The release of the hip-hop group Terror Squad's debut album was a success and seemed to have launched the group's career. However, a few months later, Big Pun died, and later, members Cuban Link and Triple Seis left Terror Squad in conflict with Fat Joe, who replaced them with Remy Ma and Tony Sunshine. In 2004, the group was ready to return to conquer again the market and their rightful place in the circuit. Fat Joe was coming off a solo album that had little success in sales, but he managed to land a hit that saved his career and relaunched it: "Lean Back".
Originally, the piece should be a solo by Fat Joe, then Remy Ma obtains to record some verses for the track. On a mesmerizing, unwavering dance beat crafted by a more inspired-than-ever Scott Storch, Don Cartagena and Remy Martin drop the rap hit of 2004. First song of Fat Joe to top the Hot 100, and is signed Terror Squad, best-seller rap single of 2004 in US, the second in UK only behind "Yeah!" by Usher ft. Ludacris and Lil Jon, called by Fat Joe for the remix of "Lean Back" along with Mase and Eminem.
In just few years, Terror Squad has shrunk in size. In the small picture on the cover we have Richard "Prospect" Perez, John "Armageddon" Eaddy, Joseph "Fat Joe" Cartagena, Antonio "Tony Sunshine" Cruz and Reminisce "Remy Ma" Smith. Fat Joe this time dominates the center, there's no longer Big Pun to steal the scene and write him the rhymes. Remy and Tony Sunshine replace Sammy "Triple Seis" Garcia and Felix "Cuban Link" Delgado. Remy Martin (discovered by Pun himself) is bold enough to compensate — in part, of course — Christopher Rios.
The album's noticeably different from the previous one. With the disappearance of Big Punisher the group loses power and so much talent. Unlike the previous record, for example, there's not much space for rappers who aren't Joe and Remy (Prospect appears very few but his verses are the best here). Joe, as he did most of his post-NY career, decides to follow the trend of the moment and plunges into that one of club-oriented crossover made by catchy rhythms and catchy hooks. Braggadocio gangsta-stuff, average themes.
The music is provided by Cool & Dre, DJ Khaled aka Beat Novacane, Scram Jones, Scott Storch, StreetRunner, Emile, Lord Finesse, Davel "Bo" McKenzie, Buckwild, Armageddon and LV. The guests are Dre, Big L, Tha Realist and Young Selah. Terror Squad sophomore LP is opened by "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me", a good level jazzy soulful song produced by DJ Khaled under the moniker "Beat Novacane" (his career is launched by Terror Squad). Joe delivers [badly] hardcore and can't throw more than five bars in a row, even Tony Sunshine in closing manages to makes six bars in one shot.
The next tune a single ballad that launches Remy Ma in the game, good flow, good personality, is the only one that can go to take away space from Joe on this record, the former DITC rapper arrives in the second verse, but isn't up to that of Remy, who also spits well in the next song together with Prospect and Armageddon, here restrained by a bad choice in production (Cool & Dre) and by a plaintive and annoying hook.
You get to the single "Lean Back". On this track there would be a book to write. In short, the Neptunes are shamelessly copied here. Joe hasn't yet digested Pun's platinum and holds "Jealous Ones Still Envy" tight. It's not enough. He still pursues the perpetual commercial success and he manages a great coup with "Lean Back": Scott Storch's heavy, synthesized and very sick rhythm — he has really guessed a few in his career — Joe delivers his verse in a slow, rough, dirty way, looks decent, but then Remy Ma arrives and she give him a lesson with a calm smoothness that he never had, she gets rid of his verse with a completely embarrassing ease and naturalness. Joe returns but the best is over and he cares little: six months after the #1 in the rankings and the worldwide success, the single becomes gold.
"Take Me Home" is another single for the club, the rhythm of Cool & Dre is mainstream with salsa, Joe shows a mainstream flow, weak, poor, banal in its false speed, better Armageddon and Remy Ma: the latter's more natural, calm and fast than Joe, impeccable. Even "Streets of NY" has a mediocre rhythm, chosen by Emile Haynie, soulful with salsa, slow, close to the ballad, weak song by Remy and Sunshine and that doesn't deserve replay (however the catchy rhythm could be deceiving).
"Bring'em Back" is a flash in the middle of the mud: there are Big L and Big Pun, obviously in this cut, Fat Joe smothers everyone and decides that there must be only him together with legends. Alternative boom bap realized by Diggin' in the Crates Crew beatmaker Lord Finesse and Davel "Bo" McKenzie, hardcore with salsa, with licks of guitar, it's hard you can listen to a more brazen mainstream cut than this one. Joe delivers a lousy first [verse], long, exhausting, without energy, little determination, zero hardcore, long pulls, Big L and Pun hook; then to Big L unreleased [verse] that lives of new life on this stuff pulling out a great rapping, then Pun with another unreleased verse. These are the two better verses of the album.
What follows is little more than liquid garbage: a terrible tune of Fat Joe produced by Beat Novacane (boom bap with mediocre sauce), then "Pass Away", the only decent and listenable boom bap on the record (thanks Buckwild), the good delivery dropped by Armageddon is in contrast to Tony Sunshine's improper hook, but it's a decent track overall. "Let Them Things Go", on the other hand, is completely different: another nasty Cool & Dre rhythm, really bad, simplistic, bouncy, ugly. Hook by Dre, Cartagena is discreet while Remy Martin is embroiled in this rubbish, closes Young Selah. Skip this stuff, you don't miss anything.
"Thunder in the Air" is one of the few liveable tracks of the LP, boom bap light alternative (salsa is always there), good proof of Prospect, listenable flow and decent delivery. The last tune of the album [and of the group's career] is closed by Joe with Remy Ma & Milly: simplistic, poor, cheap boom bap, Joe isn't convincing in two ways, Remy's better as usual. Nice the bridge on Milly's spoken hook.
While Fat Joe is still on Atlantic Records deal, Terror Squad leaves the label and signs a new deal with Steve Rifkind's Street Records Corporation (SRC Records), becoming the flagship rap act of the label. The album is then released by Terror Squad Production and SRC Records, distributed by Universal, reviewers judge it positively and it goes well in charts, selling over 100,000 physical copies in a couple of weeks, peaking #7 in the Billboard 200 and becoming the first album of Fat Joe at the apex of rnb chart.
Rating: 4/10.
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