For Promotional Use Only: De La Soul - The Impossible: Mission TV Series: Pt. 1 (October 20, 2006)

In 2006, De La Soul found themselves in a situation they were unfamiliar with: for the first time in their long and storied career, they were without a label home. Their deal with Tommy Boy Records effectively ended when the label folded in the early part of the millennium, and the group’s second partnership, with Sanctuary/BMI, ended after the release of a single album, The Grind Date. So Posdnuos, Dave, and Maseo decided that keeping the trio’s legacy alive was priority one, touring all over the globe while recording new music whenever the muse struck.

One of the ways they kept the De La Soul name active within the culture was by embracing an artform that isn’t exclusive to the genre, but was certainly defined by it: the mixtape.

The 12 Hours of Wu-Tang: #5 - Not Available In Stores! Deadly Venoms - Pretty Thugs (2000)

Fun fact: this write-up for the second attempt at a debut album by the Wu-affiliated group Deadly Venoms, Pretty Thugs, was written five years ago, which will become very apparent at one specific point of the review that I chose to leave in just because it amused me to do so. Click here to find out more!

For Promotional Use Only: LL Cool J - The Return of the G.O.A.T. (2008)

In 2008, James Todd Smith was bracing for what was about to be his final original album for his longtime label home, Def Jam Records. His pseudonym, LL Cool J, was synonymous with the seminal hip hop temple started by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons pretty much from its inception, but those two had long left the brand to do business elsewhere, and the music industry had evolved to such a degree that LL felt like the old man at the club. So, much like everyone who refuses to admit that they’ve advanced in age, James wanted to do something that would appeal to the kids, to the younger generation who could potentially tell his story for years to come. This is why, even though LL Cool J was known more as a Hollywood star than a rapper at the time, he connected with DJ Kay Slay to release his first (and, to date, only) mixtape, The Return Of The G.O.A.T.

For Promotional Use Only: Fat Joe - The Crack Era (June 16, 2008)

My ridiculous series on the albums of Joseph “Fat Joe” Cartagena continues today with a side quest of sorts. Longtime readers will remember that, for absolutely no reason and in a manner that is increasingly frustrating for me, I chose to attack Joey Crack’s discography in reverse chronological order, which, by the very nature of his work, means that I’ll have to sit through the man’s more mainstream efforts before finally reaching his underground street shit. But while Large Joseph found himself more familiar with radio playlists and the requirements he needed to meet to appease his label overlords, he still kept an eye, if not an ear, to the streets, resulting in an official mixtape, The Crack Era, released at some point in time between his seventh and eighth solo albums (Me, Myself & I and The Elephant In The Room, respectively).

For Promotional Use Only; The Alchemist - No Days Off (September 26, 2006)

Daniel Alan Maman, known as The Alchemist by his accountant and two of his five bounce house suppliers, has been producing mostly hip hop records for seemingly eight hundred and ninety-three years now. There’s certainly never been a day this very blog has been alive where The Alchemist wasn’t already heavily involved in our chosen genre, and he doesn’t seem to show any sign of stopping anytime soon, even though he’s certainly spent a lot more time on Twitter lately. The West Coast-based producer-slash-occasional rapper who embedded himself with both the Soul Assassins collective and Mobb Deep has worked his ass off to provide his employers the grimy, authentic street shit he’s best known for, and even though I tend to find him falling on the “fine, just... fine” side of things more often than not, his work ethic cannot be denied, and when everything clicks, he’s easily one of the best beatmakers hip hop has ever gifted us.

For Promotional Use Only: The Lady Of Rage - VA 2 LA (June 19, 2005)

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Three Unrelated EPs That Nevertheless Help Me Advance Through My Ongoing Project

Today's post shines some light on three separate and unrelated EP projects.  I suppose I could have bought myself some time and ran each write-up individually, but where's the fun in that?  Besides, these EPs help me work through my "finish what I started" project.  Sort of.  Well, one of them does; another shouldn't really count in the artist's catalog, and the third isn't even really available for purchase unless you happen to be owed money by the rapper in question.  So it goes.  Click through to discover today's lucky subjects.

For Promotional Use Only: Das Racist - Sit Down, Man (September 14, 2010)

Some of these write-ups come to be pretty quickly: the words flow out of my fingertips and onto your screen with very little delay in between (aside from rewriting, editing, and rewriting again, obviously).  That doesn't necessarily mean that it's easier to write about something enjoyable or that it's faster for me to trash something, though: it's about inspiration (whether drawn from the music I'm writing about or from outside influences) and lack of interruption (you get it).  So it is without bias one way or the other when I mention that it took me fucking forever to write about Das Racist's Sit Down, Man.

My Gut Reaction / For Promotional Use Only: Fat Joe - The Darkside III (August 26, 2013)

One of the problems with trying to be clever and writing about an active artist's back catalog in reverse chronological order, thereby tracking their progress (or regression) throughout their career, comes when the artist in question continues releasing new material. I sort-of have that problem with LL Cool J, and I most certainly am seeing that with Joe “Fat Joe” Cartagena, whose discography I've barely touched since I threw him onto my list, mostly because the man won't stop working. I suppose it isn't really a “problem” to Large Joseph: at least he derives some sort of financial reciprocation for all of the work he puts in? One can only hope.

For Promotional Use Only: Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire - Merry eX-Mas & Suck My Dick (December 25, 2011)

Brooklyn-based emcee Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire sounds like if Killa Sin or some other high-grade Wu-Tang Clan b-teamer were signed to Rawkus Records, favored experimental beats mixed with boom bap, and were more loquacious about both the good and bad aspects of his life, and also in this example he drinks more. This was made clearly evident on his 2011 debut, Lost In Translation, which was packed to the gills with vague threats, hilarious boasts, pop culture allusions, and exposition.

The Rest Of My Clipse Reviews In One Fell Swoop

Today's post is a companion piece to the last one, dedicated to clearing out my coffers of pretty much all of the Clipse-related albums and mixtapes in my crates or on my hard drive. Three separate projects are the focus for today: while this means that you two get an extra-long write-up to help you get through your work day, consider this my way of crossing Pusha T and Malice off of my “finish what I started” list. That's right, I'm serious about trying to complete the task at hand.

My Gut Reaction / For Promotional Use Only: Pusha T - Wrath Of Caine (January 28, 2013)

Arguably the first project of 2013 that bloggers are actually getting excited about, Pusha T's free mixtape, Wrath Of Caine, is an album that wasn't supposed to ever exist.  When he discovered that his full-length debut for G.O.O.D. Music, My Name Is My Name, was being pushed into "eventually in 2013 someone will get to it" territory, the still-rapping-about-cocaine half of the Clipse decided to give his growing fanbase an appetizer made up of original songs.  Which would classify Wrath Of Caine as the audio equivalent of fried mozzarella sticks, or perhaps maybe miso soup.

My Gut Reaction / For Promotional Use Only: Das Racist - Shut Up, Dude (2010)

So, um...yeah.  What, you weren't expecting to read about the Brooklyn trio (well, duo plus a hypeman) Das Racist on the blog this week?  Some of you had to have seen this coming after they popped up on that Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire write-up a few months ago.  Well, HHID isn't all of a sudden catering to hipsters (not more so than usual, anyway); I decided to tackle their debut mixtape, Shut Up, Dude, for two specific reasons.

For Promotional Use Only: DJ Drama + Slaughterhouse - On The House (August 19, 2012)

Before I get to the Shady Records debut of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse, I figured that I should tackle this mixtape that the quartet released as a quasi-prelude, mainly because I've been told that HHID doesn't focus on enough mixtapes, but also because I appreciate any opportunity to listen to new material from Royce da 5'9", Crooked I, Joell Ortiz, and, um, Joe Budden (well, when he's part of a group effort, anyway).  If you're hell-bent on finding out what I think of said major label debut, you should check back in a couple of days, since I decided to turn it into an excuse to run more than one post this very week.

My Gut Reaction/For Promotional Use Only: Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire - Lost In Translation (September 11, 2011)

Brooklyn's own Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, whose career has been skyrocketing (as much as an underground artist can "skyrocket", anyway) ever since he exploded onto Blogland with little more than a predilection for bitches and brews, is a guy who I've been wanting to write about for a little bit now.  And considering that my last two posts have been for two of the most commercial rappers in the industry (and their respective groups), I figured today was as good a time as any to get this out there.  Besides, I want to be able to say that I published this post before his major label debut hit iTunes, so there's a little bit more of my motivation for you.

My Gut Reaction / For Promotional Use Only: Fat Joe - The Darkside Vol. 2 (October 31, 2011)

Leave it up to Joseph Cartagena, the given name of rap artist Fat Joe, to fuck up my series on him right from the jump.  In case you two haven't been paying attention, I was planning on tackling Joey Crack's back catalog LL Cool J-style, meaning that I was going to work my way backwards through all of his albums as an experiment of sorts.  So of course the guy fucking drops a new project right after the first article posts.  (Okay, not right after: it was almost a year ago when I started this experiment.)  It is just a mixtape, which means I would normally ignore it, but because Large Joseph saw fit to call it The Darkside Vol. 2, marking it as a direct sequel to the subject of my first Fat Joe article, The Darkside Vol. 1, I have no choice but to deviate from my original plan in order to fulfill my self-imposed mission.  

Not that any of you two care about this shit anyway: I'm pretty sure most of you turned out the moment you noticed that Fat Joe was the subject of today's update.  

Anyway, back to The Darkside Vol. 2.  The first volume in this series was heralded (mostly by Fat Joe) as a return to the dark, violent street rap that our host first cut his teeth on way back in the 1990s, when he was a respected artist with an affiliation with the Diggin' In The Crates crew and an ear for talent (see: his signing and nurturing of the late Big Punisher).  It ultimately didn't pan out that way for the most part, but according to my own review, the first entry in this series wasn't so awful that it stopped the whole enterprise in its tracks or anything.  Large Joseph had intended to follow up that project with The Darkside Vol. 2 almost immediately, but apparently had a change of heart, since the second and third volumes of this series were intended to trigger Fat Joe's retirement.  So he changed his mind, as all rappers who are prone to promising new projects tend to do almost immediately, but Joey Crack knows which side his bread is buttered (whatever the fuck that means), so instead of forcing the few fans he still currently has to wait, he decided to make The Darkside Vol. 2 a free mixtape, available for download starting on Halloween 2011.

The Darkside Vol. 2 consists of only ten tracks, eight of which are produced by someone named Mark Henry, and features a handful of guest stars (one of whom doesn't even contribute a fucking verse - more on that later), but Fat Joe tackles the bulk of it on his own, in an attempt to recapture his youth and render himself relevant in the rap game once again.  Which will never happen for him, at least as a rapper: maybe if he moved into music production, he might be able to extend his shelf life by a few years.  (His Terror Squad Records, a label that is pretty much defunct today, once signed producer DJ Premier, generally considered to be one of the greatest to ever do it, so it's not as though Joey would be hurting for possible mentors.)

But it's cute that he's trying so hard.

1.  WELCOME TO THE DARKSIDE (FEAT. FRENCH MONTANA)

A note to all artists, whether veteran or rookie: it's usually not a good idea to start your album off with the voice of an entirely different artists.  It's even worse when the guy who kicks off the project, in this case French Montana, has nothing to do with your camp.  Joey's questionable artistic direction aside, I was thrilled to discover that "Welcome To The Darkside" is not, in fact, a mixtape rap album intro as the title would suggest, nay, demand.  That doesn't make this track automatically good, or even all that enjoyable, though: over an inane instrumental from RoJ & TwinkiE (yeah, me neither) that heavily mirrors how shitty hip hop sounds these days, Large Joseph spits two below-average verses that make one wonder just how he and Big Punisher became friends in the first place, and Frenchy's hook is so obnoxious and unbearable that you'll want to choke out his mother just because.  I don't have a good feeling about this mixtape.

2.  DOPEMAN (FEAT. JADAKISS & DRE)

It's tempting to say that the reason The Darkside Vol. 2 was released as a free mixtape and not as an actual album is because of the sample from The Beatles' "Yesterday", which opens this track: no matter how much cocaine Joey pretended to move, he would never be able to afford to clear that shit.  At least Large Joseph isn't a dummy, for the most part: the hook, performed by Dre (of production duo Cool & Dre,who may be the two only remaining members of the Terror Squad, as is my understanding), is also filled with references to the Fab Four, using the names of each band member as a different variety of drug in such a horrible fashion that you will want to shake your head, throw The Darkside Vol. 2 into a lake (or, you know, delete it from your hard drive: no need to get all dramatic on me here), and listen to pretty much any Beatles music you can find, just to erase your memory of this terribly weak shit.  Also, Jadakiss was on here, too.

3.  SO FLY (FEAT. ARLAND)

Hey, Joey, let me ask you a question.  You were aware that The Darkside Vol. 2 was a mixtape, right?  I assume so: you've been in the business for a long time, so I have to believe that you know what goes into deciding what makes the final cut of any project.  So why the hell did you include a song with a wimpy R&B chorus (courtesy of guest star Arland) on the second volume of a series intended to celebrate your return to your hardcore hip hop roots?  Just exactly what audience were you trying to attract?  And the fact that you did this on a song that features an interesting (if a bit cheesy) Mark Henry beat and some actual decent verses from yourself blows my mind.  If you're trying to play a practical joke on the listener, now is not the time.  Get your shit together.  Love. Max.

4.  BIG BUSINESS

On the first track from The Darkside Vol. 2 to not feature a guest of any sort, Large Joseph proves that he occasionally watches the news by referencing both the Occupy Wall Street movement and Herman Cain's "9-9-9" tax plan...all within two bars.  And now that you're caught up with current events, feel free to enjoy Joey's Rick Ross-esque flow, and I mean that not in a "Fat Joe likes to rap about cocaine"-kind of way: I literally mean that Fat Joe, a guy who was one of the early members of the Diggin' In The Crates crew, actually sounds like he's consciously mimicking Officer Ricky's style.  "Big Business", taken from the Lily Tomlin / Bette Midler film of the same name, isn't entirely awful: Mark Henry's beat was passable, and the decision to skip the hook in favor of a dialogue sample was kind of inspired.  But Joey Crack himself is pissing me the fuck off.

5.  ANGELS SAY

Poor Large Joseph.  Every time he wants to sit down and reminisce about bitches (only those of the "bad" variety, of course), he's rudely interrupted by the sounds of gunfire or by one of his weed carriers delivering terrible news.  But our host doesn't want or need your pity.  No sir, all Joey Crack wants is to fucking talk about bad bitches while alleged "angels" half-ass what is supposed to constitute a "chorus".  This track wasn't entirely awful, though.  Fat Joe completely loses the point of the song approximately three words into the first verse, but I'd be lying if I said that I outright hated this.  It isn't all that good or anything, but for Joey, it'll do, pig.  It'll do.

6.  PUSHING KEYS (FEAT. RAEKWON)

Our host earns twenty points for convincing Raekwon the Chef, a man who has been on a bit of a comeback streak as of late, to appear on The Darkside Vol. 2, but then loses everything, including his shirt, his car keys, his fortune, his family, and the respect of his coworkers by only getting the guy to phone in some bullshit ad-libs that close out "Pushing Keys" in a wholly nonsensical way.  Joe's verses, broken up by an overly wordy hook that I didn't realize even was the hook until I heard him reference Alicia Keys for the second time, are semi-tolerable (over a terrible Mark Henry beat) because the listener is waiting on pins and needles for Raekwon to completely overshadow his host, but that moment never comes to pass, and now I just feel fucking cheated.  Nice work, dick.

7.  DROP A BODY

This was, apparently, the first song leaked from the project, identifiable as such because our host advertises that The Darkside Vol. 2 is "coming soon" at the end of it.  Over a beat that essentially rips off what Just Blaze was going for on Jay-Z's "U Don't Know", Large Joseph adopts a Hova-esque conversational flow that clearly illuminated his modern-day shortcomings: specifically, the fact that he no longer has a style to call his own, as he brazenly steals from any and all influences in his path, morphing himself into the image of said influences as if he were more malleable than gold.  It's kind of weird that he would look to Jay-Z's 2001 album The Blueprint for the inspiration for a coke rap song in 2011 with an asinine chorus that conjures up absurd images of dropping cadavers onto your enemies as a shock tactic, but I'm not questioning Joey's artistic mind.  Just his methods.  And his usefulness moving forward in our chosen genre. 

8.  MY LORD

Large Joseph uses Mark Henry's trifling loop of a beat to completely avoid talking about religion, unless he's trying to imply that all he worships are kilos of pure uncut cocaine, in which case the guy's priorities are more fucked than I had ever believed possible.  This song may last for less than two minutes on paper, but it feels like it goes on for at least ten times that amount, as you'll spend the one-verse wonder trying to figure out just how much Fat Joe must hate his fans.

9.  FUCK THEM OTHER N----S

Mark Henry's instrumental sounded better suited for an introductory missive and not so much a lethargic threat appearing near the end of the project.  Our host's two verses weren't awful, but he sounded awfully generic, especially when compared to all of the jerks I heard on Sirius XM's Hip Hop Nation during my drive home from work.  All I have to say is this: when the chorus, liberally borrowed from C-Murder's chorus from Snoop Dogg's "Down 4 My N----z", makes you want to actually listen to more music from a No Limit Soldier, you know that Fat Joe has fucking failed.

10.  AROUND THE WORLD (FEAT. ARLAND)

This was not the Daft Punk cover I was promised. 

SHOULD YOU TRACK IT DOWN?  Um, no.  The Darkside Vol. 2 is an ultimate waste of ten audio tracks that will collect virtual dust on your hard drive, and you can put that space to better use downloading porn.  Fat Joe appears to have almost completely lost whatever spark he had when he first conjured up this particular series of projects, and he feels that aping whatever the radio sounds like today is the best route he has toward longevity.  And he's wrong: I don't think anybody out there was asking for a second guy to sound like Rick Ross, and with everyone and their respective mothers rhyming about selling cocaine, that sub-genre has also grown stale.  The Darkside Vol. 2 is also not really all that dark: there are a couple of bleak spots, sure, but two of the songs feature R&B singer Arland, and it's kind of hard to reflect on your life choices when Joey is trying to get you to dance and/or convince a female audience to care.  The first volume in this series had at least one song that kept it from being submitted to the scarp heap: The Darkside Vol. 2 has no such luck.  Avoid this one at all costs, unless you enjoy punishing yourself.  In which case, please refer to that pornography I referred to earlier that you should have downloaded instead.

-Max

RELATED POSTS:

If you care to continue, this link will help you along your Fat Joe quest.

Reader Review / For Promotional Use Only: A$AP Rocky - LiveLoveA$AP (October 31, 2011)

(Today's Reader Review comes from Standos, who tackles a project that I'm sure at least three of you were intrigued by: newbie A$AP Rocky's debut mixtape, LongLiveA$AP. I'm not really sold on that rap name, but that's why I'm not a consultant. Leave your thoughts for Standos below.)

For Promotional Use Only: Re-Up Gang - We Got It For Cheap Volume 3 (2008)

After the 2002 release of their debut album Lord Willin', the Virginia duo known as the Clipse, made up of the coke-rap fraternal demons Pusha T and Malice, found themselves at war with their record label.  After a business merger, the brothers Thornton found themselves absorbed into the Jive Records family, and, to absolutely nobody's surprise, the home of Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears didn't have much of a clue how to market them.  As such, their follow-up project, Hell Hath No Fury, wasn't considered the highest priority (and not just because the Clipse had failed to turn over a single that could be potentially marketable).  

This wasn't a position new to the duo: their actual debut album, Exclusive Audio Footage, still hasn't ever been officially released due to label politics.  But Pusha T and Malice handled their situation differently in 2002 than they had in 1997, thanks to the new resources available to them: namely, the Interweb.  They vented their frustrations with their mixtape series We Got It 4 Cheap, teaming up with their friends Sandman and Ab-Liva to form the Re-Up Gang, a group who commandeered other rappers' instrumentals to further their agenda, which mainly consisted of keeping their fans satiated while trying to embarass Jive Records into releasing Hell Hath No Fury.  The first volume of this project was released in 2004: the second followed one year later.  

Surprisingly, this tactic sort of worked, as Hell Hath No Fury hit store shelves in 2006 to high critical acclaim and terribly low sales figures.  Although most of the people who actually bought the album were happy with the final product, there was a question as to whether or not the long-ass wait tarnished the overall effect.  Regardless of the album's ultimate impact on our chosen genre, there was little doubt that the Clipse were at the height of their game, and they had achieved the impossible: they beat the record label.

Probably not so shockingly, Jive Records later dumped the Clipse, and they ultimately washed up ashore at Columbia Records.  At their new home, they were actually treated as the artists they were, and they encountered little adversity while recording their third project, Til The Casket Drops.  And as a way to thank their longtime fans for sticking by them, the Re-Up Gang reunited in 2008 for a third volume in the mixtape series, entitled We Got It For Cheap Volume 3 (and subtitled The Spirit Of Competition).  This was a lead-in to an actual album from the quartet, which was released later that same year.

However, things had changed for the Re-Up Gang.  The fortunes of Pusha T and Malice had changed for the better, and the confidence boost that was defeating their record label at their own game had led to a dangerous form of complacency.  Neither Sandman nor Ab-Liva had upped their lyrical game in the two years between Hell Hath No Fury and the new mixtape.  And Malice was growing visibly sickened by the state of hip hop at the time.  None of these ingredients make for an interesting mixtape soup.  The addition of DJ Drama, taking over for Clinton Sparks, as the ringmaster didn't really ease the pain of the average fan, either.  

(Note: I'm reviewing the No-DJ version of We Got It For Cheap Volume 3, as I can't fucking stand deejay drops when I can avoid them.  However, there appear to be two separate versions of this mixtape available online: I opted for the longer, twenty-track version, although there is really no reason for any of you two to sit through that one.  Yeah, I know I just gave that away right now.  Try to stick with me anyway.)

1. HERE'S WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT YOU INTERLUDE

What?! An introductory track...on a mixtape?! Who ever heard of such a thing?

2. RE-UP GANG INTRO

After an intro that recalls memories of the beef between Ice Cube and N.W.A., one would think that these guys would take over a classic West Coast instrumental for their official reintroduction. And one would be wrong: instead, the Clipse and company commandeer the fairly rote beat from B.G.'s “I Hustle”. (The West Coast beat-jacking occurs later, when the listener will have long since stopped giving a fuck.) Four verses float by without sticking to your ribs, the worst coming from Sandman, whose contribution is so close to self-parody that you hope he did it that way on purpose but I highly doubt it. Ab-Liva, Pusha T, and Malice all come across as decent, as they tend to do, but there wasn't anything about this track worth recommending to even the most diehard Clipse fan.

3. SHOW YOU HOW TO HUSTLE

The entire Re-Up Gang fares much better over this track, which swipes both the organ-driven instrumental and the title from a solo track by frequent collaborator Pharrell Williams, and the quartet make the case that Skateboard P wasn't the best fit for his own song. Sandman redeems himself with a much more interesting performance, Ab-Liva does admirably, and the brothers Thornton walk away with a track that should have appeared on a less dark version of Hell Hath No Fury. This was a step in the right direction.

4. ROC BOYS

It makes perfect sense why the Re-Up best friends gang would borrow the beat from a Jay-Z song which celebrates a high volume of drug sales (transactions that were done by whatever fucking character Shawn pretended to play on American Gangster, anyway). What doesn't add up is how unappealing all four artists sound on here: it's almost as though they believed the Sean C. and LV beat would do all of the work for them. Pusha and Malice both come across as bored out of their respective minds (a trait that, unfortunately, followed them to their third album Til The Casket Drops), while Live and Sandy have trouble merely trying to keep up. So yeah, “Roc Boys” is the first outright failure on We Got It For Cheap Volume 3. It's sad, really.

5. 20K INTRO

Interlude...

6. 20K MONEY MAKING BROTHERS ON THE CORNER

During the final verse, Malice claims that he isn't “a part of your coke rap genre”, which sounds absurd until you realize that he and his brother have essentially reinvented the very idea of coke rap. Still, even though this is one of the more highly-acclaimed entries on We Got It For Cheap Volume 3, I never cared for this track: all four rappers sound alright enough, but Dame Grease's instrumental, an original composition created specifically for the Re-Up Babies's dreams to come true, does nothing for me, except spark an urge to hit the 'skip' button. This shit is overrated by every and any definition of the word. Yeah, that's right, I just wrote that.

7. DEY KNOW YAYO

Obviously the Re-Up Gang had given up on mixtape freestyles long ago, choosing instead to write new verses around beats that just so happen to already exist, but it's too easy to see these guys tripping all over themselves over their take on Shawty Lo's “Dey Know”, an already ridiculous-yet-somewhat-catchy track that takes to its natural evolution as a coke rap anthem about as well as a fish dropped into a pond filled with Jell-O mixed with vodka. The four guys sound like three too many, which is strange, since Shawty Lo used his original song's remix to get a bunch of his friends together to talk shit. But that sentence doesn't need to make sense as much as the song needs to actually entertain you. Which it does not.

8. 500 BIRDS INTERLUDE

…

9. SCENARIO 2008

That title makes me wish that the Re-Up Get-Along Gang has the stones to rap over the classic A Tribe Called Quest posse cut and not some unnecessary Eve track where producer Swizz Beatz couldn't even be bothered to come up with an original beat, instead reusing his own work from Jay-Z's “Jigga My N---a”. Everyone sounds okay, I suppose, but I was most amused during Malice's final verse, where he deliberately mispronounces the name “Jeremy” in order to make it rhyme with “Journey” (and also displays a common misconception regarding what actually happens at the end of the video for Pearl Jam's “Jeremy”). Still, that word I just used to describe Eve's original track? Also applies here.

10. GOOD MORNING

Foreshadows Pusha T's eventual position in Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music empire by stealing both West's beat and his chorus from Graduation's “Good Morning (Intro)”. Almost as if on cue, Pusha rides the instrumental beautifully, burying his non-familial cohorts in every possible fashion, but Malice steps in toward the end with a verse that is not only depressing as shit, it also helps explain (to a small degree) just why he was so unhappy with our chosen genre that he chose to take a leave of absence in 2010 instead of recording a fourth Clipse album right away. Interesting.

11. RAINY DAYZ

Excellent choice in instrumental: on here, the Re-Up Gang borrow Raekwon's RZA-produced “Rainy Dayz”, the best song from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (an album filled with some absolute classics) and one of the most cinematic experiences Prince Rakeem has ever been involved with. Obviously, Rae and Ghostface Killah own this shit, and nothing Pusha-Ton, Malice, and their boys do will ever compare, but damn it if they didn't actually try, especially Pusha's brother, who's weirdly mastered contribution (recorded at a higher volume than everyone else, for some reason) opens up some wounds in the ongoing “Why doesn't Pharrell really help the Clipse anymore?” argument, all while exploring maturity and shouldering some of the blame himself. Huh.

12. EMOTIONLESS

I like the title of this song, because it's so goddamn easy for me to say that these guys all sound emotionless over the instrumental, swiped from the Jim Jones song of the same name, which lacks soul to such a large degree that it starts sniffing around for the listener's about halfway through the proceedings. However, saying such things would be doing Malice a disservice, as he goes three-for-three with performances that distill his boredom with hip hop and which leave clues as to how his passive nature may have led to his self-imposed hiatus. Pharrell Williams actually catches it fairly bad on here, and Malice isn't even really being, um, malicious. Wow.

13. FUCK YOU

I didn't care for this shit. The Re-Up Gang never truly get their heads above the dominating ocean that Swizz Beatz's “Fuck You” beat (originally given to The Lox) places them in, and as a result, everyone dies. As to why Swizzy was never brought up on murder charges, I'll never know.

14. BRING IT BACK

This was boring as shit.

15. HAND ON MY GLOCK (LA THE DARKMAN & WILLIE DA KID)

The first of two tracks that DJ Drama quietly inserted into We Got It For Cheap Volume 3's program has absolutely fuck-all to do with the Re-Up Gang: they don't even make a cameo on “Hand On My Glock”. Instead, Drama turns to his boys: the part-time Wu-affiliate La the Darkman (who I believe may not even be on speaking terms with Drama currently), and La's little brother, the surprisingly-not-Wu-affiliated Willie Da Kid. The song itself, which swipes its beat from Hot Dollar's “Streetz On Lock”, a song that I listened to for the first time just right now) isn't terrible, but it doesn't fit on this project (for more than just the obvious reason), and La proves to the listener why it's been fourteen years since Heist Of The Century and he has yet to drop a sophomore album. Moving on...

16. CRY NOW

The Re-Up Gang repurpose the best Obie Trice song that will ever be recorded, but while the guys match the high level of energy that Witt and Pep's original beat brings with it, there isn't any member of this barbershop quartet that actually gels with it. The end result finds the listener nodding their head to the instrumental, but none of the performances will resonate with you. This was one of the rare instances where the Clipse and company have selected a beat that overpowers their talent. When you're left wishing that Obie himself would make an appearance, you have a problem.

17. SAND SOLO

Even on his solo song, Sandman still feels the need to announce his presence, which is surely a sign of severely low self-esteem, possibly brought on by the fact that his friends, the brothers Thornton, are both light-years ahead of him behind the microphone. This one-verse wonder certainly could have been a lot worse, but the spirits of Pusha, Malice, and even Ab-Liva are missed.

18. LIVA SOLO

Not really sure why the hell Sandman received much more time for his solo track than the guy who is actually still a member of the Re-Up Gang today, but whatever. Anyway, Live sounds a bit more engaging than his counterpart, but he still doesn't hold a candle to what Pusha and Malice have both proven they can do.

19. REAL N----S

The Re-Up Gang tackle The Notorious B.I.G.'s classic mixtape staple, rhyming over the same West Coast beats that Biggie chose way back in the day. One thing I always liked about Biggie's track is the fact that the overall concept was supposed to be Christopher Wallace rhyming over Dr. Dre beats (as a subtle middle finger to Death Row Records? Not really, but I'm sure some of you still believe otherwise), but someone snuck on the instrumental for Above The Law's “Black Superman”, which had nothing to do with the good Doctor and, as such, sounded fresher than the classic-but-overplayed beats from “Deep Cover”, “Nuthin' But A G Thang”, “Murder Was The Case (Remix)”, and “Gin & Juice”. The same applies here: in fact, these guys sound much more comfortable jacking Above The Law than they do pilfering from Suge Knight's office. And with that, the Re-Up Gang have left the building.

20. CHEERS (DJ DRAMA FEAT. PHARRELL & CLIPSE)

The other track DJ Drama snuck into the proceedings at least includes the Clipse in a performing capacity, if not their weed coke handlers. Unfortunately, it's a previously released song (originally found on Drama's Gangsta Grillz: The Album), which may just make all of the Re-Up Gang's fanbase visibly upset without a proper outlet to explore their feelings, and just like that, the Republicans are back in the White House. See what you did there, Drama? How fucking selfish was that shit. Anyway, this track features an awful lot of Skateboard P and too little Pusha and Malice over a generic Neptunes-aping instrumental from Khao, which begs the question: if you already had Pharrell in the studio, why couldn't you just fork over some more dough and get him to create his own beat? Unsurprisingly, there's a reason why “Cheers” isn't that well-known.

SHOULD YOU TRACK IT DOWN? We Got It For Cheap Volume 3 is for Clipse completists only. The third entry in their popular mixtape series was the first to show some dents in the armor, as Pusha T, Malice, Sandman, and Ab-Liva find themselves unable to rally against a common enemy (the role Jive Records played throughout the first two volumes), and their performances are rendered inconsistent because of it. Malice, especially, sounds tired of the entire enterprise, unafraid to speak out about just how unhappy he is in our chosen genre to the point of sounding like a crybaby, leaving his brother and their weed carriers to pick up the slack, a task they were wholly unprepared for. Their choice in beats for We Got It For Cheap Volume 3 is also a bit suspect, as a good majority of the songs on this project are handicapped from the moment the stolen instrumentals kick in. I'd love to blame DJ Drama for the failure of We Got It For Cheap Volume 3, and the fact that he shoehorned two songs entirely unrelated to the cause onto the project doesn't help his case, but the blame for We Got It For Cheap Volume 3's inconsistency lies with the Re-Up Gang themselves. It's possible to have too much of a good thing, I guess.

-Max

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Reader Review/For Promotional Use Only: Big K.R.I.T. - Return Of 4Eva (March 28, 2011)

(Today's Reader Review finds Will Schmidt giving his thoughts on Big K.R.I.T.'s mixtape-slash-album Return of 4Eva. I know a lot of you two have been waiting to talk about this guy: leave your thoughts for Will below.)

Justin Scott, know across numerous blogs as Big K.R.I.T. (King Remembered in Time), has released a couple of high profile street albums or mixtapes. Never quite sure what the difference is supposed to be. Anyway, I sat down tonight with the intention of poring over his second big release, Return of 4eva, to see if it stacked up against his previous K.R.I.T. Wuz Here. Working out of Mississippi means that he hasn’t exactly seen much of the limelight, but K.R.I.T.'s been working steadily since 2005 and was rewarded with a record deal with Def Jam earlier this year. He’s worked alongside Curren$y, Wiz Khalifa and Smoke DZA, but calm down, he’s not all about the Mary Jane.

For me, Big K.R.I.T. is all about destroying stereotypes. When K.R.I.T. Wuz Here exploded onto the scene, I looked at the artist name, album title and cover art and remarked, “Now this will be a colossal waste of my time.” At a cursory glance, it came off as typical South swag bullshit. I kept seeing it pop up everywhere, though, and I figured I might as well give it a try, and I was blown away. Needless to say, when I got wind of Return of 4Eva, I was counting down the days to the release. I listened to it and loved it, and one day after my classes were over I decided to sit down, listen, and write, and the product of those two hours sits below for you.

I’ve listened to both of the guy's major mixtapes several times and I’m a fan of both, so know that I hold a positive bias on this guy before you read.

1. R4 INTRO

Starts off with boisterous horns and a solid bassline before the live drums kick in as Big K.R.I.T. previews the show, which is very fitting for an intro. It has the ring of a concept album, but let me reassure you that this is nowhere near as contrived of a theme before Max cuts someone with a shattered Wu vinyl. The fanfare returns before the track cuts to an alarm clock and somebody yelling for K.R.I.T. to wake up so he can start producing. Disappointing, but it leads into…

2. RISE AND SHINE

…a very soft, yet purposeful backing featuring flute and guitar mixed with some modern boom bap as K.R.I.T. spits some positivity and life lessons. K.R.I.T.’s accent is more Southern than most, and he really bends (read: mangles) some words, either by default or for the sake of the rhyme.

3. R4 THEME SONG

R4 is short for Return of 4eva, if you haven’t cottoned on to that by now. In addition to being one of the new potentially great rappers in my opinion (and they’re all broken down geographically: J. Cole has the East, Freddie Gibbs and/or XV owns the Midwest, Kendrick Lamar has the West, and Krizzle is steady laying claim to the Dirty Dirty. How convenient. Naturally I expect disagreement, but don’t use the comment section to bitch about that. Send me a tweet [@Will_StL] or something and we’ll talk), K.R.I.T. is one hell of a producer.

4. DREAMIN'

One of the first singles to come forward from the project. This beat was one of the main reasons I was so excited about Return of 4Eva; I sincerely think K.R.I.T. is one of the most talented producers of his generation. BK rhymes about his journey to his current plateau of critical success: “Just know that I was once considered just a dreamer / but I paid my dues and turned so many doubters to believers”. A very relaxing and uplifting song, and one of the album’s best.

5. ROTATION

In keeping with Southern tradition, there are a few songs on here designed to be played loudly whilst one cruises his or her neighborhood. The drums are pretty standard, save for the fill sample every 8 bars or so. The melody sounds like sunshine, and the lyrics are above-average braggadocio. Add that to a pretty good, albeit clichéd, hook, and you have a very nice song.

6. MY SUB

And the second track made for ridin’ comes right after the other. If you’re looking for deep lyrics, you won’t find them during this sequence of the album, as the drums are simplistic and the melody is predictable. This song is alright, but it’s really only enjoyable at parties or while driving to work in your Ford Taurus.

7. SOOKIE NOW (FEAT. DAVID BANNER)

These last three tracks are a little depressing, given what K.R.I.T. has done lyrically in the past, but at least the beat on “Sookie Now” has a little more complexity and drive to it. I’ve never been a big fan of David Banner (I’ve never had the luxury of owning a Chevy with butterfly doors, to be fair). Maybe it’s because I’m from St. Louis, maybe it’s something else, but the traditional Southern pattern of eighth-note hi-hats coupled with bland snares/claps and bass hits never really did it for me. Next time I’m down South, I’ll snap into a Slim Jim and give it another shot, I guess. The Mad Men sample at the end was neat though.

8. AMERICAN RAPSTAR

K.R.I.T. goes back to his commentary of hip-hop here, and I think he sounds more impassioned and comfortable here as opposed to, uh, “Sookie Now”. (What the fuck is a “sookie”?) This is the other single, and it’s companion and BFF “Dreamin’” go hand-in-hand as BK does his best to detail the struggles and experiences of living and trying to make it as a rapper. He’s really good at utilizing vocal samples: “American Rapstar” features one of the best examples of that.

9. HIGHS & LOWS

I really like this song now. It’s a fusion of Krizzle’s pimpin’ mentality and his refreshing honesty, and it works well on this song in my opinion. The “rapper singing his own chorus” is such a risky tactic because of how hit-or-miss it is, but it works on here, with K.R.I.T. earning bonus points for comparing the game to a mixing board. He’s actually a decent singer and manages to add a little to the song (unlike Eminem, whose squeaking warbling usually makes me throw shit at whoever’s closest). You’ll be in for a pleasant surprise at the three-minute mark as K.R.I.T. flexes his versatility muscles.

10. SHAKE IT (FEAT. JOI)

More singing, but I’ll be honest: it sounds a little contrived here. The sleigh bells are surprisingly inoffensive here, as K.R.I.T. experiments with a new flow. This song keeps my interest mainly because of the contrast of played-out song material and unique decisions in the production and execution fields. Joi seems to do mostly backing vocals on the hook, although she has more of a presence toward the end, but she doesn't make or break the song.

11. MADE A LOT (FEAT. BIG SANT)

I really wish there was a typo and we had a feature from someone named Big Santa, but alas, it’s merely K.R.I.T’s label mate and smoking buddy. K.R.I.T. doesn’t do anything exceptional with his rhymes, but he manages to sound interested enough to make this song worth listening to. The beat is the true star here, with a plinking piano and some more vocal samples. Sant kind of sucks, but he does sound swagged out, and I guess in some circles that’s all that matters. K.R.I.T. ends the song on a high note with his mini-verse.

12. LIONS AND LAMBS

The beat for this song sounds like a calmer, modernized version of OutKast’s “Babylon”, although I’m probably not the first person to say that. I don’t know if this is a legitimate grievance, but it seems like when artists have a strange accent they’re automatically allowed a lot more leeway with rhyming and the like. K.R.I.T. sounds smooth and sincere, and the beat is mellow as fuck. If you can’t tell, I really like this song.

13. KING'S BLUES

It’s becoming a pattern for K.R.I.T. to start with his choruses and rhyme later; not sure how I feel about this on a technical level, but it’s an interesting change of pace from the traditional method. The drums are the same they’ve been throughout the album, while a distorted guitar winds it’s way across time signatures as Justin lays claim to his throne. Humility is certainly still dead in our chosen genre. The saxophone that showed up late to the party was a nice touch.

14. TIME MACHINE (FEAT. CHAMILLIONAIRE)

Pardon the ignorance of my view of Chamillionaire as David Banner with a dorkier name. This song is more formulaic than I’m used to hearing from K.R.I.T., but whatever. K.R.I.T. calls for the good ol’ days of his youth (although when you compare this to one of his earlier songs entitled “Neva Go Back” you have to wonder what happened to him between recording the two releases). This song really drags along, but he somehow maintains his enthusiasm long enough for Chamillionaire to stumble into the booth and rap about nothing for about forty-five seconds, which is just about the same amount of time it took to write out his check. I like this song one day and can’t deal with it the next.

15. GET RIGHT

“This is just an anthem for the players”. Now that you know that, you can save this for your parties. Something in my dorm was broken every time I heard the phrase “Party like it’s 1999”. That, and rhyming anything with “rock of Gibraltar” should be retired. Violation of this law will result in a penalty: a fine if the judge is merciful, and recording an EP with Waka Flocka Flame if he has absolutely no soul. The first half of the hook is catchy as fuck, which makes me wonder why K.R.I.T. let his weed carriers finish off the rest of the refrain.

16. AMTRAK

The phrase “Yeah, bitch, I know you hear the train coming” made me pause for a second. The bassline is pretty fat, but it’s about the only thing I remember from this song.

17. PLAYERS BALLAD (FEAT. RAHEEM DEVAUGHN)

I wonder if Radio Raheem speaks in melodic chords. Probably. This is probably at least partially a nod to OutKast’s “Player’s Ball” and mostly an ode to the Southern belles that apparently reside on and around K.R.I.T.’s bed. For as soft as this song is, it moves at a quick clip. Very nicely done, Mr. Scott.

18. ANOTHER NAÍVE INDIVIDUAL GLORIFYING GREED AND ENCOURAGING RACISM

If you can read, you can figure out the implied acronym in the title. K.R.I.T. lays down some of his deeper lyrics on one of his more pleasant beats. The trumpet that makes an appearance in the chorus is nearly perfect (in the opinion of this music nerd). I’m not black, but I can appreciate the meaning of this track even if I’ll never really understand the full impact of the word. Great song.

19. FREE MY SOUL

This beat is sleepier than Charles Hamilton’s voice. K.R.I.T. starts it off by singing about how he’s afraid his accomplishments won’t measure up. The more songs he makes, the more I unwillingly think of him as the Southern version of Common.

20. THE VENT

If you haven’t ever seen Nyle’s “Let the Beat Build” video, do so now. Then listen to this song a few times. Those are some of the best recent examples I can provide of how to build a mood throughout the course of a song. This is easily the most personal song on Return of 4Eva, and it’s one of the most beautiful lyrically, as well. I don’t usually use that word, but it’s too applicable to pass up on this occasion. It’s a bit lengthy, but it’s the most introspective and somber five minutes and twenty seconds of my day whenever I listen to it. Best song on the album.

21. COUNTRY SHIT (REMIX) (FEAT. LUDACRIS & BUN B)

And just like that, the mood is murdered in its sleep. I’ve never understood the Ludacris hype (cultural thing, I suppose), although Bun B is consistent and the beat is nice. Also wins the award for “What the fuck did he just say?” the first time I heard the chorus. Great song if you’re the mood to go ham, but a bad song for bedtime stories.

SHOULD YOU TRACK IT DOWN?: So class, today we looked inside the mind of one Justin Scott, stylized as Big K.R.I.T. for giggles, and learned that indeed, the South got something to say. I’m probably higher on K.R.I.T. than most of y’all two, but most people I’ve introduced to him like him to some degree. Return of 4Eva is a free album, you lucky son of a bitch, and I recommend it highly.

- Will Schmidt

(Questions?  Comments?  Concerns?  Leave your thoughts below.)

A Reader's Gut Reaction/For Promotional Use Only: Blu - NoYork! (2011)

(My understanding is that Los Angeles-based rapper Blu, a blogger favorite, handed out copies of his album NoYork! After a performance at Rock The Bells this year. The only problem was, NoYork! Was intended to be his major label debut for Warner Brothers. It's unknown if this album is being re-recorded, or it it was scrapped entirely and Blu figured that it would be best for the music to get out there, but NoYork! Is only available for download, and that's if you can actually find it without risking the ire of the home of Bugs Bunny. Justa chimes in with his thoughts; leave some notes for him below.)

Five years ago, before the emergence of Hulkshare and before every rapper with a social media profile could write spam you with the “world's hottest” single, mixtape, or album, an artist from L.A. by the name of Blu appeared out of nowhere with producer Exile to unleash the classic album Below The Heavens, which garnered massive critical acclaim from bloggers, artist, and press alike. After dropping another gem with rapper/producer Mainframe under the name Johnson&Jonson in 2008, Blu signed a record deal with Warner Bros Records. Which should have, in my eyes, resulted in the death of Blu. However, in 2009, he was featured in the then-prestigious XXL Magazine's “Freshmen Issue” along with eight other talented and not-so-talented emcees (including such blogger favorites as Asher Roth, Fashawn, B.o.B, KiD CuDi, Ace Hood (huh?), and Charles Hamilton (R.I.P. - the career, not the man)), and he continued to quietly drop more quality projects on us along the way, as well as provide a few solid guest appearances. Yet, the question still remained: When was his major label debut dropping?

Blu has finally responded, with his long-awaited NoYork! appearing much like his previous projects: quietly and out of nowhere. Featuring the a who's-who of Los Angeles-based lo-fi producers (such as Madlib, Shafiq Husayn, Exile, Dibia$e, Flying Lotus, Knxwledge, Daedeulus, and Samiyam), as well as some of his neighbors for features (such as J*DaVeY, Co$$, Edan, U-N-I, Pac Div, Nola Darling, and more).

So was it worth the wait? Or did Warners pull a B.o.B on him and his fanbase? Let's find out.

1. DOIN' NOTHIN' (FEAT. U-GOD)

I love when an album kicks off without the dreaded intro. U-God is said to be featured on this track, but I believe he's only on the hook. Blu kicks some fierce bars over a dope apocalyptic/industrial/West Coast-sounding Flying Lotus beat. Yeah, I know I just used those exact three descriptive terms alongside the adjective dope. I’ll stand by that as well.

2. EVERYTHING OK (FEAT. JACK DAVEY)

This Flying Lotus-produced track featuring one-half of the alternative music duo J*DaVeY is definitely not for everyone. If you're familiar with Flying Lotus, or with Davey's work, you already know if you'll like this track or not (I lean towards the “fan” side of things). This is a very experimental, electronic-influenced production that you wouldn't catch a T.I. anywhere near. The song features tons of digital chirps and a higher BPM rate than usual, so I would assume that most DJ Premier/Pete Rock stans will most likely skip it. I found it to be very interesting, though: I have been trying to wrap my head around it for quite some time, it’s not wack by any means, but it’s so out of my comfort zone at the moment that I will have to leave this one with an “undecided”.

3. NEVER BE THE SAME (FEAT. SA-RA & NOLA DARLING)

One of my favorite tracks on NoYork! It has accents of electronic music in it, but also has that identifiable West Coast bounce to it. It’s super-dope track, and of course Blu kills it, spitting his own perspective on hip hop from the eyes of our genre's most interesting left-coaster. Also, I give it a +1 for the female rappers (Nola Darling) not just spewing hyper-sexual rhymes.

4. A BOVE CRENSHAW (FEAT. CO$$)

Picks up right where the last song left off, but with even more of a West Coast sound. I can see why this is album is titled NoYork! now: lot of the production featured on the album embodies Cali style. You could easily see someone C-walking to this, and you can just as easily see some heads breaking down the lyrics. Oh and Blu and Co$$ kick some nice verses.

5. SLNGBNGRS

A Dibia$e jawn that leaked earlier this year. Still sounds great, though. There is no album that I can compare NoYork! with musically at this point: it’s just so different than anything I have ever heard. This beat is sick, and of course Blu brings the quotables, but then, suddenly, a screwed up, darker, more distorted version of the instrumental appears, over which Blu repeats what I guess might be a bridge or something. It gets very experimental at this point, but dope nonetheless.

6. SOUPA (FEAT. SUZI ANALOUGE)

This sounds like something that all four original members of The Pharcyde would love to hop on. Laid back, with a hint of Electronic influence, this track is well-suited for late night cruisin’. Dope.

7. HOURS

Straight electronica here, which means yet another track I'm still on the fence about. Blu's actual rap verse doesn’t appear until around the end of the song, when all of the layers of sound chill for a bit. So for the folks who live and die by The Low End Theory, I don’t think you will enjoy this. The rest of you should choose your own adventure.

08. ANNIE HALL (FEAT. CHOP, CHERRYPOP, & TIOMBE LOCKHART)

Warning: Blu doesn’t rap at all on this one. Instead, he lays back and chimes in with ad-libs and vocals throughout the track and the hook. The females own the track, basically: there is a very late 1980’s/early 1990’s flavor as far as their verses go. The beat is a smoother electronic sound, sort of like something Theophilus London might use. I can get with this.

9. TAGS (FEAT. EXILE)

Blu gets back to the actual rap music alongside producer Exile, who even drops a verse. The drums are of the more industrial variety, but they still go hard. ack to the rap now, and this is another one those west coast bangers for sure. Drums are kind of industrial, but still go hard. This was a dope track where the artists name-check graffiti, gangs, shops, and all other things predominantly L.A.

10. SPRING WINTER SUMMER FALL (FEAT. JIMETTA ROSE)

A dope track all about music. I continue to be blown away at how great of a lyricist Blu can be: his verses sometimes require repeated listens in order to break down a lot of what he saying. (I usually call these type of rhymes “Wiki-raps”, after the site I have to look at in order to figure out his lyrics.) “Spring Winter Simmer Fall” also showcases how good of a storyteller he is. True heads would appreciate this for sure. The hook is dope as well. The production has a little bit of a New Wave influence to it, but it still sounds fresh. Another one of my favorites.

11. DOWN TO EARTH (FEAT. THE DONEL SMOKES, DUBBLE OH, & DEFINITE)

A straight out boom-bap track for the real heads. Nothing too experimental on this one, just straight up, good old-fashioned hip hop.

12. MY SUNSHINE (FEAT. ANITA ANDREWS)

A tribute to the Southern California lifestyle. Blu spits some nice raps (do I even have to keep writing about his nice verses at this point?) and the guest star sounds good on the hook.

13. JAZMINE (FEAT. ANDY ALLO)

A musical interlude that leads into the next track.

14. JAZZMEN

This has to be a Madlib beat. There is no one else in the world who can produce something this fresh and quirky. Madlib and Blu should just make an album together at this point. I feel that it would be a win-win for both men for sure. I would actually like to see Blu, Madlib, Ghostface Killah, and MF Doom record an entire project together: you could call it Final Fantasy or something, and it would be some of the weirdest, dopest, and most experimental shit for sure, especially if you scored a Kool Keith cameo.

15. RONALD MORGAN (FEAT. EDAN)

Another straight hip hop track. The beat is fierce, something I could see a post- N.W.A/pre-Friday sequel Ice Cube rocking over. Let me talk about Edan (since you already know Blu killed it): I must say that he comes super-correct, like “Hip Hop Quotable” in The Source-correct. He just attacks the beat so furiously that the only two choices you'll have are to exhibit your stank face, or let your jaw drop and let your eyes get Large Marge-big (that’s a Pee Wee’s Big Adventure reference for all you young’ns). It’s flat out ill, one of the best verses I have heard all year. Salute.

16. KEEP USH INN

Blu raps about his experiences in the industry. It’s fresh/dope/raw/ill and any other hip hop slang I haven’t used yet that means good (except for maybe swag).

17. DOIN' SOMETHING (FEAT. EL PREZ, PAC DIV, U-N-I, J*DAVEY, TIRON, & AYOMARI)

Blu recruited damn near the entire New West movement for this reprise of the first track. El Prez handles the intro and hypeman duty, which a smart move on his part, as everyone else just bodies this beat. There isn’t anything weak about any of the lines kicked on the track. Can’t find a single weakness. The next time someone wants to bring up that “The West Coast ain’t got no real emcees” argument, pull this track up on YouTube (or some other device that can bring up a song immediately) and let that argument end once and for all.

THE LAST WORD: Too be straight-up honest with you, Blu's NoYork! could be is a classic. The only reason I chose to write this review was because I've had the album stuck on 'repeat' for almost two three days months now, and I am still trying to break it all down (hence my curious decision to run this as a 'Gut Reaction' piece). Every once in a while, an artist creeps up with an album like this, and all you can say is, “Wow.” I don’t want to compare NoYork! to any other album, but it really is right up there with the greats. I was only on the fence about two songs on here, but I still believe this to be a classic record. (If you disagree about my use of the word, you must have forgotten about that unexplainable Timbaland-produced inclusion on Jay-Z’s “classic” The Blueprint, or that song “Mamacita” on OutKast's Aquemini.) To experiment this much outside of the genre and still have this dope of a result come out is tough to do (see Cee-Lo, The RZA, Jungle Brothers, etc). Props to Blu for being doing his thing on here, and for letting this get out in some fashion, especially since I'm sure the corporate suits at Warners thought that NoYork! wouldn't be radio-ready. Download this ish while you can, since I don’t know if it ever is going on sale to the public. But if made available in full corporate packaging, it’s definitely worth every penny (and more) of the manufacturer's suggested retail price. By the way, did you miss the part where I also said this album is up for classic status? Let the arguments begin between the backpackers and hip hop hierarchy.... now.

- Justa

(Questions? Comments? Concerns? Leave your thoughts below.)