Bushwick Bill's second studio album, three years after the debut. Production is handled by Mike Dean, Clement "Mad" Burnette, John Bido, John "Swift" Catalon, CJ Mac and Freddie Young. The guests are CJ Mac, Sherm, Menace Clan and 3D. The lyricism of the rapper member of the Geto Boys addresses topics like gangsta, socio-conscious, sex, drugs, violence, misogyny, bravado, women, and thug, there's so much material that the MC offers with a technically clean and tidy rapping style, effortless, relaxed, slow, smooth and clear flow.
Personally, I find it his finest record: his rap is unassailable and the production is flawless, the guys from Rap-A-Lot are practically never wrong, the result is very pleasant. The soundscape boasts lean and dry, hard and heavy, downtempo and midtempo drums, accompanied by good funky samples, with dark, gloomy and melancholy traits, and the perennial presence of melodic and accessible g-funk synths, sometimes shrill, but never excessive, not even when they explode on the hook of "Who's the Biggest". "Times Is Hard" has the best beat: lean and dusty downtempo drum, funky samples, melodic g-funk synths, good smooth and slow delivery of Bushwick Bill. The rhythm of "Already Dead" also deserves a mention: melodic g-funk synths flood the track and obscure it, the drum emerges from the fog in an overwhelming way, it's fearless, mean, hard, downtempo and it carries with it the effortless, relaxed and hardcore delivery of the MC.
Released by Rap-A-Lot and distributed by Noo Trybe, the album reaches the top 50 in the pop chart and the third place among rap records, becoming one of the best sellers of the year in the genre. Composed of three quarters of an hour divided into a dozen songs (two skits), it's an essential listen if you're looking for the best of the South during the golden age. 7.7/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment