Debut album by Def Squad rapper Keith Murray, affiliated with Erick Sermon, native of Central Islip, Long Island. The production is entirely done by Erick Sermon, with two rhythms created together with Rod Kirkpatrick and one left to Busta Rhymes, while the guests are Jamal Phillips of Illegal, Erick Sermon, Redman, Hurricane G and Paul Hightower. Sermon's beats are simple: East Coast boom bap with hard thumping and tight midtempo drum, often light accessible and perfect, sometimes downtempo, and funk and soul samples.
It's an honest musical carpet for Keith Murray's hardcore rap, possessing a good vocabulary and competent lyrics: his delivery style is fresh, youthful, flowing, at times sparkling and eclectic, allowing him to carve several dope tracks, including the title track. He manages to entertain the listener most of the time, providing good pieces, even if he seems to be overtaken by the few guests present: Jamal eats the hard beat of "Straight Loonie" with incredible ease and great style, Hurricane G runs effortlessly light-hearted, refreshing the record towards the end, while Redman kills the Def Squad track "How's That" which also featured Sermon on rap, with a smoothness dope hardcore delivery.
Released by Jive, the album achieves an honest success in sales, reaching the top 40 in pop records, the top 5 in the rap chart and gold certification nearly a year after release. It's a recommended listen to EPMD and Redman fans, while to a casual listener it might seem normal rhythms and rap: Keith Murray practically makes no mistake and gives a short and solid record of three quarters of an hour.
Rating: 7.5/10.
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