Dirty/The Art of Storytelling/Rap-A-Lot It’s been awhile since we heard from Pimp and Gangsta. They put Alabama on the map before Rich Boy was old enough to drive a Cadillac, but these ‘Bama boys have become forgotten souls in this fickle rap game. Now with Rap-A-Lot behind them, Dirty is set to teach sucker emcees The Art of Storytelling. On songs like “Set Up,” “Check Myself” and “Comin Home,” Dirty vividly paint poetic pictures with real talk but songs like “Chevy Rock” and “Slob On My Nobb” are heard-it-all-before. The middle portion of the album seems dedicated to the ladies, where four songs (“I Got 50,” “Couple Hundred,” “Just Like At Her” and “Ride 4 Me”) focus on the females. Having the Pimp and the Gangsta back is a good listen, as their Dirty South lyricism over soul samples is refreshing music. — Randy Roper
Kia Shine/Due Season/Universal Motown Kin Folk Kia Shine has been hustling hard out of Memphis for the last few years, so you have no choice but to respect his grind. His rhymes are a different story. On Due Season, Rap Hustlaz Music handles the bulk of the production and lays a solid soundtrack for Kia Shine to work with, but this album is filled with far too many songs and rhymes about being fresh. The Play-N-Skillz produced “Krispy” is a perfect example of a standout beat that may be better off without Kia Shine rhyming over it. “Bluff City Classic” featuring 8Ball & MJG is a standout track but being out-rhymed by Jim Jones on “I Be Everywhere” isn’t a good look for Mr. Krispy. Due Season has plenty of dope beats and “swag music” that can teach a listener how to dress but for tips on how to rhyme well, you might want to look elsewhere. — Randy Roper Garcia/Life Unscripted/Latchkey Life Unscripted covers many angles as Garcia fuses Southern sounds, East Coast grit and Latin music on his sophomore album. The 305 representer gets listeners reacquainted on “Tell ‘Em Who You Are,” wears his culture proudly on “I’m Cuban,” and keeps it street on “I’ll Never Run.” “GaveHerDat” featuring N.O.R.E. is the only song that could have been left off the final cut but Garcia’s official street album has enough standouts like “Clear My Mind” and “The Struggle” to nullify a slight blunder. — Randy Roper
G-Mack/Tha Street Bible/Lost Land
Don’t get Kentucky misconstrued. The streets are alive in the Bluegrass State and Lexington, KY’s G-Mack represents for them on Tha Street Bible. Standout songs like “Checks Out” featuring Young Cash and Studio, and Mack’s regional smash hit “Hatah’s” are iPod selections for any street music fan. “I Got This” is another standout where Mack shows depth when he opens up about lost friendships, growing up without a father and a ruined relationship with his older brother. Although Mack still needs to develop versatility with his flow and delivery, ultimately Tha Street Bible checks out. — Randy Roper
Grandaddy Souf/Chasing My Dream SRC/Universal
Grandaddy Souf has spent years on the underground scene trying to breakthrough to the masses and on his latest offering, the underground vet continues to chase his rap dreams. Grandaddy starts off strong on the album’s title track, where he lyrically vents the frustrations of his life and career story. But with the exception of the introspection on “Gospel” and a tribute to his grandmother on “Because of You,” the majority of Chasing My Dream is a collection of stale cliché street tracks (“Deputy Dope Boy”) and poorly executed chick records (“Fun Girl” and “Keep ‘Em Coming Back”). While Chasing My Dream isn’t all bad, after this one, Souf’s dreams are still eluding him. — Anthony King
Reggae Gold 2007/Various Artists/VP
The Reggae Gold compilation has a long history of introducing the mainstream to the newest reggae music. The 2007 edition features new music from veteran artists like Sean Paul (“Watch Them Roll”), Elephant Man (“Bring It”) and Buju Banton (“Bobby Reds”) as well as newcomers Mavado (“Top Shotta Nah Miss” and “Last Night”) and Jah Cure (“Sticky”). The reggae version of Mims’ breakthrough single “This Is Why I’m Hot” featuring Cham and Junior Reid is also a featured track on this 2007 compilation. Reggae fans should find this compilation a must have but Reggae Gold 2007 doesn’t have as many standouts with breakthrough potential as in years past. — Randy Roper
4-Ize/Fantastik 4-Ize/Soular Sausage You may remember 4-Ize as the emcee “mouthin’ off” during freestyles on Luda’s first two albums. Seven years after first appearing on Back For The First Time, 4-Ize is finally hitting the streets with his debut album Fantastik 4-Ize. On many tracks Ize is seemingly rambling about nothing and refuses to pick a topic and stick to it. But Ize shines when he sticks to the script on songs like “We Outside” and “Lust.” 4-Ize is a gifted MC, so, “Can he rap?” is not the question. But the question is: Can he make an album with more songs that don’t sound like three random freestyles with hooks in-between? — Randy Roper
Chamillionaire/Mixtape Messiah 3 On the third installment of the Mixtape Messiah series, King Koopa flows through 22 tracks of remakes from Fabolous’ “Make Me Better” to Kanye’s “Stronger,” still kicking the rhymes of a hungry emcee but with the content of a rapper with more fame and more dollars in his pocket. MM3 could have benefited from a few original tracks or previews of what’s to come on Ultimate Victory, but this mixtape will give fans a Chamillitary fix until Koopa’s next major label release hits stores. — Randy Roper Brolic D & DJ Chuck T/Carolina’s Favorite Even since Raleigh, NC’s Norfclk hooked up with Ludacris’ label, the peace has been disturbed in the Carolinas. And Brolic D, a 2007 Patiently Waiting Carolina nominee, is part of the reason DTP has been making noise in NC. Although his Norfclk counterpart, Small World, falls ahead of Brolic of the DTP depth chart, Brolic D shows that he’s a “Carolina Favorite” on this DJ Chuck T-hosted mixtape. Brolic displays a furious flow coupled with ill punchlines on tracks like “100 Grand” and manages to open up on “I Tried” and “Problems.” A few tracks like “Shoot a Tool” and “Don’t Get Fucked Up” can be passed over but songs like “Shake Dat” and “Do What I Wanna” bang hard enough for listeners to take notice of this Carolina rhymer. — Randy Roper 36 & Bigga Rankin/Check My Resume Tempo and tone wise, 36 and Dirty Music’s Check My Resume is a monotonous listen, where none of the songs standout out from others. Except two records aimed to appease female listeners (“4 Da Freaky Hoes” and “My Bottom”), themes don’t surpass getting money, getting money and getting money. Dirty Music’s Diego appears on seven of the mixtape’s 27 tracks, and each time 36 is outshined by his guest rapper. On “Stand Down” Shawty Redd blesses 36 with the mixtape’s best production but 36 and Diego don’t bring anything refreshing to the table. While the mixtape doesn’t produce anything flat-out awful, it doesn’t produce anything memorable either. — Randy Roper Soulja Boy & DJ Scream/Supaman Starring Soulja Boy Though high school students and clubgoers idolize Soulja Boy, lil’ homie still needs a lot of work lyrically. True, he dominated the summer of ’07 in a major way, and it’s virtually impossible not to sing along to his “Supaman” when it comes on in the club. But if you’ve ever given Soulja Boy’s music a sober listen, it’s a disappointing experience. Most of this mixtape sounds like it was recorded after school in Soulja Boy’s high school gym. He does have an extremely loyal young fanbase, and the fact that DJ Scream hosted this mixtape gives it some credibility. But still, Soulja Boy only deserves 2 blunts. He’s too young to be smoking anyway. — Eric Perrin Willie Joe/The Signing Willie Joe’s The Signing is a solid pre-album release. With guest appearances from artists such as Jody Breeze, Clyde Carson, B.O.B, Lloyd, Playboy Tre, and Mistah FAB., this mixtape is better than average. It’s arranged more like an album than a mixtape, as it only has 13 tracks, but for true Willie Joe’ fans from The Bay to The A this is 50 minutes of crack. The Signing contains excellent production, including the DJ Toomp produced “This is How We Roll,” which is the highlight of the CD. Another can’t miss track is “Why Don’t You” featuring Playboy Tre and B.O.B. Willie Joe reveals glimpses of greatness all throughout The Signing, but on a few of the tracks like “Bay’d Out,” it’s apparent that he is still a rookie in the game. Regardless, Jazze Pha’s number 1 draft pick proves to be a good addition to the Sho’ Nuff family. — Eric Perrin
OZONE MAG // 93