Debut album for Marcellus "Celly Cel" McCarver, rapper from Vallejo discovered by fellow citizen B-Legit. The production is made by Mobboss and Studio Ton: both play guitar in their respective songs, E-Way plays guitar and bass together with Studio Ton in the cuts produced by him. The record boasts several guests, such as E-40, B-Legit, Mugzi, T-Pup, Kaveo, Mac Shawn, Levitti, Marjuna Mitchell and Kim Larson.
The title track opens the disc: boom bap funky, poor sample, dry and pounding slow drum, on this rhythm the rapper spits bars with a syncopated and slow style. The first cut doesn't impress, but the first part of this CD doesn't get any better than this: the second song features cheap g-funk synths a poor drum and weak samples to compose a funky beat, Celly Cel and B-Legit deliver with flat rapping. The next track has a mediocre g-funk rhythm, made up of a messy drum and poor samples. "How to Catch a Bitch" is a posse with E-40, Mugzi and T-Pup: none of these really impress on a mediocre rhythm, with thumping dry drum and shoddy g-funk sound, E-40 is easily better than the others, offering mediocre performance. Celly Cel suffers more in solo choices, also due to one of the less inspired productions of Marvin "Studio Ton" Whitemon, a boy almost at the beginning but who has already shown good things in the Stevens family records, with The Click, E-40 and B-Legit. "Funk 4 Life" has a bouncy drum machine, poor samples and a weak rhythm, the guy spits mediocrely and offers a sung hook.
The following song refers to that of Snoop, but the soundscape is weak with a wacky sample and Celly Cel's rap isn't entertaining. "Retaliation" is the best cut of the edition, by far: boom bap funky, decent sample, poor bouncy drum, honest delivery of the MC, much better E-40 signing the record with effortless contribution. The following two songs are produced by Mobboss, but the sound doesn't change: poor rhythm, funky boom bap, mediocre samples, syncopated drum, Celly Cel slow delivery. The following beat is slightly better: funky boom bap, weak and cheap dry drum pounding, decent samples, g-funk synths, lazy delivery of performers. Studio Ton provides the beats for the last three cuts. "Hot Sunny Day" boasts a lot of vocals on the hook and a poor delivery by Celly Cel on a bad production, with poor drum and weak sample. Choice number eleven is a vicious ballad, with g-funk vibes and cheap elements, the rapper delivers again with poor style. It closes track twelve, on the last faint funky beat.
Distributed by Sick Wid' It and later also by Jive Records, the record doesn't get much attention: It consists of twelve tunes for just under an hour of listening, and combines shoddy production with mobb and g-funk vibes with simple gangsta lyricism performed with light-hearted, effortless and weak rapping. Not recommended.
Rating: 4/10.
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