Andre "AG" Barnes decides to release his first soloist album in 1999 under Silva Dom Records, after being part of the duo Show & AG for years. DITC are a major part of the album, with everyone on it except the late Big L. The music is realized by Lord Finesse, Showbiz, Buckwild, Diamond D, AG, Steve "Bundy" Wade, Wali World, Hehdkrack, DJ Premier, Amed "DJ Timbalan" Harris, Garth Mitchel, ACE and Gritty Tracks. The guests are Fat Joe, Diamond D, KRS-One, Big Pun, The Ghetto Dwellas, Hehdkrack, Mr. Mudd, Kool Chuck, Blake Carrington, Misery, Reality, Doe, Big Cle, OC, Guru, Wali World, Teck 9, Firehead and Murda Cap.
Should be the solo debut of AG. It should be. D-Flow & Party Arty, as knows as The Ghetto Dwellas, dominate the whole LP. AG has a couple of solo tunes ("All Eye Seeing", "A 2 da G", "We Do That Too", "20 Cent Girl"; one sixth of the whole album including skits). This project relies on an excellent production by the beatsmiths of the house DITC while the guests add few to the record and mostly go unnoticed, Teck 9 boasts a good flow in "B.X.M.F.", while Ghetto Dwellas aren't up to do an album and this LP's a clear proof. Too many skits contribute to undermine the shaky solidity of the product.
The album's mood is dark ("All Eye Seeing", "Leave It Alone", "Do You"), if not gloomy ("Intro / Muddslide", the single "Rude Awakening", "A 2 da G", "B.X.M.F.", "We Do That Too"), composed by skeletal ("Rock Star"), soulful ("20 Cent Girl"), ethereal jazzy ("No Where to Go": this is among the finest tracks here; "Kurupt Money") or classic boom bap ("Underground Life", "Shout 'Em Out").
The Giant can't resist the temptation to bring back "Drop It Heavy" on his debut album, taking it from the last album with Show "Full Scale LP", which came out just the year before: is a great cut, Showbiz behind the keyboards, at the mic the boy trades bars together with heavyweights KRS-One and Big Punisher, in a sensational piece that is present on almost every single official (and unofficial) DITC release. It’s impossible to forget the fact that the generous DJ Premier decides to give AG a classic piece with "Weed Scented", in a track that unites Gang Starr and DITC, with Guru joining AG and OC on the mic over a dark, dystopian, silenthillian boom bap pulls out by Primo with his trademark production style.
These two songs raise the album's level, but the rest of the album in comparison can only disappoint.
Rating: 6.7/10.
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