Philadelphia center forward Beanie Sigel is expected to release his third album in three years with Roc-A-Fella in 2002, however, the disc starts to be delayed, because the rapper begins to have numerous legal problems. In 2002, he was arrested and charged with a federal weapons charge in Philadelphia. In January 2003, Sigel was arrested for a fight and the following summer he was charged with attempted murder after firing at the club door, wounding two people. In 2004, he was sentenced on federal weapons charges to one year in prison. At the same time, things are stirring within Roc-A-Fella: the three founders of the label, Damon Dash, Kareem Burke and Shawn Carter sell their shares to The Island Def Jam Music Group, which becomes the owner of the entire Roc-A-Fella. Unlike the others, Carter retains full control of the label and ousts his two former partners. Beanie Sigel ends up with an album he managed to complete before his prison sentence began in mid-2004 and the label split: on one side Jay-Z with his Roc-A-Fella, on the other Dash and Burke with the newly formed Dame Dash Music Group. Sigel would like to release his third LP on both labels, but he can't, and chooses to sign with Dame Dash. He would also like his State Property group to follow suit, however, the boys prefer to stay in Hova's Roc-A-Fella and this marks the definitive end of the group.
Music is provided by Just Blaze, Bink, Chad Hamilton, Buckwild, Heavy D, The Neptunes, DJ Scratch, Boola, Aqua, Ty Fyffe, Ruggedness, Da Neckbones and D. Dot. Being recorded between 2002 and 2004, the disk features numerous artists from Roc-A-Fella's roster: Jay-Z, Freeway, Young Chris, Oschino, Omillio Sparks, Peedi Crakk, Rell, Cam'ron, plus Melissa Jiménez, Redman, Twista, Snoop Dogg, Bun B, Grand Puba and Sadat X.
Most of the album's soul is in its opening track, "Feel It in the Air", a banger and third single from the project. The song has a deceptive and misleading title, because you would expect a sample from the Phil Collins classic, instead it comes one from Raphael Ravenscroft's "Whole Lotta Somethin' Goin' On." The beat seems destined for Black Rob, but his track, poised to become the title track of his new album, "Permanent Scars", ends up on the mixtape circuit after the record is shelved. There's Heavy D behind the keyboards and has been away from the scene for at least six years. The soundscape created by the artist is beautiful, clean, timeless: dark noir saxophone loops, smooth bass, careful drum, punctual hi-hats.
Background dope by Melissa Jiménez who also recites the chorus. Beanie Sigel in view of the prison, opens up personally to the game and analyzes his recent life, intensely expressing his raw feelings, spitting out endless references, delivering with a calm, slow, decisive, powerful, straight style. The boy carries on despite the beat and Jiménez's looped singing are trying to get him to stop. In fact, Sigel stops for the hook, then starts again stronger than before, he recites an iconic third verse and seems unstoppable, until he's arrested, not surprisingly, by SWAT at his home. This is one of his best tracks ever.
Aqua produces the next track, a State Property-inspired track featuring Freeway and Young Chris. The whole album has "The Blueprint" (2001) by Jay-Z as its pole star, and the music maintains connections to the chipmunk soul sound who was still a staple on the hip-hop circuit at the time of recording, and now, a few years later, it's fading. There's a good sample from Gloria Scott's "Love Me, Love Me, Love Me or Leave Me, Leave Me". The other elements in the beat construction aren't exactly solid, but Beanie Sigel delivers adequately to allow the track to go towards the five-minute mark. Freeway is fine, Young Chris isn't exactly needed.
"One Shot Deal" boasts a bland jazz loop composed of horns that get more and more annoying as the seconds pass. Bink's work isn't noteworthy, nonetheless, the track features Sigel flanked by Redman. Chad Hamilton sets the beat for the fourth pick, an attempt to create a banger for the club together with State Property guy Peedi Crack and up-and-coming Chicago rapper Twista, who bring a little festive lightness to this dark album. Snoop Dogg is the record's high-profile guest star on track number five, "Don't Stop", on as minimal music as possible made by The Neptunes, which unlike almost all of the duo's productions, is not bad and is acceptable, while Snoop Dogg singing on the hook almost in the counterpart of Sigel's rapping. This should be a certified banger, but somehow it's not and in fact you soon forget that Snoop ever actually collaborated with Beans.
"Purple Rain" boasts another legend as host, and they start to be a lot on the third album of a man who is practically forgotten in today's hip-hop. The song boasts a beautiful sample from "In the Rain" by The Dramatics, Ghostface built on it a touching song for friend Wise that was meant for "Supreme Clientele", but in the end it was only able to enter the Canadian edition of the CD and was then accepted on the compilation of the Stapleton rapper, "Hidden Darts". Bun B arrives to deliver in impeccable silky style a few bars in what is an ode to cough syrup mixed with codeine, theme of the song as you can guess from the title, on a clean production credited to DJ Scratch.
"Oh Daddy" reprises the Natalie Cole song of the same name for a compelling sample that's sped up and pitched up, made chipmunk by Boola to build the funky beat, lean drums, rough bass, silky flow by Beanie Sigel, Young Chris doesn't play in the same league of the other, while this sample is guessed to provide the hook. The core of "Change" is an early eighties ballad, Ty Fyffe does a good work creating this beat, Beans rides the slow current of the violin-driven beat, Rell and Melissa Jay provide the soul-rnb hook. The only production signed by Just Blaze in this third Sigel effort is "Bread & Butter", a piece about women in which the rhythm is complex and confusing, a bit disappointing. The Philadelphia rapper is joined by Brand Nubian rappers Grand Puba & Sadat X to bring the song to the end, six minutes, too many.
Ruggedness is credited to the beat of "Lord Have Mercy", he invents a dark production steeped in gospel, on which the emcee engages in a song of redemption and forgiveness delivering with a smoothness flow and being accompanied by uncredited backing vocalists Asia & Ashley who sing well in the background giving a gospel and ethereal vibe to the song. The track is the only one not to feature guest credits, so it appears to be Sigel's only solo cut, although it's not, which is why the album doesn't feature any solo songs by the author, perpetually accompanied by guests on these fifteen tracks.
Boola brings out a more urgent and frenetic musical carpet for "Flatline", song in which Sigel finds Peedi Crakk to drop violent thug bars. The sequel to "Tales of a Hustler" is Boola's third and final production on the project. The soundscape is excellent, borrows a beautiful melancholic sax loop from "Ancient Saga" by Passport, the drums are hard, dry, dry, deep bass in the background. Sigel rips cut, Oschino and Omillio Sparks arrive in the form of unofficial State Property duo O & Sparks and perform one of their most focused contributions. Buckwild gives this LP a pearl by inventing a wonderful beat for "Look at Me Now": sample from "Come On Down (To Get Your Head Out of the Clouds)" by Greg Perry, powerful robust bass, triumphant violins in the background, piano keys in the background that blend into the mix, heavy hard dry drums, soulful female ethereal chorus in the background, Rell's hook. Slick production by DITC guy, hardcore rap by Sigel in a redemption cut in which the boy addresses the haters and which easily descends among the best works of his ever, beautiful.
D. Dot provides a glossy, elegant and modern soundscape for "It's On", joint of Beans together with Hova previously released in the second album of the State Property group released a few years earlier. In theory it's a bonus track. Former member of the Hitmen, D. Dot builds a solid sounscape to support the delivery of the two emcees, flying over this beat with crazy flows. "Wanted (On the Run)" is the last song on the album and second bonus track. Da Neckbones makes the last rhythm of the edition, and it's quite good. The drum bounces, the piano is frantic, the bass is weak, it could be a little louder and driving. There's a pleasant melody thanks to an accelerated Bon Jovi sample and pitched up so it sounds chipmunk soul, the two artists create an interesting contrast with Sigel who sets up an energetic and adrenaline rapping of a hunted fugitive, while Cam'ron arrives with a more relaxed and carefree style. Part of Hova's label at the time of recording, he decides to sign with Warner after the split of Roc-A-Fella. Good closure for an almost classic album.
In the weeks leading up to his one-year prison sentence that began in November 2004, Beanie Sigel quickly completes his third studio album, the film "State Property 2" (2005) and five music videos for singles from his album, which comes out four years after the previous one. The production is often fantastic, majestic, slick, fresh and smooth, influenced by seventies soul music, there are some of the most beautiful rhythms in Sigel's discography, credit to the work of Heavy D, DJ Scratch, Boola, Ty Fyffe, Ruggedness and Buckwild. Philadelphia emcee puts aside the gangsta rap tenets that have characterized his previous works and he dedicates himself to more introspective themes in this new project, releasing some of his most personal lyrics and pouring out his dramatic experiences, his problems and his struggles in these thirteen songs, with good metric schemes and a decidedly different style of rapping compared to his other albums, here he's melancholy, embittered, surrendered.
The album is dark, urgent, deep, tight and messy, cold and heavy, surrounded by gloomy, sad, nostalgic, menacing and scary atmosphere. The record doesn't flow smoothly and is a bit inconsistent, also trying to move to the club and creating hits ("Gotta Have It", "Don't Stop", "Flatline"), paradoxically getting better results also in the charts with "Feel It in the Air", when it meets a very well set narration on a Roc-A-Fella matrix soul production with one of many female choruses that serve to let the listener and the album breathe after the very heavy, thoughtful and imposing stanzas of Beans.
Released by Dame Dash and Def Jam, Beanie Sigel's third solo effort rockets to #3 on the Billboard 200 and #1 among hip-hop records, positively received by critics. It's also the only LP released by Dash's label before its disbandment, because ODB's scheduled record "Ason Unique" never officially comes out with Dame Dash Music Group. The rapper is joined by guests for the entire 66 minutes, although he can carry out the whole project by himself, because no apparition feels overly necessary and he deservedly shines at his peak on his definitive album, which consolidates him among the most solid interpreters of the circuit.
Rating: 8.5/10.
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