hiring no-name rappers (such as the sound-alike Top Dogg, 2Pac vocal clone Tha Realest, and, um, Crooked I) to take potshots at his former employees on compilation records; apparently, Suge forgot that he signed off on the Snoop Dogg deal. (Two side notes: (1) I'm not positive that Crooked I had much of a hand in the constant barrage of Death Row disses toward Snoop, as I stopped giving a fuck about Death Row Records after Pac was “killed”, but he was featured on many albums where shouting “Fuck Snoop and Dre” was a predominant theme; and (2) Suge's anger and jealousy actually went further than this, a topic which I'll address the deeper we get into Snoop's catalog.)
Based on my limited knowledge of other No Limit albums, I'm not looking forward to Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told. The back cover credits also aren't helping, with its ginormous No Limit medallion taking up half of the space. Does the world really want to hear Snoop constantly flanked by inferior artists?
Well, they did at one point.
1. SNOOP WORLD (FEAT MASTER P)
After a brief intro from Percy welcoming our host into the fold, Snoop Dogg takes control of an overly perky KLC concoction, and to his credit, he doesn't sound awful: his calm, collected flow appears to have survived the label switch unscathed. But as a reintroduction to the man (or even to the new persona “Snoop Dogg”), this track is fairly weak: Snoop coasts on his lyrical charm without saying anything substantial, and Master P inserts himself into the third verse, leaving with a bad taste in their mouths. I suppose I've officially been warned. Shit.
2. I CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT (FEAT MIA X, O'DELL, & ANITA THOMAS)
So much for those lowered expectations: after the overt horribleness of “Snoop World”, our host (with assists from producer O'Dell and guest star Mia X) throws listeners a bone (ha!) with this track, which could have fit seamlessly onto Tha Doggfather. Well, maybe without Mia X, but still. Snoop rides the quiet storm beat like a pro, while the hook manages to not overstay its welcome. Speaking of Mia X, she may only have had a career in rap because of Master P (I understand that she was rapping prior to signing with No Limit, but how many of those songs were ever heard outside of New Orleans?), but on here, she gives us a convincing impersonation of a female rapper that actually sounds decent. Okay, that was too mean and vague: she actually sounds pretty good on here. Maybe Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told won't be so bad after all. (Oooh, foreshadowing!)
3. WOOF! (FEAT FIEND & MYSTIKAL)
Yep, spoke too soon, you know the drill. This may have been one of the singles, because any song that obviously appropriates Snoop's rap star identity as a “dogg” would be far too clever to keep bottled up as an album track. Fiend sounds about as inconsequential to the track as I believed he would, given his generic rap name, and Mystikal, the only other rapper on No Limit Records that actually had a career (of sorts) prior to signing to the cash machine, continues in his tradition of fitting more syllables than humanly possible into a single bar: as expected, his contribution comes across as fucking gibberish. Snoop wrongly refers to himself as “the godfather of G-Funk” (the hell?) as he speed-raps himself into virtual irrelevancy. Yeah, as you could probably guess, this was fairly awful.
4. GIN AND JUICE PART II
I kind of figured that I wouldn't like this song once I read the title, but I couldn't fathom just how much the song would suck. Sounding absolutely nothing like his signature track, this sequel in name only explores a much darker terrain while Snoop only fleetingly discusses the merits of gin, juice, and sequels. This would have actually been more successful without that title: this song shouldn't have ever had any preconceived notions tacked on. It would have still sounded bad, but on its own demerits, as opposed to being inevitably compared to the classic original track, an action that will just piss you off. What the fuck?
5. SHOW ME LOVE (FEAT CHARLIE WILSON)
Well, it wouldn't be a post-Dr. Dre Snoop Dogg album without an appearance by The Gap Band's “Uncle” Charlie Wilson (who is not actually related to our host). Unfortunately, I can't remember a wakaflockin' thing about this track. It slows the tempo of Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told considerably, and Calvin simply mumbles a bunch of random “romantic” phrases to an audience of nobody, as most women would have skipped to the next track by now. A blatant misfire, but most rappers are afforded a few: there's still some hope for me here.
6. HUSTLE AND BALL
Calvin clearly has some identity issues, or maybe he's just suffering from soap opera-grade amnesia: he constantly asks listeners “What's my name?” throughout his entire discography. Maybe he should simply tattoo it onto his forearm like Guy Pearce in Memento. Anyway, it's a good thing that Snoop came into the game with an assist from Dr. Andre Young, because if this was his actual debut album, with its preset drum loops without any depth and its vapid lyrics delivered with the conviction of an apathetic housecat, the man's career would have ended before the album even finished playing. Nothing on this song will encourage you to hustle and/or ball.
7. DON'T LET GO
Snoop Dogg has spent all of Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told thus far dropping so many names of his new coworkers that he sounds like The Game, except with horrible taste in rap music. The beat is too simple, as if it were crafted in a minute and a half and then looped the fuck up (I'm probably not that far off), while Snoop tries his best to sound menacing (he even threatens to sic the late Soulja Slim on listeners at one point – yes, the man was still alive at this point: there aren't many gangsta rap albums that would offer to send a zombie to your crib to fuck you up) without ever implying the he would handle any of the dirty work personally (spoken like the label boss he would soon become). His lyrics have absolutely no concept of how the beat is sounding, so this track ultimately didn't work.
8. TRU TANK DOGS (FEAT MYSTIKAL)
It's kind of funny that a song named “TRU Tank Dogs” fails to include any of the actual members of Tha Real Untouchables. KLC's beat swipes some keyboard inspiration from N.W.A.'s “Prelude”, but neither Snoop nor his invited guests are up to the challenge: Mystikal sticks with his modus operandi of playing hip hop's Tasmanian Devil, while Snoop obliterates any memory of the man ever being anywhere near impressive behind the mic. Judging by his later work, it's obvious that the man still had it in him: it's just too bad he felt the need to dumb himself down for the No Limit audience.
9. WHATCHA GON DO? (FEAT MASTER P)
Master P advising Snoop at the very beginning that “the dogcatcher” has been spotted in the general vicinity comes across as an empty threat, as though Percy is warning snoop that, should he fail to move any units of his No Limit debut, he's going to be sent back into Suge Knight's hell. Appropriately, Calvin sounds freaked out and unfocused on here, second-guessing his own boasts while, apparently, fearing for his very sanity. Master P's hook is useless, and he throws in one of his trademarked grunts because, well, that's his biggest contribution to our chosen genre, and the Percy Miller beat sounds like generic West Coast piffle. While it is interesting that the instrumental at least tries to acknowledge Snoop's Cali roots, you should still pass on this song.
10. STILL A G THANG
For the second time on Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told, Snoop crafts a sequel to a song that a lot of his fans hold dear, this time running with Calvin's mainstream debut on Dr. Dre's “Nuthin' But A G Thing”. (“Deep Cover” was technically Snoop's actual first appearance, but that was more of a street single than a radio hit.) I believe this was the first single, and it was actually a pretty good choice: while it cannot in any way compare to the original track, at least this Meech Wells-handled production could survive on its own, as Snoop sounds the most confident on here than he has for the entire project thus far. Confident enough to try to connect with Dr. Dre again, anyway, as our hosts attempts to reach out to his former mentor on here. Now if only that title were different...
11. 20 DOLLARS TO MY NAME (FEAT FIEND, SILKK THE SHOCKER, & SOULJA SLIM)
An interesting take on what is essentially the same concept as Ma$e's “24 Hours To Live”; Snoop and his newly adopted crew all wax not-so-poetically about how they will handle life when they're broke and struggling (hint: it appears as though each participant on this track is willing to brutally attack you for the cash in your wallet). While it is impossible to picture Snoop in this financial position now, back in 1998 it was wholly possible that Calvin Broadus was fucking broke: why else would he have to turn to Master P for help with breaking his Death Row contract when he could have, I don't know, hired a lawyer? Paid off Suge? Anyway, as high-concept songs go, I've heard worse, but I will say this: Silkk The Shocker has (“had” is probably more accurate today) the most annoying flow on all of No Limit Records, and I say that even though there's another guy (Mystikal) that basically performs the exact same way.
12. D.O.G.'S GET LONELY 2 (FEAT JON B.)
Of all the R&B songs to steal from when you write your mandatory love rap, Jon B.'s “They Don't Know” wouldn't be my first choice. Odds are, it wasn't Snoop's first choice, either: he was just being the good soldier, a new recruit who did anything that was asked of him by his superior officers, including singing over looped R&B interpolations that set the man up for an epic failure.
13. AIN'T NUT'IN PERSONAL (FEAT C-MURDER & SILKK THE SHOCKER)
Finally, Snoop's background as a gangsta rapper (as he is still classified today) shows its face, over this oddly great Craig B instrumental. The sinister bass and admittedly out-of-place drum machine lend authenticity to C-Murder and Snoop's thinly veiled threats against anybody who even breathes in their general direction. Silkk fucks everything up with his closing verse (you're not an underground artist anymore: fucking adapt your bars to the goddamn beat!), but at least the rest of the song was entertaining enough. (Side note: the Interweb indicates that a young upstart named “Crooked Eye” makes an appearance on this track; yes, that would be the same guy that is now one of the best two parts of Slaughterhouse, but my library copy is missing the liner notes, so I cannot confirm this.)
14. DP GANGSTA (FEAT C-MURDER & EDDIE GRIFFIN)
The title (shortened from “Dogg Pound”, possibly as another legal tactic to avoid Suge Knight's wrath) lends itself better to a reunion track between Snoop and the tandem of Daz Dillinger and Kurupt, but alas, it wasn't meant to be at this time. Instead, Snoop pimps out his old crew's name for a remake (because Snoop realized that his cover songs were among his most popular) of N.W.A.'s “Gangsta Gangsta”, which would have sounded better has Craig B given him something tighter to work with. At least Calvin still has the lackadaisical flow that made him famous intact. I certainly hope that Dr. Dre made at least twelve bucks off of this cover. C-Murder, the No Limit soldier most likely to fuck you up (if his boasts are to be believed), makes his entrance over a quick reinterpretation of the “Deep Cover” beat (man, I really hope Dr. Dre made some money off of this track), while comedian Eddie Griffin provides the outro. I'm guessing that this guest spot eventually led to his cameo on Dre's 2001, because it sure as hell doesn't lend itself well to Undercover Brother (which is good, cheesy fun, by the way).
15. GAME OF LIFE (FEAT STEADY MOBB'N)
I was just telling a friend of mine that I hadn't heard a rap song jack Whodini's “Five Minutes of Funk” in a long while. This track also doubles as the theme song for a direct-to-video No Limit film by the same name: Master P was a horrific rap artist, but that motherfucker was good at getting people to separate the cash from their bank accounts. Snoop sounded okay, but the inclusion of Steady Mobb'n trumps any good that could have possibly resulted from this shit.
16. SEE YA WHEN I GET THERE (FEAT C-MURDER & MYSTIKAL)
For a song about honoring those that we have lost, there are only two available speeds: slow and mournful, or high-energy, celebration of life-type shit. “See Ya When I Get There” manages neither, rendering the entire track insincere. But to be fair, it's the music that causes this ill will: at least the rappers were all trying. And herein lies the problem with No Limit's distribution schedule: with their focus on sheer quantity, there was no time to focus on any sort of quality control. Seriously, was there a real need for Da Game To Be Sold, Not To Be Told to be twenty-one tracks long?
17. PAY FOR PUSSY (FEAT BIG PIMPIN' DELEMOND)
Strangely, the only player from Snoop's Death Row days to make a vocal appearance on this project is Big Pimpin' Delemond, who provided spoken word interludes for a couple of Dogg Pound songs. On here, he does the exact same thing, except for when he moves out of the way for an Auto-Tuned Snoop to sing (pre-”Sexual Eruption”) the title. What a strange and unmoving interlude.
18. PICTURE THIS (FEAT MIA X)
How's this for an awkward pairing: Snoop Dogg pretends that he and Mia X (who is uncredited) have been partners in crime for the past twenty years, riding like Bonnie and Clyde throughout the countryside, when listeners know damn well that these two don't really know each other that well. Snoop plays with revisionist history on here, trying to implant false memories into the minds of his fans, not unlike when the character of Dawn was introduced as the title character's never-before-mentioned younger sister on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Also, all of his shout-outs to his new friends reminded me of when Mobb Deep immediately obtained G-Unit tattoos after signing with Curtis Jackson. Thankfully, this song ended well before I started questioning just how stupid Calvin Broadus seemed to think his fans were at the time.
19. DOGGZ GONNA GET YA (FEAT MAC)
Snoop's lyrical flow on this retread of KRS-One's “Love's Gonna Get Ya” is the most concise it has been on this entire fucking excursion. Proof positive that Snoop can sound pretty good when he's honing his storytelling skills, even if on here he's simply paying homage to another old-school classic. The beat was fairly plain, and the cameo by Mac was jarring as shit, but this could have been a lot worse.
20. HOES, MONEY, & CLOUT
This appears to be the only song on Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told that has any actual ties to Snoop's Death Row days (because “Pay For Pussy” was just an interlude, and the DJ Pooh-produced “Show Me Love” is too awful to earn this distinction): Dat N---a Daz provides scratches, longtime comrade Priest “Soopafly” Brooks handles the beat, and, um, well, Snoop speaks fondly of Kurupt during the first verse. (Regardless of what our host actually says on the song, though, Daz did not produce this record.) Curiosity factor aside, it's easy to see why Snoop's only real trip back into the land that G-Funk forgot was pushed to the end of the album: there is no reason for anybody to ever listen to this track, as it sucks balls. The West Coast-sounding beat (by way of a George Clinton impersonator performing at a child's fifth birthday party while trying to avoid the swift kicks of a pony rented for the day's festivities) sounds paint-by-numbers, and as a result, so does Snoop Dogg.
21. GET BOUT IT AND ROWDY (FEAT MASTER P)
As we close out Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told, KLC reproduces the melody from TRU's biggest hit, “I'm Bout It”, hence the titular reference. He forgets to steal some harder drums, though: the melody isn't enough to make Snoop's fans rowdy, as they also require some fucking rhythm. As an outro, this is pretty weak, and while Calvin does sound genuinely grateful that his new BFF Percy Miller got him out of a fucked-up situation, he appears to have left his inspiration back home in Long Beach. Bleh.
THE LAST WORD: I hate it when my preconceived notions end up being correct, because I'm left questioning why I just spent the last hour listening to something that I already knew sucked. Snoop Dogg's Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told finds him simply acting grateful for his new label home, playing the role of a model employee who has all but abandoned the habits he had fostered at his old workplace in favor of a clean slate. While there is the tiniest of G-Funk spark to be found on here, Snoop is primarily in New Orleans transplant mode, and he has crafted what is basically a shitty interchangeable No Limit Records project, stuffed to the gills with incomplete instrumentals, trite gangsta tales (which, admittedly, have always been Snoop's bread and butter), and far more guest appearances than can legally appear in the same room without violating fire safety codes. I would say that the rest of the label roster probably just wanted the opportunity to appear on an album alongside one of the biggest names in hip hop history, but no, all of No Limit's albums are crafted in the exact same manner. Snoop is allowed only a handful of songs to tackle on his own, and for the most part, those are the tracks on which our host shines, but Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told is so much of an overt failure that it actually manages to convert Snoop Dogg into a generic no-name artist, Pen & Pixel cover art and all. Wow, this was bad. No wonder he never talks about this project anymore.
-Max
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