featuring the Garcia Brothers, Stum, and Bump Johnson. Struck of the Garcia Brothers ends up steating the show. On the Lead singte, "lt's Atright," Truth Hurts shows up on the hook and sings backup white Cheeks'bouncy flow marries the beat perfectty. Cheeks has never been known as a hard-core tyricist, but his voice has the abitity to grab your attention and he demonstrates this here, The atbum ends with the undesirable remix of "What's Happenin"' as weLl as the itt-fated heartfett attempt "LB FamiLy," which wittfail to grab the attention of most Ladies and Ghettomen. The atbum has a few hightights but uttimatety feels unfinished. - ADG, adg@tmail.com
SAK PASE
- but you cannot deny this joint! On "Yung Wun
Anthem," Swizz makes good use of those horns again, giving YW some more swagger. Fettow
duced "WaLk it, Tatk it." Atthough this sampler onty has snippets, the production on "l Tried to Tett Ya" teft me wanting the futt atbum! - ADG, adg@tmail.com WU.TANG CLAN
& WU-TANG CLAN
CLEF/ KOCH Wyclef Jean has atways hit us in the head sideways
(RECORDED
verse. By the time this issue hits the shetves, the potiticatly charged "President" wilt be far out of people's minds. Regardtess of who wins the etection, I don't beueve their four years wit[ come cLose to futfitting Wyclef's vision which inctudes finding the cure for cancer, taking Air Force One to give the hometess in the hood
Air Force Ones, or seeing Mustims, Jews, and Christians hotd hands on the beach at a party together. The remix is a bit more hip-hop but has the same message, with help from Nevada and Trini Don over a synthed-out beat. About a year ago a track surfaced catted "Life in NY," which featured newcomers ShetLs, Posta Boy, Cassidy, and Trini Don. I was hoping it woutd be on Preacher's Son, but instead 'Ctef gave it to us on Creote 101. This version features Buggah, and it's in Creote. Whether you speak Creole or not, musicatty you can appreciate this aLbum. - ADG, adg@tmail.com YUNG WUN
THE
DIRTIEST THIRSTI-
EST - ALBUM SAAAPLER
FULLSURFACE/JRE. CORDS
More than a coupte years ago, you mr'ght have heard Yung Wun hotd his
own
atongside
Snoop,
Jadakiss, and Scarface on the Ruff Ryders' Ryde or Die 2 compitation, Just a year ago, I heard the resuLt of a David Bannet Lit Ftip, Dl,lX and Yung Wun cottabo with "Tear Up." I don't know why the song didn't btow up back then
it
maybe
it
OF THE
DISCIPLES
spoken word intro, Jean's contempt for the British and French attempts to invade Haiti is tremendous, but stitt isn't as strong as the pride for his Haitian peopLe. Most of the tyrics are in Creote, which I don't understand, so LyricaLty I have no legs to rate this atbum. Ctef manages to introduce his culture to us through the rhythm of the drums and the precision of the guitar. CLef drops an Engtish verse on "Haitian Mafia," where Foxy Brown lends a hand with a bitinguat
was the timing or the promotion
WU
GREATEsT HITS
CHA}iIBERS
LIVE
SAN BERNARDINO,
36 IN CA
7/17tO4l
A littte
with his musical creativ-
-
OF THE
LEGEND
TANG: WU-TANG CLAN'S
PRESENTS
Creole 101 acts more as a reciprocaL atbum. Carnival was predominantty Engtish with a touch of Ctef's native tongue, but Creole 101 - as you might guess from the name - proves to be the total opposite, ln the
HuSSler ("One Day"), DJ lvtesto ("ltalian Rid-
artist Cassidy adds some diversity
dim"), Drastix X ("DJ ShoMime freestyle"), Frank wjth "One More Day in the Hood," but the song Diggs ("Latin Swing"), and internationaI producer fails to make as much noise as the Banner-pro- Magiera ("Tru Luv"). Frank Diggs'"Latin swing" is FulL Surface
WYCLEF JEAN WELCOME TO CREOLE
ity, att the way from jacking country sampLes to his stint at camp Canibus. He atways keeps us guessing. Promising to pick up where Carnival left off,
Foxxx. There's ptenty of beat'jacking here, but she does inctude original production from Cee
tess than ten
years ago, the wu-Tang Clan stormed into the New York hip-hop scene
with the
cLassic singte retease "Protect Ya Neck / Method Man" fottowed by "C.R.E.A.M. / Da Mystery of Chessboxin'." Soon, their aLbum Enter the 36 Chambers was reteased. Being a kid who tived just over the Verazano Bridge who's sister did promotions for Wu-Tang might have made the swarm a littte bit more fierce personatly, but tistening to the reteases is confirmation that the feeting I fett must have been fett by hundreds of thousands of hip-hop fanatics, The first retease, Legend, is nothing but sixteen tracks of pure heat. lt inctudes Method lan's solo banger, lnspectah Deck's verse on "Triumph," and the Shaolin rendition of Run-DMC's ctassic "Sucker MCs." I was a littte disappointed to see the exctusion of "Winter Warz " and the incLusion of "Shaotin Wortdwide" and "Diesel." The tatter CD, from Sanctuary Records, is a LIVE release which goes a bit further, giving us the real grime from "Teaft" to "lncarcerated Scarfaces." Live reLeases are more for the diehard fan than anyone else, but it sounds like anyone who was on hand for this Juty 17th show got a chance to see the originat Wu shine tike they haven't shone in years. - ADG, adg@tmail.com JADE FOXX
(HOSTED BY
DJ
a nicely-produced track, but Jade's vocat sound forced. "52 Bars," however, shouLd be renamed "HEAT!" Over Xzibit's "Pavarotti" beat, Jade spits the ugly truth: "Sometimes I wonder why the fuck I make music / 'Cause it's tike l'm fighting for a cause fake and usetess / Peopte don't show you love untess your shit is ctich6 / l'm tired of having to show my skitl to shady DJs / 'Cause they don't respect you, even if you hot they don't accept you / Tit you got a deat, then alt of a sudden they want to rep you." - ADG, adg@tmail.com
BUMPJ&THEGOON SqUAD WELCOME TO GRIIIMWILLE PART 2 Mth the current success of Kanye West and Twista com-
ing out of Chjcago,
it wasn't
long before another Mndy City native woutd step into the spottight. Thefirst trackon the atbum/mixtape is the attention-getting "Overnight Cetebrity" remix. Camron, 50 Cent, and Twista verses are alt used to give the ittusion of a cotlaboration, but it's just a cut-and-paste job with Bump adding a fitter verse. On "Drama," both Bump J and the secret weapon sty Polaroid do a pretty damn good job of hotding down the Goon squad, but Bump takes the crown with bars [ike, "Niggas think I fett off, no no / If ever Bump fatts he's gon'come back like a yoyo / My flow's toco, your shit is so-so / Yo bro, my money tong tike Rebecca Lobo." Next, "G-Thang 2004" is a Snoop track where Bump J shows some
real tyrjcism with vivid simites, The true gem of this atbum is the remake of Jay-Z's "What More Can lSay," with its jmaginative metaphors. Bump touches on the subject of studio gangstas, spitting, "These rappers teave home, go to the studio and turn into Nino / Tatking the streets like it's
part of their lingo / Fine, they'tl find you in the water like Nemo." The DVD s reptay vatue is mini. mat, but a good education on the Goon Squad and Bump J. - ADG, ADG@tmall.com SEAN JAY
HIP HOP 4 DUIIAA,IY'S THEME MUZIK Sean Jay, formerty known as
SHOW-
lnfinite Prince, disptays con-
LET A WOMAN HANDLE
fidence on tracks like "Hawaii Hop," where SJ ctearty has no probtems being in
TIME) THIS!
With wett over '150 mix-
his own skin. Some of the
tape appearances, Jade jacked instrumentals from nationat and regional Foxx now gives us her hits are reatly vitatto the effort, tike "Lean Back," own mixtape. Whether "On Fire," "Hood Hop," "Ridin' Big Yo," "The
a hook ("Progress") or spjtting some Champ is Here," "Jesus watks," and "Locked Up." heat ("52 Bars"), this is a good representation sean Jay is on fire with tines tike "see what you of Jade and it shows why this setf-proctaimed got, bring on your best demo / Get a burn mark as singing
long as a stretch limo / sean hard enough to make your man retire / DenzeL been hel[, l'm a man on just a basic promotionaL toot fitted with songs, fire." Fult lmpact's DJ Skream is the host, with apremixes, freestytes, drops, and declarations, lt pearances by Raw Dizzy, Rev Run, Pitbutt, and a does contain a nice consistency of materiat, few other soLid up'and-comers. Sean Jay is trying however, with Jade rattying atongside stars tike to pioneer hip-hop in the 50th state and has no Nas, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, and Ltoyd Banks. To add qualms about repping it, but I do believe he hotds some vatidity to those mixtape appearances, some contempt for another Hawaii native which is Jade inctudes some sampLe material from documented on tracks like "Hawaii Hop," "Lean Funkmaster Ftex, Jesse Jazz, and Ezdusit. Jade Back," and "The Champ is Here," Sean Jay's tife is sounds right at home atongside Banks on the fulty documented on "ln the Spirit" and "Hustte," Atchemist track for "Bangers." Unfortunatety, covering atl the reat-Life issues an aspiring artist Jade's verse on "Turn up the Mic" paLes atong- experiences. This is hip-hop you can think to, not side the introspective Nas and the gritty Freddy just smoke to. - ADG, adg@tmail.com
mixtape queen is making so much noise. The actuat format of the CD isn't anything speciat, it's
OZONE MAGAZINE NOVEA48ER264
29