Busta Rhymes - Back on My B.S. (2009)

Wow! Bus-a-bus puttin out fiya! Is this his best album in a decade? Definitely! Is it his best album of all time? Not in my opinion. Nevertheless, the only one that I would say is definitely better would have to be E.L.E. The album starts off kinda crazy with a silly little skit and a somewhat stupid song about the wheel of fortune. But the deeper you get, the deeper it gets. The climax of the album is right about in the middle with the Hustler's Anthem, featuring T-Pain. I know he left Aftermath, but dang, this sounds like a Dre beat if I've ever heard one. It just hits so hard and has that Gangsta swag to it. We've all heard the hell out of Arab Money, probably more than some of us wanted to, but the lesser known We Want In features a more mellow Ron Browz production. Kill Dem is just sick wit it featuring who else but "the N-E-P-T-U-N-E-S, the way they lace the beat like one of the best." This is an old school sounding beat that kinda brings back memories of the 36 Chambers Wu era. The only difference is its Busta and he's rhyming with a Jamaican accent, which he does so much better than Angela Basset in Notorious. I'm a Go Get My...featuring Mike Epps is hilarious (in the context of his stand-up) and the beat is smooth too. Sugar is a little weird and almost sounds like an Isley gone wrong track and Don't Believe Em with Akon and T.I. is nothing too exciting. But Decision features an all-star cast of Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, and Common on a track that is deep, soulful, and fun. Just make sure you skip out before the cheezy Estelle track World Go Round comes on with its fast-paced pop beat

All in all, this is an amazing effort by Busta. It is refreshing to anyone that has been listening to the crap (i.e., Boom Boom Poker Face) that is being passed off for Hip Hop on the radio. If you like the real stuff, Bus has it all. Peep the new joint and appreciate the energy and flow that it seems he has rediscovered in his exit from Aftermath.

9/10

Sheek Louch - Silverback Gorilla (2008)

Da-da-da-da-damn! How did I manage to forget about reviewing this album? Well, if you like D-Block, or anything by the LOX, or anything out of NY lately, you should feel this CD. You might even like it if you just like rap in general, but this is a special CD. The first real track, Think We Got a Problem, features a hybrid NY/Dirty South type of sound with Bun Bee-da and Hurricane Game tearin it up. This track is so hard that the rest of the album could suck and it would be worth it. Of course, the track that follows is a little weaker, but that won't last long as the album moves to Good Love, which features a Betty Wright sample, smooth beat, and a general feel-good vibe. From there we get D-Block/Dipset, a super collabo that pretty much speaks for itself. We at War and Scrap to This are pretty hard jams with that classic, gritty NY D-Block type of feeling, while Don't Be Dem reminisces about Hip Hop pioneers and the lack of creativity in the game these days. Getting Stronger is the obligatory LOX track that just gets you pumped for a new album. Is there one in the works? I don't know, but we can only hope. The rest of the album goes up and down in energy as well as depth, touching on real issues while keepin it gangsta at the same time. If you want some realness, peep this CD.

8.5/10

Jamie Foxx - Intuition (2008)

Mr. Foxx, what do you have for me this time around? The last album, I thought, had some gems, but also had some misses. There is no question that he is an extremely talented as an actor, comedian, musician, and R&B singer (just as long as he doesn't rap. See Steamin Beamen). However, that doesn't always translate into a good album, so what does this mean for Foxx?
The album starts right in, no intro or other time-wasters, with "Just Like Me" with T.I. However, he loses some of his momentum with the second track, "I Don't Need It". He picks things back up a bit with "Number One (Let's Get Dumb)" with Lil Wayne, but, as you might expect, this track is a little annoying and best in small doses. Some of the more memorable tracks were the ones that were more contemporary. For example, the Kanye West and The Dream track "Digital Girl" or the T-Pain track "Blame It (On the Alcohol)". And don't forget the "Miss Independent" remix "She Got Her Own" featuring Ne-Yo and Fabolous, which starts off sounding great until Ne-Yo steps up and steals the show on the second verse...sorry Jamie. "Why" is another good track, but is during the trail-off part of the album. There definitely are some gems and I feel this one more than the last one.

7/10

Chrome - Project Landlord (2008)

I first discovered Chrome when he dropped his debut album, "Straight to the Pros", which was based on the idea that he skipped playing in college and went straight to the major leagues. These days, that's not really much to brag about because people like Soulja Boy can skip high school and go straight to the top of the pros with no real talent, a silly dance, and a youtube/myspace account. Now that he has been "in the pros" for a few years and still hasn't really made a splash, how has Chrome developed?

Well the real answer there is that he hasn't developed...much. His newest album is pretty unexciting. Comprised mostly of songs about the dope game and being a gangsta (see "Cocaine and Robbin" or "Brick House"). This is an album without a real banger, but the closest you can get is probably "Big Wheels" with a not so inventive hook and decent beat. This is one of the big problems with this cd, the hooks are pretty simplistic (e.g., "Mr. Mack, Mack, Mack, All dressed in black, black, black") and the beats are not very exciting. Join these elements with a poor rhyme skills and boring style and you have a mediocre at best album. Not very memorable. He's a role-player at best in the pros.

6/10

Cory Gunz - Best Kept Secret (2008)

Well, I usually don't waste my time on mixtapes, but if you don't have anything else to comment on, then I guess you have no choice. Lil Gunna here hasn't put out much official material, so I checked him out on his mixtape. It's not much to judge, but at least it should be a pretty good sample of his skillz. There are 4 possibilities here: either he writes for Weezy, Weezy writes for him, the same person writes for both of them, or they just happen to have the same rhyme style and very similar flow. I very highly doubt that this is a coincidence.
If you listen to them on the "A Millie Remix" I think it says it all. They have the same type of rhymes and flow, but Gunna has a far superior delivery and can actually string together some decent thoughts. He can rhyme a little bit, but his freesteez are def written. He can repeat them on command, so how's he comin off the top? Some of his written stuff is alright though and he did use some pretty good beats. So how bout an album then? Or were you bitin Pap on that front too?

6/10

Method Man - 4:21...The Day After (2006)

This album's old, but bottom line, Mef gets love. Well, who knows what to expect these days from an album from Mef. I def didn't expect this one here. Mr. M-E-F ("cuz black people don't use the 't-h'") brings it for real on this one.
"Is It Me" no doubt highlights the album with production by Scott Storch, this track just fits Meth's style perfectly. He continues with classic Meth sounding tracks with beats that capture your full attention and completely surround his smoothed out and slightly less gritty flow. He eventually gets to "Dirty Mef", which of course features the late ODB and just brings back memories. Dope features from Streelife, Raekwon, U-god, La the Darkman, Redman, RZA and of course the Inspectah. Ginuwine contributes a great smooth R&B hook on "Lets Ride" while a Lauryn Hill sample on "Say" provides a hook for Mef to attack his critics. "Gotta Have It" is a fun track about all the things Mef loves, while "Ya'Meen" is a hardcore NY anthem with Fat Joe and Styles P. If it seems like this is an all-star album, it is. This goes down as another Wu-tang classic.

9/10

Ky-Mani Marley - Radio (2007)

Yeah, this album dropped over a year ago, but most people have never heard of it or him, so I'll let ya know. Ky-Mani is one of the younger Marley kids and has a different mother than most of the others. He grew up in Miami from the age of 9, so has a more Americanized, gangsta swag to his music.
while his tracks clearly have a Jamaican Reggae influence, it would be difficult to classify these tracks as Reggae. While they have elements of Reggae to them, they are generally set to hip hop beats and feature rapped verses. "The March", which is also featured in Spanish at the end of the album, shows Ky-Mani's rugged, unforgiving flow. However, on tracks like "One Time" "Jezebel" and "Royal Vibes" he manages to showcase that honey voice that we all knew he would inherit from his father. He features Mya on "I Got You" and tells his ghetto story with little help from his legendary father on "Ghetto Soldier". This is a solid album with a laid back vibe and a good, upbeat sound.

8.5/10

Daz Dillinger - Only on the Left Side (2008)

Anyone who thinks Daz fell off or hasn't been in the game clearly hasn't had their ear to the streets over the past few years. Ever since the infamous West Coast Conference that saw the reunification of the Dogg Pound, and even before that, Daz has been extremely busy with two Dogg Pound albums and five of his own. Well, this is probably the hardest he has dropped in a minute as a solo artist.
The album starts with the Classic West Coast Gangsta style banger "Sqeeze" and continues with the gangsta carnival sounding Swizz Beats track "I'm From The Hood". This just builds to the title track, which happens to be the hardest track on the album. The rest of the album flows together with the classic WC Gangsta Funk tracks including a Krayzie Bone feature and an NWA "Dopeman" remix. I think it's mandatory to have a SoCal-NorCal collabo track whether it's hyphy or gangsta, so of course "Dip Drop Stop Dip" with Keak Da Sneak is a hard gangsta track despite Keak's growled verse. "Me and My Cuzzin" is a weird, pseudo-sentimental track featuring Snoop about brotherhood (read gang banging), while "Regretz" features Tyrese and is about his domestic violence issues. Obie Trice and Kurupt make decent appearances toward the end of the album as well. This album is very good and hardcore for all the hardcore fans.

8/10

Ice Cube - Raw Footage (2008)

Ice Cube has a new album? Really? What do you mean it's good? How is that possible? Isn't he like 50? Yes, Yes, it really is, Yes, and No, he's not even 40 yet, he just got a really young start. I'm just as surprised as anyone else, but Cube really brought it on this one. His flow sounds about the same as it used to, but his political rhymes are more studied and informed than they used to be and he uses more sophisticated satire than he previously did (e.g., claiming to be the only rapper that wants to fist fight the president).
The first real track on the album, which happens to be my favorite, sounds like some Manny Fresh production, but it's not. "I Got My Locs On" features Young Jeezy and is somewhere between Dirty South and West Coast Gangsta Rap. Of course there's the single "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It", which is fittingly true Gangsta Rap style. A great Gangsta/Soul collabo was created on "Why Me?" with Musiq. Don't forget the West Coast Banger "Get Used To It" with Game and WC. "Stand Tall" remixes the Diamond In The Back beat in a whole new way. Out of 21 tracks at least 14 of them are very good. Although Cube's "Pyroclastic flow" is still a little simplistic at times, he rides the Gangsa beats as smoothly as ever and keeps it Raw.

8/10

Lil' Keke - Loved By Few, Hated By Many (2008)

Lil' Keke, one of the best Southern rappers, but the least recognized. I'd say Lil' Keke is today what UGK was in the late 90s in that he is great, but still somewhat underground. Well, his new cd is tight and he makes a convincing case for a Bun B-Lil Keke super collabo album. Now that's just my own fantasy, I don't want to start any rumors here. Anyway, this is a really good cd.
The album starts out with the laid back Houston-style gangsta cut "Act a Fool With It". The album stays hard from there, but just builds. The Houston all-star track with Paul Wall, Slim Thugga, and Tre Virdure, "Money in the City" is dope with a hard beat and gritty H-town verses. He shows his emotional side, if you can call it that, on "I Miss My Boyz" and "4 Doors and Coupes", but then quickly brings it back hard with "I'm a G" a hardcore track about growing up and into the game. This is a hard album. The track "She Love Gangsta's" sort of reminds me of some old No Limit/TRU stuff, but with better rapping and production. The whole album is good, so enjoy it.

7.5/10