“Kings of Crunk was some shit that covered the whole globe. It was something for everybody on that album. It had plenty of crunk, but it had a lot more: from house to East Coast shit to West Coast shit. It was like a pot of gumbo.” - Bohagon “GET LOW” featuring the Ying Yang Twins When you make a song so lewd that even potty-mouthed comedians like Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock insist that it’s too much, you know you’ve done something big. For the spring of 2003 Lil Jon & ESB and the Ying Yang Twins had the whole country under their skeet, er, spell. “NOTHING’S FREE” featuring Oobie This song took over every strip club in the South when it dropped. It gave the DJ a chance to talk more shit and empowered the dancers to get more money from their clientele. “REP YO’ CITY” featuring Bun B, 8Ball, E-40, and Petey Pablo With explosive performances from all the guest features, this record helped usher in the “New South” sound.
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ESSENTIAL SOUTHERN ALBUMS
LIL JON & THE EASTSIDE BOYZ KINGS OF CRUNK BME/TVT 2002
by N. Ali Early
W
hen Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz set out to make Kings of Crunk, they were clearly on a mission. “I wanted to make a down South Chronic,” Jon says of his fourth album. So the universal appeal that came from it was no mistake. For his efforts, Jon yielded similar results as Dr. Dre’s ’92 classic. With over a handful of radio hits and street slump combined, he became the very definition of “Crunk.” He in fact became a phenomenon whose likeness would dominate three episodes of “Chappelle’s Show,” effectively turning the page from down South commodity to worldwide phenomenon. His coin catchphrases would resonate on the streets of Daytona Spring Break and then the world, sending everyone from college students to young professionals into hilarious cries of “Yeeeeaaaaahh!!!” “Whaaaattt?!” and “Okaayyy!!” In essence, Kings of Crunk resembled the perfect union of personality and production. The beginning and the end of Atlanta’s sonic crunk movement will forever have Lil Jon and this illustrious ensemble of characters to thank for it. With appearances from hip-hop legends like Bun B, E-40, Trick Daddy, 8 Ball and Too $hort, Kings of Crunk solidified itself in the streets as much as it did with the monsoon of media outlets that dared critique it. On the commercial side it blended as well, at times blurring the lines between the club and the block. A prime example is “I Don’t Give a Fuck.” Led by Jon’s enticing hook, “You got a pocket fulla money nigga / I don’t give a fuck!!! / You trickin’ off with them hoes bitch!! / I don’t give a fuck!” Mystikal adds similar credibility through rhyme – “I’m a bastard / Nigga I’ll fuck over me / You know what I’ll do to these rappers!! / Come in here huffin’ and puffin’ and screamin’ and cussin’ and bussin’ these verses / Nigga you betta calm yo ass down unless you excited to see me in person!” Easily one of the album’s most memorable and celebrated tracks, Krayzie Bone rides it off into the sunset. In a similar vein comes “Rep Yo City,” featuring the ambassador of the Bay Area and noted slanguage samaritan E-40. Bun B and 8Ball offer further lyrical fervor, while Carolina representer Petey Pablo does his best not to drown in the midst of some renowned hip-hop heavyweights. Still, “Rep Yo City” proved a convincing anthem for Any City,
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“THROW IT UP” featuring Pastor Troy Lil Jon and Pastor Troy on the same song can give you a heart attack if you’re not careful. Troy gives a clinic on how to rap over a Lil Jon track. “I DON’T GIVE A FUCK” featuring Mystikal and Krayzie Bone On paper this combination raises doubt, but the result is perhaps one of the crunkest songs ever recorded. Rapid-fire lyrics about kicking ass and taking names coupled with three other grown men screaming. How much crunker can it get?
USA, even ones with “blunt monkey freaks” scurrying about. The East Side Boyz take their turn at leading the call and answer theme that Lil Jon has all but perfected on “Nothin’s Free,” featuring Oobie. If nothing else, this mid tempo softer version of crunk illustrates Lil Jon’s ability to cross genres, as he-dips into the rhythm and blues pot for inspiration. The impending results are easily manageable for either an emcee or a songstress. Similar songs include “Nothin’ On” (Oobie, Chyna White and Bo Hagon) and “Play No Games” (Trick Daddy, Fat Joe and Oobie). Aww skeet, skeet, got damn!! “Get Low,” featuring the Ying Yang Twins was an outright commercial success, and was likely intended to be. A tribute to the strip clubs and the women that make them as addictive as purp, Kaine and D-Roc impart their familiar element. Their sound, oft times translated through comedic outpours associated with cartoons and/or nursery rhymes, this XXX rated track is a how-to for exotic dancers: “Twurk som’n baby / Work som’n baby / Pop yo pussy on the pole / Do yo thang baby…” Since taking Atlanta’s crunk phenomenon to a near metoric level, Lil Jon has seen his once devout followers fall off faster than Craig Mack. Once hailed as the “Ambassadors of Crunk,” BME’s own Trillville has since decided to brand themselves “trill.” And perhaps that’s a good thing for Jon. He effectively set the bar so high and so far out of reach that no other entertainer could compete. “Everybody makes music to get crunk to because that’s been a culture of Atlanta,” explains the Ying Yang Twins D-Roc. “That’s a culture of Atlanta. If I been gettin’ crunk since I was a baby, Atlanta been gettin’ crunk since before I was here. When a song come on that you like and you get crunk, and you like ‘Yeeeaaahh!!’ that’s gettin’ crunk. It’s not just what you do on a rap. Crunk is culture. We get crunk off situations. If somebody finna fight, we finna crank it up. That’s crunk. It don’t portray with music. Crunk and music is only Lil Jon.” Okkkkaaaaayyy!!!