Beanie Sigel - The Reason (June 26, 2001)

Dwight “Beanie Sigel” Grant’s sophomore album, The Reason, dropped less than a year after his Roc-A-Fella label boss Jay-Z attempted, and failed, to brand the four most successful rappers on the imprint as a quartet called The Dynasty. As you two may recall, The Dynasty consisted of Hov, Sigel, Memphis Bleek, and Amil, the latter of whom absolutely counts under that “successful rapper” qualification given her participation on Jay-Z’s hit single “Can I Get A…”, among other tracks, so while it can best be described as a technicality, it’s still a true fact, and hopefully she will continue to rake in the royalties from that record until the ends of the Earth. Although this is the music industry we’re talking about, so odds are she’s had to take on multiple extra shifts at Rite Aid to cover rent, in which case, come on Jay, do the right thing and hand her a motherfucking check!

(*straightens tie*) Anyway.

Beanie Sigel - The Truth (February 29, 2000)

I figured this would be a nice way to complement the Freeway write-up from a few days ago, and a nice break for me before I ease into my brief bit of stunt-blogging this Saturday.  (Tell your friends!)

Beanie Sigel, who answers to Dwight Grant whenever it's time to participate in the office's Secret Santa pool, is a rapper and actor (okay, mostly a rapper) who has sold more than two million albums worldwide.  But let's play to the cheap seats for a minute.  If you're not a fan of Jay-Z, his former friend and boss at Roc-A-Fella Records, then odds are that you have no clue who the fuck this guy is.  Maybe you heard a single verse of his if you follow the career of his Philadelphia peers The Roots: he made what was essentially his mainstream debut on their track "Adrenaline!", from Things Fall Apart.  Actually, it's probably not fair to refer to The Roots as Beanie Sigel's "peers", as that is pretty fucking insulting to Jimmy Fallon's house band.  So let's dig a bit deeper.

Sigel, who also goes by the rap monikers Beanie Mac, Mac Mittens, Beans, Beans Enrice, Mac Man, the Broad Street Bully, and Steve, is a South Philly native who rhymes infrequently in between stints in prison for such varying offenses as weapons charges and, most recently, allegations of committing tax fraud.  After struggling as a starving artist for approximately five minutes, he found himself signed to Roc-A-Fella Records after impressing Jay-Z and Damon Dash, filling in the third position in Hova's loose-knit crew The Dynasty while establishing his own merry band of weed carriers, State Property (which also included Freeway), who were apparently nice enough to have not just one, but two movies named after them. 

While Sigel was biding his time, he filled his days by recording cameos for both his Roc-A-Fella labelmates and some other artists from his hometown, most notably Philly's Most Wanted, a Neptunes charity case that nevertheless somehow snagged a minor hit single (and a guest spot from motherfucking Black Thought on their sophomore album, and that guy hardly ever ventures out of his own family).  In 2000, he released his debut solo album, The Truth, on a day that doesn't usually fucking exist, so clearly the stars were aligned for him and not female Dynasty member Amil, whose own solo album was released that fall and swiftly disappeared from the public consciousness.  With the help of his famous friends and some production assistance from such big names as Bink, Buckwild, Just Blaze, and Kanye West, hip hop's equivalent to Madonna/Gaga-as-jam-band, he managed to sell over seven hundred thousand copies, guaranteeing that he wouldn't be forced to take on a regular job for at least three weeks.

These days, Beanie Mac is best known as being the guy who hates his former boss Jay-Z for...actually, I'm not entirely sure why he hates Shawn so goddamn much.  Maybe it was a financial matter, or maybe it was more of a business thing (although Sigel was the only Roc-A-Fella team member to actually swing a guest verse on Jay's American Gangster project), but either way, Sigel hates hates hates his fucking guts, and he uses up any available moment to let the world know by unleashing piss-poor freestyles aimed at his former BFF.  (He apparently doesn't like Kanye either, which is pretty stupid: when's the last time 'Ye dissed anybody?)  So it's interesting to hear The Truth ten years out, when you know that the suppressed optimism expressed on his debut would soon turn sour with time.

Ladies and gentlemen, the truth about The Truth.  (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

1. THE TRUTH

The Truth kicks off with a Kanye West-produced title track that bangs. Beans lays out his mission statement for all to hear, without hiding behind a rap album intro or a guest star, which would have diluted the message. Sigel delivers his words and threats with force, wishing harm upon his enemies while feeling sorry for the collateral damage, bragging about how he didn't even have to work very hard to earn his expertise behind the mic because he's just that great (self-taught!). It's a risky gamble to have someone who is a relatively new artist claim to be the greatest...oh, who the fuck am I kidding? Every single rapper in existence thinks he's better than everyone else. Regardless, the song is actually really good. Not a bad way to start.

2. WHO WANT WHAT (FEAT. MEMPHIS BLEEK)

Beans shows an incredible amount of restraint by not simply getting his label's boss to guest star right away, choosing to ease into the eventual cameo by collaborating with Memphis Bleek instead, because that somehow makes sense. On here, two-thirds of the Roc-A-Fella Dynasty (because Amil doesn't count, and Freeway was never officially part of that clique) play off of one of Malik's bars from Hova's “Change The Game” by building a song around it, never really explaining what the “what” in the title is supposed to entail. Just Blaze's instrumental is rap music at its most bland, and Bleek drags Beans down into the Roc-A-Fella doldrums with him, with no hope of escape. Beanie Mac deserves better.

3. RAW & UNCUT (FEAT. JAY-Z)

This isn't better. Sigel takes three tracks on his debut album to get to what everyone wanted to hear in the first place: an appearance by Jay-Z. The title is absolutely original: never before in hip hop had anyone compared their song to a brick of cocaine, and that metaphor, as you two are aware, has never been used in hip hop since. Bink's beat sounds like a store brand impression of a Hova original, and neither artists sounds fully comfortable. Beans jokes at the beginning that he has to tell people that he doesn't know Jigga just so they will leave him alone: “Raw & Uncut” inadvertently sounds like the first time these two have ever made contact. Not the greatest of signs.

4. MAC MAN

This track is kind of corny, but at the same time, it is the most entertainingly goofy that Beanie Sigel has ever been behind the mic. Beans uses Shim's Ms. Pac Man-sampling instrumental to run through a goofy tale, replacing his cohorts in the drug game with golden age video game characters such as Donkey Kong and Frogger, and enough attention to detail is paid that it's obvious that these are the games that he (and a lot of my readers, I'm guessing) grew up with. Beanie wins on the strength of his Dig Dug reference alone: luckily, the rest if the song is also pretty good. It's too bad that Sigel doesn't remember how to have fun in the booth these days.

5. PLAYA (FEAT. AMIL & JAY-Z)

The chorus makes me want to give up on this blog and start writing about death metal instead. At least those artists probably wouldn't overuse the word “playa”. When you take away the terrible hook, the annoying T-Mix beat, and Amil's atrocious performance, what you're left with is a Beanie Sigel and Shawn Carter collaboration that doesn't entirely suck: it helps that each one seems to have no idea that the other person even appears on the song. I want my three minutes and twenty-five seconds back, Beans.

6. EVERYBODY WANNA BE A STAR

Sigel uses this solo effort as an attempt to discourage other young upstart rappers from following their dreams, unless they're willing to so so without compromising their ideals. He may say that he's just trying to help warn them of the perils of changing who you are in exchange for stardom, but I'm jaded, so I choose to believe that he simply doesn't want the competition. That said, I'm not so jaded that I didn't appreciate the song itself, which is entertaining without being preachy. Not bad, Beans.

7. REMEMBER THEM DAYS (FEAT. EVE)

Beans recruits fellow Philadelphia rapper Eve for this meditation on growing up poor, which was also a single. I didn't care for the Lofey beat, but I enjoyed Sigel's three verses, even though his praise of Hova now sounds both dated and inaccurate. Even though Eve only provides the hook, it still led me to thinking: why hasn't Beanie gotten The Roots to appear on one of his albums yet? Did they have a falling-out or something? You would think that Sigel would want to thank them for “Adrenaline!”.

8. STOP, CHILL

This sounds like a bad Jay-Z song, especially with the plodding Rockwilder instrumental with the crappy sound bite enveloped within. Also, the title is fucking atrocious. Sigel delivers what sounds like a natural progression of his guest verse on Hov's “Do It Again” (also produced by Rockwilder), and honestly, who wanted to hear that shit? Nothing of any importance is provided by this throwaway track, which may only exist because Def Jam executives like to include horrendous attempts at club bangers on nearly all of their releases. No, seriously. Check out their back catalog. It's okay: I can wait.

9. MAC AND BRAD (FEAT. SCARFACE)

And welcome back. See what I mean? Anyway, Scarface (from the Geto Boys) makes a pitch-perfect cameo alongside Beanie Sigel, one of the few rappers in the industry that actually sounds comfortable alongside him. This is more of a five-minute bullshitting session than an actual song. Sigel and his honored guest pass the mic back and forth, with both men proclaiming their dominance over the rap game (and, ostensibly, each other). The J-5 beat was pretty plain, but other than that, and the fact that the song fades out before Face finishes his final verse (why, God, why?!?!?!), this wasn't terrible.

10. WHAT A THUG ABOUT

Buckwild's beat is monotony at its worst, but while Sigel does his damnedest to salvage the track, he crumbles under the weight of that particular obligation. The end result is tired thug rap, classified as such because of the helpful use of the word “thug” in the song's title, that never rises above the level of a cliché. Which ultimately means that there are probably tons of motherfuckers out there who will claim this as their most favoritest Beanie Sigel song ever.

11. WHAT YOUR LIFE LIKE

This Shim-helmed endeavor is actually dramatic as fuck. Sigel digs deep into his bag of tricks, detailing prison life in such a depressing manner that he may pull off what most mass media has failed at: convincing young folks that no, they actually don't want to go to jail, because shit is fucked up, son. The musical flourishes during the hook made me think that a major motion picture is about to begin (thanks to its dramatic intensity and the fact that it reminds me of a Touchstone Pictures or an older New Line Cinema bumper), and that shouldn't be seen as a negative. Nice!

12. RIDE 4 MY

Meh.

13. DIE

Sigel ends The Truth obsessed with death, detailing the many many ways that he could meet his maker. This Prestige (late of Puffy's Hitmen) track is gimmicky, but Beans manages to make his point, rendering this song one of the more morbid ways to end a commercially released rap album. But hey, kudos to Beanie Sigel for recording the dark album he wanted, as opposed to caving in to most of the label's requests. (Yes, there are one or two club efforts on The Truth, but you can count the number of love raps with no hands. Apparently, Beanie Sigel is a monster who doesn't believe that he deserves compassion.)

The Truth ends with a bonus track that has nothing to do with the rest of the album, or even with the artist who wrote the fucking album.

14. ANYTHING (PERFORMED BY JAY-Z)

“Anything”, the Oliver-sampling curio that was originally an international bonus track on Vol. 3...Life and Times Of S. Carter, finds itself tacked onto Sigel's debut album as a way of hopefully moving more units than originally projected, even though this is a Jay-Z solo song and Beanie Mac is nowhere to be found. (With hip hop blogs being as prevalent as they are today, this sales tactic would never work in 2010.) Perhaps turned off by the fact that “Anything” sounds almost exactly like Hova's earlier “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)”, this song, produced by P. Skam and Sam Sneed (now there's a name I haven't seen in a while) fucking tanked on both radio and on MTV/BET, causing this to be the rare failure in Jay's catalog. Considering that this song, which isn't entirely awful, but may contain too many positive messages to win over Sigel's fans, doesn't fit in with the rest of The Truth, maybe its failure was a foregone conclusion. Regardless, it was an unnecessary way to end the album. Have more faith in the product you're selling, Hova.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Beanie Sigel makes some expected rookie errors, and he uses his famous boss as a crutch a bit more than he should (although, to be fair, one of those particular instances was actually forced upon him by Jay-Z and the label, so “Anything” isn't his fault), but his debut album, The Truth, is actually pretty good. Sigel uses the fact that nobody really knew what to expect from him as a personal challenge, serving up thirteen tracks that mostly consist of dreary reality, dark humor, and only the occasional excursion into bullshittery. For an album that features fourteen songs (don't forget about Jay's solo shot) without skits, and includes musical backing from nearly as many producers, The Truth sounds surprisingly cohesive, but it helps that our host refused to dilute his message for the masses. Simply put, Beanie Sigel is a more formidable artist than Memphis Bleek could ever aspire to be. So of course Hova stuck by Bleek's side when The Dynasty fell apart: he might have felt threatened.

BUY OR BURN? Go ahead and pick this one up. Fans of raw street rhymes will enjoy this, and the lack of any functional club bangers is only a plus. This was an entertaining diversion.

BEST TRACKS: “What Your Life Like”; “Mac Man”; “Mac and Brad”; “Everybody Wanna Be A Star”; “The Truth”

-Max

Reader Review: Beanie Sigel - The B. Coming (February 22, 2005)

(One of the artists that I've had a problem focusing on is Beanie Sigel, late of Roc-A-Fella Records and currently known as a Jay-Z shit-talker (even though he was the only other rapper to appear on American Gangster, but I digress). While I try to find my motivation (I think I may have left it in the trunk), A.R. Marks picks up the slack and reviews Beanie's third album, The B. Coming. Enjoy!)


Few rappers are as unchallenged in their claims to hostile street-oriented activity, as it were, as Beanie Sigel. In fact, there are only a few widely-known rappers who have experienced as much jail-related career trouble as Sigel; Shyne, John Forté (as Max has often lamented in his Fugees reviews), DMX, and Black Rob. Also, C-Murder. And Mystikal. Okay, maybe there are more than a few. But the fact remains that Beans is one of the best rappers who've ever traded pen strokes and lyrical bars for pinstripes and bars of iron (zing!). On intermittent intervals - that would be between stints eating slightly better food than the military gets and carving shanks out of plastic utensils and what have you - Beans took the time to show the world his lyrical skills during the heyday of the Roc-A-Fella Records dynasty, shining on tracks next to Jay-Z (most frequently) and a whole shit-ton of other hip-hop stars in the process.


Unfortunately, Beanie Sigel's potential to be truly remembered in hip-hop has always suffered, due to his tendency to release subpar albums. Sure, they have their bright spots, but Sigel need only look to the quality of most of his releases to find an answer to his recent questions about why Jay-Z's own albums always overshadowed those of everyone else on the label.


Ironically, the best album (by far) that Beanie Sigel has released in his entire career (oh, did I give the review away?) was released not on Roc-A-Fella, but on the very, very short-lived Dame Dash Music Group (and distributed by Def Jam). Actually, The B. Coming was the only full LP released on the label. (The late Ol' Dirty Bastard's Ason Unique was supposed to be released on this label as well, but we all know how well that worked out for Russell's estate.) This was in 2005, when Beans was entering (at that point) the longest jail stint of his rap career: a year and a day, plus what would turn out to be a couple of additional months for hogging too many books from the book cart. Still, at a time when the Roc was on the verge of breaking up, Sigel's The B. Coming captures a snapshot of each working part of Roc-A-Fella Records.


The result?


1. FEEL IT IN THE AIR (FEAT MELISSA JIMĖNEZ)
The first single from the album, with a jazzy, downbeat instrumental by Heavy D (yes, that Heavy D) became a major selling point for the record, and in a savvy move, it was the first song on the album. The singer on the hook brings a perfect compliment to the wailing saxophone refrain; with Beans spitting semi-crazed, desperate but insightful lyrics, the whole track has a dark, gritty 1980's vibe, and I mean that in a good way.


2. I CAN'T GO ON THIS WAY (FEAT FREEWAY & YOUNG CHRIS)
A slightly bouncier, but no less soulful, Aqua instrumental (he also produced Hov's “My 1st Song,” and musically, there is a resemblance) finds Beans alongside two of his (at the time) State Property cohorts. Sigel and Freeway make you believe their stresses, but Chris comes off like a constipated version of the host (or a bland version of Sticky Fingaz from Onyx): this is before he became a mini-Jay-Z, of course.


3. ONE SHOT DEAL (FEAT REDMAN)
The jazzy bent of the album continues, this time courtesy Bink! of The Blueprint fame (why didn't that guy end up producing for Slaughterhouse or Royce da 5'9”?). Beans spits a double-time flow, tearing up the hypnotic jazz loop, drums that almost sound scratched in, and a punctuating bass that reaches to the back of your skull. Redman is no slouch behind the mic, but Beans eradicates his guest.


4. GOTTA HAVE IT (FEAT PEEDI CRAKK & TWISTA)
Over fierce breakbeat drums and a characteristic slow-drone melody, Peedi and Sigel ride the rhythm flawlessly. The subject is your basic gun talk, but the wordplay exhibited is more than entertaining . It's almost enough to rival the speed-rap capabilities of the other invited guest, Twista, who pops in at the end of the song to bat some jaw-dropping cleanup.


5. DON'T STOP (FEAT SNOOP DOGG)
It's too bad Snoop only did the chorus on this Neptunes-produced cut, because it sounds like exactly the kind of smooth track he could have tightened up: a jazzy, coasting affair with some laid-back xylophones and rolling synthesizers. Then again, given the hook, he might have decided to sing over it instead, so maybe this is a good thing. Either way, Beans makes the song his own – perfectly - with a smooth flow that never turns too sweet, pulling a B.I.G. in terms of both delivery and wordplay, with Snoop Dogg's chorus and bridge as the perfect counterpoint.


6. PURPLE RAIN (FEAT BUN B)
So you might be starting to think the high number of guest appearances on The B. Coming is getting tiresome. Well, fuck you, because the quality of the guest appearances stays pretty fucking consistent throughout. This trippy, DJ Scratch-produced ode to codeine and liquor sounds like it was tailor-made to feature Bun B, and the rapper actually kind of outshines his host with a vivid story of his first time sampling the “drank” before engaging in a point-for-point lyrical exchange between himself and Beans. Additionally, the hook, which is done by an uncredited singer, is smooth as shit and it, along with the Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley references in Sigel's second verse, ensures this will serve equally well as a weed song: just replace “sippin” with “puffin'” and “rain” with “haze” and you're good.


7. OH DADDY (FEAT YOUNG CHRIS)
Okay, now you're officially allowed to start feeling weary of guest spots. Young Chris was completely unnecessary on this song, let's be honest. He takes the otherwise palatable slow-funk beat and bogs it down into something that lacks momentum. Sure, Beans keeps his contributions interesting, what with the shameless belittling of his main squeeze, the crunching synth and bass, and the catchy chorus, but skip to the next track right after his two verses. Seriously.


8. CHANGE (FEAT RELL & MELISSA JAY)
This soul-based Ty Fyffe track was always a little too slow for my taste; too high-pitched for real head-bobbing, too squeaky clean to be considered a truly soulful Ghostface or Scarface track, and too overloaded with Rell and someone named Melissa Jay's overzealous vocal theatrics to be taken too seriously.


9. BREAD & BUTTER (FEAT GRAND PUBA & SADAT X)
Right back on track with the album's only Just Blaze cut, but what a cut it is. After a mood-setting intro that you're not sure what Just used to sample, or how much of it he really produced himself (in a good way), the track dives into a dark funk concoction of vocal and musical effects around a repeating violin sample that sounds like it was chopped into a million pieces and reassembled; you don't have to listen too hard to hear that the producer actually molded two distinct beats, a short bridge and a longer interlude, into one single sonic creation. Beans produces a mood-perfect story of jilted love at the hands of a longtime girlfriend, and wisely resurrects the best two-thirds of Brand Nubian to bring a closure to the track.


10. LORD HAVE MERCY
This is one of the few tracks without guests (a singer clearly appears, but is not credited). The darkly compelling soul soundscape moves Beans to playing the “Regrets” card, spilling heartfelt troubles. A rolling piano set over a slower, darker chord, with subtle undertones of other instruments laid in at times, perfectly suits the lyrical content.


11. FLATLINE (FEAT PEEDI CRAKK)
Crakk's second guest appearance on the album follows a similar formula to his first, only much, much more gully. The marching piano chord sounds like steel, and the overall effect of the relentless lyrics, violin backing and military drumline is that of imminent violence.


12. TALES OF A HUSTLER, PT. 2 (FEAT OSCHINO & OMILLIO SPARKS)
Coming on the heels of some forgettable song off of one of his past albums, this jazzy hardcore 1980's- style update is like the evil (goateed) twin of “Feel it in the Air”. The free-flowing saxophone sounds like a grittier version of what Kanye West did on Common's “Real People” (from BE) that same year, but the two songs share no other similarities. Sigel is pretty impressive lyrically, which is typical of The B. Coming; O & Sparks don't even sound too out of place, if you disregard the fact that they sound completely interchangeable.


13. LOOK AT ME NOW (FEAT RELL)
One of my favorite joints on the album. This isn't an 2005-era Kanye West soul creation, but it may as well have been. Buckwild, who one could argue is one of the godfathers to the sound presented by 'Ye, Dilla, Black Milk, and 9th Wonder, lays out an exceedingly smooth instrumental, layering Rell's extended vocal arpeggios over a bouncy bass, subtle orchestral elements and a drum loop straight from the 1990s, while Beanie Sigel spins past experiences and tales into a vivid story of redemption, keeping his scheme and flow flawless the entire way through. Shiiiieeet.


The following songs are considered to be bonus tracks on The B. Coming.


14. IT'S ON (FEAT JAY-Z)
Technically a bonus, so “Look At Me Now” is supposed to be the last song, which is a formidable closer indeed. Still, even the extras are just as good as anything else on The B. Coming; once again, Kanye West's influence pops up where he doesn't, as former West mentor and O.G. Bad Boy Hitman D-Dot (also known as The Madd Rapper) pops up to pull a fantastic DJ Premier impression out of his cap. This is something that The Notorious B.I.G. would almost certainly have been spitting over if he'd lived long enough, and with Sigel and Jay-Z going in side by side with flawless flows, you could almost hear Biggie's voice over this shit.


15. WANTED (ON THE RUN) (FEAT CAM'RON)
Now normally I'm no fan of Cam'ron, but over this Neckbones-supplied redux of that famous Bon Jovi song (guess which one!), the former DipSet / Roc-A-Fella camp leader (back then anyway) sounds awesome. After Beans spits two tense verses, interspersed with a chipmunk-soul Bon Jovi sample as a hook, Cameron Giles comes in and catches complete wreck with a quick 16 bars á la Inspectah Deck on the Wu-Tang Clan's “Hollow Bones.” Feel free to get your rocks, ready, 1980's fans: this is my favorite version of this song in any musical genre.


FINAL THOUGHTS: The B.Coming is a masterpiece comprised of any and all of Sigel's connections to his camp, plus a few more, lacking only a few of the artists who were signed or in the process of being signed to the Roc at the height of Jay's multi-million-dollar superstar midlife crisis. I admit that when the album came out, I was miffed by the sheer volume of guest appearances, but I was - and am still - struck by the cohesion and depth present, considering that it was recorded prior to Sigel beginning a jail stint (which may help explain the number of guests) and released during said prison term, to boot. In retrospect, though, I can say I'm glad Beanie Sigel included as many Roc rappers as he did,. Sure, I would have liked to hear M.O.P. over “Tales of a Hustler pt. 2” instead of O & Sparks, or Joe Budden rip up “Can't Go On This Way” next to Beans and Free instead of Young Chris, or even just Kanye instead of Young Chris on “Oh Daddy” (not to mention Kanye producing instead of Ty Fyffe, but you get my point). But I'm still glad to hear Cam'ron and Beans on a great, authentic Roc-A-Fella-era soul song, Peedi Crakk and Twista trading speed-freak flows, and Sigel shining over truly soulful/jazzy production, and you should be too.


BUY OR BURN?: If you're even still reading, you don't need me to tell you.


BEST TRACKS: "Purple Rain," "Bread & Butter," "Flatline," "Look At Me Now," "It's On," "Wanted (On the Run)"


-A.R. Marks


(Huh. Maybe I should actually listen to this one. Be sure to leave some comments below, and if you think you could provide better commentary for an album of your choice, let me know by shooting me a message at the e-mail in the top right, or you could even hit me on Twitter.)