January 25, 2009

Redman - Red Gone Wild: Thee Album (March 27, 2007)


2007 finally saw the release of Red Gone Wild: Thee Album, Redman's sixth solo album, which had been promised for several years at that point. The album itself was in danger of becoming one of those fabled follow-up projects that rappers discuss in interviews for years on end but never materializes (such as Dr. Dre's Detox, Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2, and, in a much more broad sense musically, Guns 'N Roses's Chinese Democracy (at least until it finally hit Best Buy store shelves fourteen years after its inception)). However, the difference between Redman's project and the other three listed is that Redman's previous album, Malpractice, caused him to lose a lot of fans, so there weren't a whole lot of folks out there anyway that gave much of a fuck about the guy's career in 2007. Malpractice found our rhyming hero managing to amuse only himself with increasingly nonsensical thematic structures (what the fuck was the "Roller Coaster Malpractice" skit supposed to be about, anyway?) and reliance on an uncharacteristically poor selection of beats. So Red Gone Wild: Thee Album was intended to be his return to form, which it could have been, had his label, Def Jam, not derailed his efforts by keeping the disc in the vault for so long, forcing Reggie to retool some older tracks and rethink his original concept.

As I mentioned in the write-up for Reggie's last mixtape, Live From The Bricks, the version of Red Gone Wild: Thee Album that we received was not the album that was intended to be released. Multiple tracks promised by Redman (and leaked to the Interweb) were ultimately cut, possibly due to age or poor reception, such as the Eminem-produced "I C Dead People", which was constructed as a dream/nightmare collaboration between Redman and the ghosts of 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Big L, and Big Punisher (or, rather, the ghosts of older verses from the late rappers). Other tracks which are missing entirely include "Fuck Da Security" (or "Rush Da Security", as it is known on the Def Jam promotional twelve-inch: it does manage to put in an appearance on foreign editions of this disc, however) and "Future Thugs", which also featured labelmates Ghostface Killah and Ludacris. However, one older track that did manage to make the cut was the Timbaland-produced "Put It Down", a song that Reggie had mentioned for many years: Redman bragged that he had purchased Timothy's instrumental (along with several others) long before his takeover of pop radio (with the assistance of Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado).

So, was Red Gone Wild: Thee Album worth all of the fuss?

1. FIRE
Well, it's not a rap album intro, so that's a plus. Although Reggie actually rhymes on this track, it's a pretty unmemorable effort, but I still prefer it to an intro.

2. BAK INDA BUILDIN'
Hey, Dr. Trevis has returned! This track could have made for a much better album opener. The instrumental (provided by Adam Deitch, a drummer and producer who has worked with Jean Grae, Talib Kweli, and Afu-Ra) and Chris Pinset (who has worked with Redman on Red Gone Wild: Thee Album)) is actually interesting, for one. But that could just be me.

3. PUT IT DOWN (FEAT DJ KOOL)
Redman has gone on record that he had this Timbaland beat in his back pocket well before Timbo's reincarnation as a pop producer. Considering that this instrumental sounds like one of LL Cool J's outtakes from the same sessions that produced "Headsprung", that may not be a solid bragging point. However, this shit does sound really good. Reggie rides the Timbaland track as if he and Timmy were born to create this song.

4. GIMMIE ONE
While I appreciate the reference to Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle (a flick that's really fucking good), I found this track to be boring as shit. The fact that this was produced by Pete Rock surprises me to no end, given the final result.

5. FUCK UR OPINION (SKIT)
...

6. SUMTN 4 URRBODY (FEAT BLAM, READY ROC, RUNT DAWG, ICADON, & SAUKRATES)
A posse cut featuring the supporting players from Reggie's three previous mixtapes. It's gracious of Redman to limit his own contribution to eight bars halfway through the track, but he really should have either started shit off or closed it out, if only as a show of dominance. Even though I was nonplussed with Saukrates on here, everybody else was pretty good, so as a whole, the song is decent.

7. HOW U LIKE DAT (FEAT GOV MATTIC)
With so many references to Reggie's mixtape series (Ill At Will, for those of you not keeping up), this track comes off more as a freestyle than an actual song. So it makes sense that the beat is of no consequence, as it exists solely so Reggie knows when his sentenced are supposed to end. Reggie dominates the track (his guest is only afforded the last thirty seconds to spit) and, curiously, refers to himself as having "a Wu-Tang tongue" while calling himself the "Def Squad lieutenant". Hmmm.

8. FREESTYLE FREESTYLE
I seem to remember bloggers going apeshit bananas for this track when Red Gone Wild: Thee Album was released. I suppose Reggie's rhymes are good, but he sounds a tad bit bored. That's probably because the song as a whole sucks balls, in most part due to Scott Storch's non-beat. Maybe if Storch was a better producer (he has a couple of good tracks on his resume, but that's where it stops), he wouldn't have so many financial problems right now. Maybe that last statement is a bit unfair, as the economy is rough all over, but maybe the guy should have saved his fucking money instead of buying a boat and whatever the fuck else he purchased in an ill-advised attempt to make Lil' Kim happy.

9. WALK IN GUTTA (FEAT ERICK SERMON,KEITH MURRAY, & BIZ MARKIE)
I didn't like this song back in March of 2007. Today, I can appreciate it for what it is, an above-average Def Squad song. Keith Murray sounds like he's actively trying to get his fans back, and Erick Sermon has (apparently) no need to improve his flow, since he still has everyone's nostalgic EPMD respect, but Reggie steals the show on his own album, which is not only nice, it should have been a given.

10. WUTCHOOGONNADO (FEAT MELANIE RUTHERFORD)
I'm going to walk away, that's what. This is nothing like the Reggie Noble music that people actually like to listen to. This track is followed by two separate skits, one of which ties up the trials and tribulations of the journalist that's appeared on previous Redman albums rather nicely, and those might be a better listen than this shit. Both skits appear prior to the next track.

11. DIZ IZ BRICK CITY (FEAT READY ROC)
For what is ostensibly an anthem to Reggie's hometown, this track sounds oddly sentimental. But it's not bad. Redman's punchlines are amusing, and the DJ Clark Kent beat is relaxing. The hook is all sorts of fucking awful, though.

12. RITE NOW
This was, more than likely, a condition of clearing the Al Green sample, but this song is edited. (For the most part, it's squeaky-clean, but a couple of gunshots, sexual content, and the word "fuck" manage to make an appearance.) Reggie sounds as if he's being physically restrained, and the beat isn't anything we haven't already heard from Erick Sermon.

13. BLOW TREEZ (FEAT READY ROC & METHOD MAN)
This is among the worst Redman/Method Man collaborations that I have ever witnesses, and I've caught episodes of their Fox sitcom. The flow of the song is a reggae-tinged crawl, which doesn't work for any of the rappers involved, and the lackluster stab at a South-esque hook (a repeated vocal sample) is simply the bow on a gift-wrappes pile of shit.

14. PIMP NUTZ
What the fuck is with that chorus?

15. MR. ICE CREAM MAN (SKIT)
This skit runs for just over three minutes, making this Reggie Noble's magnum opus. However, Prince Paul he ain't. This skit is entirely unnecessary.

16. HOLD DIS BLAOW!
At this point, Red Gone Wild: Thee Album has officially turned into a fucking chore to write about. Reggie brings absolutely nothing to the table, and he's supposed to be one of my favorite lyricists. The beat also sounds like a pale imitation of what Rockwilder might sound like today, which is great, since Rockwilder is actually behind the boards. Sigh...

17. GET 'EM (FEAT SAUKRATES & ICADON)
Meh.

18. MERRY JANE (FEAT SNOOP DOGG & NATE DOGG)
This weed anthem is pretty fucking stupid. Redman sounds alright, and I always appreciate a Nate Dogg hook, but both Snoop and the beat are in the running for the grand prize in a "Worst Part Of An Already Bad Track" competition. Still, I found myself wondering what Method Man would have sounded like with these three guys on the track.

19. GILLA HOUSE CHECK
I just don't care about this album anymore.

20. NO MO' SOOPAMAN LUVA
A skit that exists only to lead the listener into the next song, which just so happens to be all about Reggie's Soopaman Luva persona. Fans of the "Bathtub" intro from Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle might get a kick out of it.

21. SOOPAMAN LUVA 6 (FEAT E3, MELANIE RUTHERFORD, & HURRICANE G)
This installment is rather ridiculous, since it's all about Reggie trying to break Hurricane G out of prison (although, predictably, he gets a tad bit distracted). Speaking of which, Hurricane G's presence completely fucks this track up. I can tolerate her on some things (okay, mainly on the Cocoa Brovaz's "Spanish Harlem"), but, for the most part, I find her voice annoying as fuck. I'm kind of mystified as to how Erick Sermon could have knocked her up in the first place.

22. SOOPAMAN LUVA 6 1/2 (FEAT HURRICANE G & MELANIE RUTHERFORD)
Picks up immediately where the last installment left off, and while the beat is a lot better, there still isn't anything on here worth listening to. Maybe it's time for the Soopaman Luva to retire in Miami-Dade County.

23. SUICIDE
Adam Deitch and Chris Pinset's beat is half-great and half-annoying as shit. Hearing Reggie singing is oddly compelling, but rapping is obviously his bread and butter. I have mixed feelings about this track, but regardless of what I believe, this song should never have been designated as the last song on any Redman album.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Red Gone Wild: Thee Album is a major disappointment, considering the buildup over the past several years. I realize that a few of my two readers may try to rationalize their purchase by proclaiming that this disc isn't actually that bad, but it is what it is. With only one possible single for the radio and one other track that appeals to the hip hop heads ("Put It Down" and "Walk In Gutta", respectively), if I were running Def Jam, I wouldn't have promoted this shit, either. It should have been left in the vault: at least that way Reggie could have continued to talk it up in the press and it could have taken on a mystical quality, not unlike Rakim's Dr. Dre-produced tracks recorded while he was signed to Aftermath. I'm now officially depressed.

BUY OR BURN? If you are currently in a coma and the promise of some new Redman material is the only thing that could possibly get those brainwaves going and revive you, then your caretaker should burn this and play it for you ASAP. However, that's the only reasonable excuse for even attempting to track down this shit. I'm a Redman fan, and even I want to throw this disc out of a moving vehicle.

BEST TRACKS: "Walk In Gutta"; "Put It Down"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Here are some write-ups for some better Redman projects (and also Malpractice).

3 comments:

  1. Hey, I'm a fan of the blog, and I'm also an upcoming hip-hop producer that has recently completed a mixtape. The hardest part of that is promoting, I would love for you to help me by possibly posting it up for me, but we'll see. You can listen to my mixtape at http://www.last.fm/music/Emay/A.D.D.+(Altered+Dynamic+Dimensions)

    You can contact me at mubbi_3@hotmail.com

    I'd really appreciate feedback, thank you, keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 03, 2010

    i love this album

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, I'm a big fan of Redman, AND I THink this album was good. It was better than Malpratice

    ReplyDelete