In this episode of "Don't judge an album by the cover" we present the first album of Donald "Lil 1/2 Dead" Smith, rapper from Long Beach, California: image, moniker, title and even the title font might make you believe that this is a filthy horrorcore album and, instead, is an enjoyable g-funk product, smooth as silk.
The beats are made by Courtney "Tha Commander" Branch, Tracy Kendrick and a dozen other guys between producers and instrumentalists: behind the keyboards are Deyon "Cali" Davis, Clever, Damon "Twin" Rose, K-Phix, N-Hance and Russell "DJ Silk" Brown, guitar and bass are performed by Del Atkins, Robert "Fonksta" Bacon and Charles Feraing, while the scratches are provided by Baby G, producer of Dallas hip-hop group Mad Flava. X-Con, Chaos & Quicc 2 Mac of Hostyle, MC Chill of CMW and AMG are the guests of the tape.
The rapper, linked in some way to Snoop Dogg (he's a relative / LBC Crew affiliate / part of the Dogg Pound Gangsta Crips crew), provides elementary gangsta lyricism flowing with effortless and fluid rapping style over pleasantly accessible and consistently good g-funk production. The synths are velvety, at times haunting or random, but never annoying, aided by excellent mobb and relaxed samples, and by a slow and tight hard drum that doesn't hinder the fluidity of the record: distributed by Priority, it gets an honest commercial result. G-funk fans will surely appreciate it. 7.5/10.
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