Sophomore jinx by Noreaga, rapper from Queens, New York. Production is handled by Neptunes, Trackmasters, Swizz Beatz, Ez Elpee, Mannie Fresh and SPK. The guests are Maze & Musolini, Kelis, Missy Elliott, Final Chapter, Scarlet O'Harlem, Troy Outlaw, Goldfingaz, Juvenile and Lil' Wayne.
Intro that is confusing and it confuses the listener. Towards the end, a dark-noir beat starts under Nore's speech. But, is there a doctor who says "b****" to a nurse? He got fired, right? What the hell was that thing? Track number two. Maze is the first guest on the album and helps Noreaga deliver this song with fresh flow on a heavy EZ Elpee production. "Gangsta's Watch" is a better track, Noreaga delivers with good style and there's a good jazzy, somber boom bap rhythm from SPK. The Trackmasters produce the following cut: bouncy rhythm, Noreaga eats two stanzas and leaves eight bars each for guests, Maze delivers worthily, while Musolini finds himself on another half-gloomy beat, practically home for him, and delivers better than the others. Kelis offers a weak chorus on track number five, on a bouncy beat by Neptunes, a not very strong Middle Eastern production on which Noreaga delivers well.
"The Pidgeon (Skit)", what is it? "If birds could listen to music right?" Homie, NORE: birds can listen to music, they listen to music. But it must be something very melodic. Anyway, no bird says "put on the Neptunes song, I want to dance" or "yo, yo, bro, did you hear Noreaga's new joint? That's hot, dog". EZ Elpee provides a great jazzy gloomy boom bap for "Blood Money Pt. 3", Noreaga delivers with a confident style, in a track that stands out among the best on this CD. "Weithuggedout" is one of the worst pieces on the album: Swizz Beatz's bad and annoying boom bap, Missy Elliott's bad hardcore hook, comes out a weak and unlistenable tune. Noreaga spits tired, dull, exhausted of energy, in an exhausting long song that goes unnoticed. SPK puts a lot of sad beats on this LP, including the one for "Going Legit": it can easily be a banger, but NORE delivers weakly and Musolini pulls out a slightly poor hook. Shuga Bear produces "Real or Fake Niggas": oriental sound carpet, Final Chapter better than Noreaga, which still sounds bland.
The Trackmasters do a hopping production for cut number eleven, indecent track with Nore, despite a decent ending verse from rapper Scarlet O'Harlem. Three similar joints follow. There's always SPK in production, he puts its typical cheerful bouncy rhythms that, however, have a sad aftertaste: on these soundscapes, Noreaga spits bars with a static style, bland, flat, dull, listless, poor, it doesn't work, the hooks he proposes are poor and the guests can't carry on the songs. "Oh No" is another bombshell single from Neptunes countersigned by Noreaga: boom bap bouncy like the previous single, choice for the club, Nore's typical "what, what" are back, with which he flooded "Superthug", the Middle Eastern rhythm imposed by Pharrell & Chad doesn't work.
"Play That S***" is one of the worst posse tracks of the year, on a bouncy beat by Mannie Fresh. An uninspired Lil' Wayne starts the games, Juvenile continues in shape, more energetic delivery, hook of NORE, who then begins his verse before leaving the way to three other guests. The beatmaker's shoddy beat leaves a lot to be desired, it sucks. Noreaga isn't fit with the rhythm, same speech for the others: Musalini and Maze spit without insipiration on such a bouncy beat. It's among the worst posse of the nineties. SPK goes behind the keyboards in "Flagrant Cops", the last real track of the record: boom bap bouncy cheerful, usually, he's not wrong, but here he is. Nore alone, goes little and badly, delivery crooked, shabby, without conviction, there's something wrong with his energy. The lead rapper closes overbeat with a meaningless final skit-outro.
This product is inspected by Noreaga himself in what is likely CNN's signature song, "Invincible", produced by DJ Premier: «Yo, yo Melvin Flynt drop / my whole collasso stop / I can’t believe I fu**ed up and made a half-*** album». This practically encompasses the entire album. Noreaga finds himself entangled between his desire to make a street album for the ghetto, and that of his label and his A&R who want it more commercial, and this is made clear on the cover: Noreaga goes from a street thug attitude a la Avon Barskdale, ready to take the front line against everyone and with a mood of "look at Franklin Terrace, I control them", to a managerial and entrepreneurial attitude a la Stringer Bell, far from the street, drug and crime, which controls everything from the rear and with a mood of "look at Franklin Terrace, I manage them". Noreaga finds justification for this problem: «My excuse is / my pops just died / and I ain’t wanna make music / my pops just died.» The result is a strange album, which still achieves considerable success and is certified gold: «My fans stuck with me / my sh*t still went gold.»
Released by Penalty Recordings and Thugged Out Entertainment, distributed by Tommy Boy Records, despite its controversial nature, it's well received by the charts, third among rap records, in the top ten of the pop chart: the production is irregular and alternates street songs with commercial ones, the lyrics have never been Noreaga's strong point and are almost all forgettable. This isn't a good body of work, the album is quietly ignorable.
Rating: 4/10.
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