Unique act of the New Orleans hip-hop group Young Gangstas, composed by rappers Charles "K-Syco" Conway and Crandall "Ghetto Red" Jones. Production is entirely handled by local producer Money Mike, with guests being Mr. Sleep, Feast, Bossman and the Blakjak.
The rhythms of Money Mike are simple: slow and scarce drums, skeletal and metallic, and synths shrill to the point of annoyance that enter everywhere, rarely approached by samples. K-Syco aka Left Hand Killa & Ghetto Red write gangsta, criminal and very violent lyrics, tackling murder multiple times and describing their lives with competent and vivid narrative, cloaked in a nihilistic view of their existence.
Released by Teflon Don Records, it isn't the most accessible album of the year, it takes at least two, probably three plays, to really get in and start enjoying the project. The influences are evident, musically, the record pays homage to the West Coast with beats that approach the sound of g-funk with these cheap and simplistic synths, while lyrically, it winks at the Ghetto Boys and pays homage to Scarface several times. The two rappers perform with an energetic, hardcore, regular style and the first twenty minutes are really good, thanks to a melodic production, accessible synths and excellent rapping; then around the middle, the album drops in intensity, the low quality of the production starts to beat stronger and the record welcomes several guests and songs not as excellent as the previous ones, even if still good. Hidden and forgotten hip-hop gem, it's considered one of the best gangsta rap CDs to come out of New Orleans in the mid-nineties, recommended.
Rating: 7.5/10.
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