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Reviews
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The Beatnuts
Take It or Squeeze It 03/01 3.5
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"When I pop the trunk, hit the deck, John Wayne couldn't even stand the reign of the tec..." The Beatnuts are and forever will be underground. They've only had two radio friendly singles "Off the Books" and "Watch Out Now" out of six albums. They are first and foremost producers. I'm surprised people aren't beating down their doors for tracks. All of their albums' beats have been on par. Lyrically, they could always use some work, but what do expect from a group who used "I want to f***, drink beer and smoke some sh*t" as a hook to a song. With this album , they bring exactly what you expect as a fan, fat beats, toilet bowl humor and raunchy rhymes. "It's Da Nuts" is a nice uptempo track worth a few spins. DJ Tony "Toca" Touch shows up on the cut "Prendelo (Light It Up)". The first single "No Escapin' This" is classic beatnuts. It has the horn loop with the hard drums, a standard for the beatnuts. They keep the diggin in the crates tradition going throughout the rest of the CD, especially on tracks like "Who's Comin' Wit Da S**t Now" and "Hammer Time". And no, "Hammer Time" is not a throw back to MC Hammer. It's about the hammers that you cock. The "Se Acabo Remix" with Method Man rounds out the CD. If you're an underground hip hop fan, pick thisone up. |
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DJ Clue
The Professional 2 02/01
4 |
DJ Clue stands alone in this mix tape craze. No one gets as many ex-Clue-sives as him. The one annoying thing about his CD's is hearing him scream all over the songs. He's pretty damn annoying. Other than that, his CD's are usually worth the money. This one is no exception. I would suggest all Redman fans pick this joint up simply for "Red" alone. The song is banannas. Reggie is spittin for braggin rites. Of course, Roc-A-Fella is all over this. The stand out cut from that camp is the "Change the Game Remix" with DPG. Yup, Kurupt & Daz are showing their a@@ on this joint. Eminem, Royce the 5'9" and Mr. Meth come thru on "What the Beat". Lyrics? Did someone say Lyrics? There are plenty of one-liners on this one. Any of you who know me, know how much I really hate Nas, well, he came off on "Live From the Bridge". FYI: Ya'll know a war is brewing between QB and Racafella, right? More on that later. Foxy Brown and Lil Kim each have a dis song....big whoop. they both suck. Memphis Bleek continues to surprise me. He is stepping up lyrically. Check the review on his sophmore album. His joint "MARCY" is kind of catchy. Another surprise is how Lady Luck continues to come off. I'm kind of waiting to hear her on her own single. The Professional 2 is a must buy. |
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Eve
Scorpion 02/01 3 |
Let me first say that Eve is on point lyrically. She has Dr. Dre, Swizz Beats (blaaaah, pardon me while I throw up), and some other Ruff Ryder producers. Eve definitely is not a victim of the sophmore slump, but this is not a great album. Its pretty good, but that's all. Call me a hater, but Swizz Beats just sucks a** as a producer and should never, ever step behind a mic to even speak. Maybe I'm too underground and hate him too much, but when you compare his beats ("Got What You Need", "Gangsta B******", etc) to Dr. Dre's beats ("Let Me Blow Ya Mind" and "That's What it Is") there is just no comparison. Another thing that kind of annoys me on this album is that the Ruff Ryders force you to listen to some of the wacker MC's in their camp (i.e. Lox, Drag-on). Eve needs to leave the Ruff Ryders and get back with Aftermath. |
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Memphis Bleek
The Understanding 12/00 3 |
Ya'll know how much Bleek's voice annoyed me, but this album was a surprise. His last album basically sucked. That was partly due (I think) to Jay Z not overseeing it. This time Jay Z's presence is felt. I think he even chose the beats because some of these joints are just blazing ("Change Up", "They'll Never Play Me"). "Do My" is the latest single and I must admit, it has kind of grown on me. A lot of the subject matter on this album gets tired though (i.e. Whips, tricks, blunts, hydro, etc). I started counting how many times he used these words in his rhymes. Jay Z & Beanie Siegel also represent the ROC rather nicely on the "Mind Right Remix" and "Is that Your Chick (the lost verses)". To sum up, the album is pretty decent. He definitely has the hunger. I'll be checking for his next album. |
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