Young Gunz — Back to Business [mixtape]

From the darkness of Gotham City Philadelphia emerges a dimly gray lighthouse displaying a symbol that, if it weren't that of a generic mid-2000s East Coast pop rap group forgotten by all, it could also be that of a new religious sect. Yes, Young Gunz are back, stronger than ever, better than ever. They're back, with a crisp red band, under their original name, "Chris & Neef", and back to business on this mixtape hosted by Don Cannon. The tape features 14/15 songs, few guests, no skits and just under three quarters of an hour of listening time, almost as if it were an album.

After a long hiatus, the boys go again in search of a positive mainstream response which in this case does not arrive, represented by several attempts at commercial club tunes such as "Dat Tree", with some synthesizers accidentally falling out of the sky over poor production, and "Get Money", modern, cheap and annoying track that boasts some trapped synthesizers in the background and a poor rapping by the duo on a rhythm with Middle Eastern vibes reminiscent of some Neptunes productions.

The project is cheap, pseudo-modern and subdued, Young Gunz sounds sleepy, lacking energy, light-hearted and cheesy even in the rare moments when there are accessible and noteworthy beats. The music is sparse, simplistic, weak, too tight and skeletal, and it doesn't improve when it tries to vary using very tight soul loops ("Ha Ha"), funky rhythms ("Going Hard"), mixes soul and jazz ("We Back") and features ballad-like beats ("6 in the Mornin'", "Gonna Change"). If rapping disappoints and lyricism has never been the strength of the duo, the hooks seem to play against Young Gunz, with several questionable, annoying and banal choices, even when the chorus is left to a sample over a bad beat ("I'm Ill"). The few guests present, Meek Mill, Curren$y and Wale, are unable to fully salvage their tracks, though their appearance often coincides with a rare decent if not good beat on the tape.

In summary, possibly not as bad a tape as it sounds, but still too bad to recommend it, non-fans of the duo will struggle to find anything worthwhile in this dozen, 4/10.