Second album in two years by Philadelphia rap group State Property, consisting of Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Peedi Crack, the official duo Young Gunz (Young Chris and Neef Buck) and the unofficial duo O & Sparks (Oschino and Omillio Sparks). This is also the latest CD from the Roc-A-Fella group. Just Blaze only produces the bonus track, most of the production is entrusted to Chad Hamilton, who builds the set together with Digga, D-Dot, S Dot, Boola, The Alchemist, Black Key, Ruggedness, Bink, Henny Loc, Warryn Campbell, Spike & Jamahl. Guests are Jay-Z, Dirt McGirt aka Ol' Dirty Bastard, who has just signed to Roc-A-Fella, Twista and Lil Cease.
Beanie Sigel is the most committed emcee on the project with seven appearances, followed by Peedi Crakk (6), Oschino (6), Omillio Sparks (5), Young Chris (5), Young Gunz (4), Freeway (3) and Neef, credited as a solo artist on one track. Freeway, Young Chris, Oschino, O & Sparks and Young Gunz get a solo cut, while O & Sparks appear on four tracks. In the cover Beanie Sigel is head bowed in the center, then clockwise Freeway, Peedi Crakk, Neef Buck, Young Chris, Oschino and Omillio Sparks.
The album is opened by the Young Gunz hit "Can't Stop, Won't Stop", which achieves a great and unexpected commercial success, reaching #6 on rap hits and earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 2004: it's the most successful track for State Property, including solo acts. It follows "It's On," D-Dot creates a nice glossy, light, glossy beat for Beanie Sigel and Jay-Z's silky rapping, they deliver very well on one of the best tracks on the record. The third choice, performed by Peedi Crakk and Oschino, maintains a certain level of quality and precedes the first solo on the CD, by Freeway, which is the only rapper from the group to get a solo tune on both records.
The CD flows nicely with fun tracks without too many ups and downs, merit of an accurate execution and a production that is well blended, accessible and faithful to the sound imposed by Roc-A-Fella in this period, despite coming from a dozen different manufacturers and many low-profile names. Oschino's performance isn't particularly praised by critics due to his slow flow in the solo track "Been Down Too Long" over a nice Black Key beat, and Freeway feels uninspired when his style is caged like in "Still in Effect", where The Alchemist creates a musical carpet that wants both to keep the chipmunk soul sound both going chart-topping with more radio-oriented sounds, with mixed results.
The whole product is closer to being a collection of songs than a group album, it has generic themes related to bravado, thugging, drugs and crimes and the music is relatively better than the first album. Some songs are solid, others are a bit average or below average, that doesn't stop the CD from becoming another commercial success for State Property, which returns to number one on rap records and lands at number six on the Billboard 200, releasing one of the best-selling records of the year, also accepted by the critics. When it looks like the boys are destined to replace Jay-Z in the Roc-A-Fella economy, Beanie Sigel ends up in prison in 2004 and decides to distance himself from the group and from Roc-A-Fella, which is divided between Jay-Z and Dame Dash: Sigel signs with Dash's new label and would like to bring the entire State Property with him, but the boys decide to stay with Jay-Z and the group disbands.
Rating: 6.5/10.
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