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On here i got a list of the hottest albums for you to cop
Some of them are either albums may have been relased a while ago that i have only just copped, other's may be newer albums. Either way, this is which albums i got in heavy rotation at the moment
I've also got a new Reviews section, where i put old reviews, reviews of my favourite albums, and reviews of R'n'B albums. The link is at the bottom of this page or on the Links page
To listen to a clip from each of the albums, please click on the album covers. For the clips i'm now using Windows Media Player sonce it's more universally used. for AOL users the window will open using the built-in media player.
This weeks clips are:
Ludacris - Teamwork
Do or Die w/ Johnny P & Twista - Do U?
Jay-Z w/ Timbaland - Dirt Off Your Shoulder
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Ludacris - Chicken n Beer: 4/5
When Ludacris aka Lova Lova aka Chris Bridges stepped onto the scene in 2000, the South was just starting to cement itself as a force to be reckoned with. But the ex-radio personality brought the dirty dirty to the forefront of hip hop and ever since, Luda has blessed artists everywhere as one of the most sought-after guest appearances. His third offering, Chicken n Beer carries high expectations. As, despite being one of hip hop's most household names, his albums have never quite delivered what we all know Luda is capable of. Fair enough, they kept us happy, from Southern Hospitality to Saturday, we always had something to bump. But Ludacris' guest appearances never fail to impress, just peep his spot on Missy's 'Gossip Folks' for a lesson on how to spit 16 bars of pure fun and ride a beat the way Timbo intended it.
The albums opens with great promise, as ever, one of the albums best tracks with Ludacris is always the intro. And 'Southern Fried Intro' carries on the tradition by allowing Luda to change up his style from machine-gun quick to a slow country drawl spittin ever comic lyrics. 'Blow It Out' is then a typical rowdy anthem continuing in the same veign as 'Act A Fool', which also appears on the album as a bonus cut. These tracks however the really only "typical Luda" tracks. The secret to any great emcee is continually taking his audience in a new direction, and with 'Chicken n Beer' Ludacris does exactly this. Chris Bridges switches from sexually orientated 'Splash Waterfalls' to the doped-out 'Screwed Up' to the pimpin-classic 'Hoes In My room'. On 'Splash Waterfalls', a stuttering Icedrake beat makes way for Ludacris to spit the kind of lyrics that pissed of Bill O'Reilly in between cries of "make love to me" and "fuck me".
What will really piss Mr O'Reilly off however are some of the albums best cuts in 'Teamwork' and 'P-Poppin'. 'P-Poppin' has now become infamous and achieved cult status due to it's xxx-rated video. The song itself isn't much cleaner with women asked to "pussy pop on a handstand". The cut isn't definately one for the strip clubs, but the Zuhkan Bey produced track packs enough punch to get play in any ride or system, and the gues appearances from Shawnna and Lil Fate show exactly why their solo albums are so anticipated. On 'Teamwork' the track isn't about sports, instead it's about "six hands grippin the sheets, 30 toes are curled...3 hearts are beating fast put only two people screaming/ we come together for one cause other than to hear ourselves breathing". With the bouncy Black Key produced beat encorporating some kind of flute and it's infectous chorus, the track is one of the album's highlights.
Luda however can "come harder than Jacuzzi jets" as 'We Got' shows. Memphis' finest DJ Paul and Juicy J from 3 6 Mafia create a beat which switches between snare drums, chesty coughs and gun shots. Luda calls on the help of Chingy, I-20 and Titty Boi to help him get gully on the track, all of whom thoroughly impress. Titty Boi mostly, but it Chingy's flow is as contagious as chicken pox and shows exactly why he became one of the surprise stars of 2003. Another one for the thugs will be the aforementioned 'Screwed Up'. Using the South's very own screw music on the chorus, and featuring Screwed-Up Clique's finest Lil Flip, the track is a slow paced get-high track, but then the chorus switches up yelling "fuck you" to anyone who ruins Luda's or Flip's high. This is just begging to cause a few fights, espeically if the counterparts are already "screwed up".
Mr Lova-Lova however isn't all about causing riots and making love to several women at once, on 'Hard Times' Ludacris, Eightball & MJG and Carl Thomas get reflective like a mirror, talking about the wrongs they've done, and the hardships they've faced through losing friends. Luda opens up like we've never heard before, and shows he can be as serious as any other emcee. He really shows his skills though on 'Hip Hop Quotables'. The track is a freestyle over a simple but special-effect-filled beat, allowing Luda to show why many consider him to be the game's best lyricists with more punchlines than a Peter Kay concert, just peep "one of mini-me's shoes got more soul than you". Yaaaa!
The album's stand out cut however is of course the bass heavy Kanye West produced 'Stand Up. As the bass bangs away like a drum, Kanye makes use of some guy yelling "ooh ooh ooh" to great effect. Luda then dips in and out of the beat effortlessly talkin about his experience in the club. And if you think the track is sick, just peep the video!
At the end of the rollercoaster that is 'Chicken n Beer', we're presented with Ludacris' most complete albums to date. The truth is Luda will never be a 5-mic emcee because he's not serious enough for the streets. But Thank God! Luda is a breath of fresh air in a world where commerical hip hop is getting increasingly stale.
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Do or Die - Pimpin Ain't Dead: 3.5/5
With last years effort 'Back 2 The Game', Chi-Town's finest took it back to their roots, hooking up with Twista, Johnny P, Legendary Traxster and Yungbuk of PsychoDrama for more of the cold classic cuts fans have come to expect from the trio. That marked a triumphant return after 2001's 'Victory' took a more diverse course from their usual sound - to the dissatisfaction of some fans. A Do or Die album is always a good thing, but there didn't seem barely anytime between the release of their fourth and, this, their fifth album so i was praying it wasn't just a rushed effort. Legendary Traxster is once again called back for the majoirty of he album's production as well as for a couple of guest appearances. There is of course the now customary track featuring Twista and Johnny P, who is used much more sparingly on this album than he was on 'Back 2 The Game'.
When the album's opener, 'One More Way 2 Die', kicks in, all negative thoughts are laid to rest. Based around the now classic '6 Million Ways To Die', we should have really known that with Trax behind the boards, Belo, AK and NARD can't put a foot wrong. Twista continues to outshine his Chi counterparts on 'Do U?' as he did on 'Po Pimp', 'Still Po Pimpin' and 'Sex Appeal', not that you'll find anyone complaining, it just makes every Do or Die and Twista fan yearn more and more for a Do or Die/Twista/Johnny P collaboration album. Whilst Twista shines on that track, Johnny P steals the show on 'Lil Ghetto Boy'. Why this Chi-Town crooner isn't battling Nate Dogg for the title of 'Hook King' remains a mystery, his voice is so much better than these kids winning the likes of Pop Idol and going platinum in a day.
The album is balanced nicely between smooth pimped out tracks and cold gangsta shit courtesy of Trax's ever high quality beats. In-house Rap-A-Lot producer Mr Lee is the only other producer for his credit on 'In A Minute' provides the albums biggest change in sound. The bass heavy drums thump along allowing Do or Die to go hard alongside impressive newcomers Navee and Z-Ro. Z-Ro is currently being pushed as the next big thing by J Prince and his Rap-A-Lot label, and shows a glimpse of why those claims may well be justified. Trax takes a new direction on the Belo solo track 'Who I Fuck Wit' for a club banger Lil Jon would be proud of. Belo shouts the chorus in crunk grandieur, but as soon as the verse kicks in he makes the track his own.
Whilst such cuts make the album run along smoothly with enough diversity to keep the listener hooked, die hard Chi fans will be more impressed with the likes of 'Cold World'. Belo's rapid fire flow rips apart the slow bass driven track, and that unmistakable lisp of his is in fine melody as he croons the chorus. The track takes you into the reasons as to why exactly Chiacgo is called "cold". The album is aptly titled as, despite the likes of 50 Cent and Nelly claiming to pimp here, there and everywhere in the last couple of years and seamingly using it to death, Do or Die prove that no one can do it quite like the originators. Bitch pimpin ain't dead, as long as this Chi trio is around your ass is gonna be pimped forever!
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Jay-Z - The Black Album: 4.5/5
You heard about Jay-Z? He's retiring from hip hop. I heard he found God like Ma. Man it's just a ploy to sell more albums. I heard he's gonna reinvent himself and comeback like Makaveli. He's settling down with that Beyonce chick and cos they're having kids he's taking a break from rap.
Which ever story you believe, the truth is, if Jay-Z retires he'll be sorely missed. The Blueprint finally showed he can achieve what we've always known he was capable of. So now he's got the raw underrated debut, the 5-mic classic, a doulbe album and the first of it's kind hip hop/r'nb collabo album all under his belt, what was left? The Black Album. All the great artists have a similar kind of album under their belts, and Jay-Z is surely up their with those great artists. But, that kind of confidence and acclaim comes with pressure, especially when this is supposedly your final ever record.
The moment the celbratory horns of the Just Blaze produced 'December 4th' kick in, you know your in for something new. But damn, then what...Jay-Z's mom gets on the track! The track is set out as Jay-Z life story, with Gloria Carter giving a short story about her son's life, and then Jay fills in the gaps. The problem with most artists is they don't open up enough to their fans, they hide behind fake idealistics, but Jay gets realer than any other artist has ever done here and you gotta ggive him his props for that. 'What More Can I Say' takes on the kind of form however you expect from a Jigga record. Newcomers The Buchannans produce the track with carries on where ROC in-house producers Kanye and Just left off with a soulful beat and sampled hook. J-Bleez and Kan-Yeezy however are in full force here though. Kanye West produces 'Encore' for a track which echoes the feelings of Jay fans the world over who still want more from him.But if you thought you'd heard all the sped-up sampled records imaginable from the ROC's finest, wait til you hear 'Lucifer'. The Kanye West produced track is one of his finest's work, and who better to take the track to the next level than Hova.
These however are the kind of tracks we expect from a Jigga album, a DJ Quik production credit was not expected however nor was the style of the track. A slow bass ripples through the track as Jay breezes over the track in his confident flow waiting for the haunting chorus to kick on 'Justify My Thug'. And on '99 Problems' Rick Rubin provides the soundscape for Hova to spit over a heavy metal guitar rift. Over the kind of track i never thought i'd hear Jigga on, he spits about the trails and tribulations he goes through daily, but brags on the chorus that "if you having girl problems i feel bad for you son/ i got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one!" R Kelly's 'A Woman's Threat' is then used by draft pick producer for 2004 9th wonder on 'Threat' as Jay takes pimpin to a darker level. Rather than the bragadoccio pimpin of Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent on 'P.I.M.P. Remix', Jigga shows about the often violent side of the pimp game.
But, where a Jay-Z album be without some club bangers from The Neptunes and Timbaland. The album's lead-off single 'Change Clothes' is exactly what Jay says, "the bounce is back". It's the kind of track that's impossible to sit still to, and is a slow club banger in the same vein as 'I Just Wanna Love U' and 'Excuse Me Miss'. The Jay/Timbo collabo's on The Blueprint 2 were not quite up to the usual high standard set by 1999's 'Big Pimpin'. But Timbo makes up for those lost years with one of his sickest, hardest hitting beats to date on 'Dirt Off Your Shoulder'. From the first time i heard it's infectous bass, i haven't been able to stop playign this track. The beat really tests Jay-s ability to rap over any track as all great emcee's are supposed to be able to do so, but by the end of the track, Timbaland's shouts of "best rapper alive" are more than justified. And if anyone tells you they ain't feeling this beat, the motherfuckers are lying!! The way Timbo slows the beat down and the mixes it before speeding it up again just sounds sick. Eminem's production skills are called upon alone rather than his mic skills as well this time on 'Moment of Clarity', creating a bass heavy track for Jay to clear his mind and kick some real talk.
As the album comes to a close with the ironically titled 'My 1st Song', you get the feel Jay-Z has more to give. The album is a more than solid effort, but it's not the landmark classic that his leaving album should be. In the space of 14 tracks Es-Dot-Carter spills his heart, sends out a worryingly real threat to haters and fills out the clubs, but we want more. If Jay is gonna leave on this note he's not doing himself or the rap game justice. For pretty much any other rapper this album would have people raving the world over, but i know Jay has more in the tank, i think Jay knows it too. Watch this space...
Reviews Coming Soon:
Cap.One - Theory of Life
Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
Obie Trice - Cheers
Don't forget to check out the second reviews section!
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