Tag: California

video review : Encino Man

Encino Man

I don’t get the title. A caveman, thawed back to life by two high school seniors; Dave and Stoney; awakes in California’s Encino, but there’s no real link between him and the city. It’s just the first place he happens to discover after thousands of years in hibernation. Forget the plot. There’s not much to see there. It’s his adaption to the modern world as the weird new “exchange” student from “Estonia” that, along with hippie Stoney’s quirky persona and lin… go, makes the movie, which is always stupid, at least fun to watch.

my rating : 3 of 5

1992

audio review : All Eyez On Me ( album ) … 2Pac

audio review : All Eyez On Me ( album ) ... 2Pac

2Pac is, as a rapper, near the height of popularity, so the exaggerated title of this album isn’t too far off. All Eyez aren’t on him, but a mixture of vanity and paranoia probably makes it seem that way from his point of view. It’s still Me Against The World. Everyone else is just waiting to see what his next move is going to be. If we’re looking, we’re listening, so this album is for the whole world.

It will be heard by rap music fans more than anyone else, of course, and in that category, it holds its own. 2Pac isn’t the best rapper or anywhere near; the Thug poet rarely has anything clever or particularly creative to say; but there is something to be said for his distinct sing-songy flow, in which he emphasizes random words by stretching syllables and putting an exclamation mark at the end.

If that’s not impressive enough, and I don’t think it is, it sounds a lot better over an array of sleek beats. There are also a lot of guest rappers; almost every song has one; but it’s the guest singers that really stand out. When one provides a catchy hook over said beat; Can’t C Me; the rapper shines more than he ever could on his own.

The second half of this 2-pack; a double album as far as CDs and tapes go; is superior in that regard. Run Tha Streetz and Rather Be Ya Nigga are catchy, perhaps even a bit romantic, and a sip of Thug Passion is all you need in the bedroom. Even when he’s calling out enemies in a violent rage, daring them to Holla at him, a singer is right there instigating with melodic taunts of her own.

That said, the album would be better limited to its best fourteen or thirteen songs. That means weaker inclusions like When We Ride, Hearts Of Men and How Do U Want It; not all the singers do well; would have to go. Even as is though, there are enough interesting things happening musically to hold your attention.

my rating : 4 of 5

1996
 

Muyiwa olubajo :

Some people don’t know what is really called a poet a distinct one for that matter that’s 2pac Amaru Shakur

audio review : Chronic 2001 ( album ) … Dr Dre

audio review : Chronic 2001 ( album ) ... Dr Dre

Dr Dre begins this album, the much-anticipated Chronic sequel, as The Watcher. He’s an “OG” who’s grown tired of the gangster lifestyle, so now, instead of running the streets and causing mayhem, he just sits back and observes others. He also raps not only better than Dre ever could but almost to the point of lyrical flawlessness. That’s because it was Eminem, not Dre, who wrote the lyrics for the song.

As the most popular rapper on the album, Eminem is like the new and improved Snoop while old Snoop, Daz, Kurupt, and Nate Dogg continue to do their thing. It wouldn’t be a Chronic without them. That’s almost literally the case considering the fact that they’re the only guests to be featured on both albums. Everyone else is new to the set and Eminem is the obvious best, so the two best songs are the two he’s on.

Elsewhere it’s up to Dre and his beats, composed with co-producer Mel-Man, to keep the song quality levels high. That they do with ride-rattling precision. It’s modern-day, sometimes futuristic, “gangsta” music with deep basslines, dominant kicks, snazzy snares and not a whole lot else. Less seems to be more here in contrast to the abundance of familiar instrumentals laced with the Chronic of 1992.

That it is conceptually limiting, thus rather silly, to name the album after the year 2001, especially when it’s released for 2000 and Snoop Dogg can be heard saying it’s Still 1999, is the one major flaw on a sequel that otherwise manages to outdo its predecessor. This is the better Chronic. If rap’s easily-influenced fanbase agrees, that means another career high for Dr Dre in the new millennium.

my rating : 4 of 5

1999

audio review : The Chronic ( album ) … Dr Dre

audio review : The Chronic ( album ) ... Dr Dre

“Welcome to Death Row,” a voice says as you enter a room filled with weed smoke thick enough to make you choke. It’s The Chronic; a westcoast (Californian) celebration where all “niggas” want to do is get “fucked-up” and ride around blasting their own records. The bulk of that music features hardcore rap vocals over 1970s-style P-funk; soul samples by George Clinton and others interlaced with original hip-hop tracks; dubbed G-funk for the gangstas.

Despite this solo venture, it’s still NWA. It’s just that Dr Dre is no longer a member of the group, so verbal gunfire goes to former homies like Eazy E, along with casual shit-talkers like Luke Campbell and Tim Dog. Though Dr Dre is only alone on the album cover, he has his own Dogg; a smooth-flowing youngster who goes by the name of Snoop; among plenty of others. They have his back thru whatever, deadly drama and random song features included.

The beats bang, the synths blaze and the rhymes are decent enough for the genre. “I write a rhyme hard as concrete,” RBX declares, “Step to the heat and get burned like mesquite.” The best song is the one with the deepest hook; a politically driven street anthem dedicated to the Lil Ghetto Boy. It begins with heartfelt testimony about a poor African kid, presumably real audio from the LA riots, and features a magnificent jazz flute that is sure to enhance your high.

my rating : 4 of 5

1992

my thoughts on the Canibus and Dizaster rap battle

I had a live video stream of the battle, but I’m not obligated to review it because I didn’t watch the whole thing. I decided to stop watching, and listening, once I realized that Canibus; an MC whose battle raps made him one of the best popular battle rappers in my mind, even though I’d never heard or seen him in an actual battle; was in over his head.

He forgot his lines and choked repeatedly, at least that’s what I gathered from the viewers in the chatroom I was monitoring, before pulling out a notepad to read from. It wasn’t just disappointing; it was embarrassing. It was embarrassing for me and I wasn’t even there. I can only imagine how embarrassing it was for him and everyone else who was.

I can’t feel too bad for him though. He had months to prepare. What made him show-up unprepared is beyond me. He may have needed the money; they say he got paid thousands of dollars; but it isn’t worth his reputation and career; both of which, considering his whole image is built around being a battle rapper, may be ruined beyond repair.

I hope not. I was never really a Canibus fan; I can’t name a lot of his songs I like; but I generally like him as a rapper and still consider many of his battle raps highly impressive, particularly during the 2000 BC era. Besides, a rapper doesn’t have to be able to battle for real in order to compose and perform clever and creative battle-style verses.

I also think he’s generally better than Dizaster, who wasn’t really impressive in this battle neither, judging from the bits I did hear, thanks mainly to his ridiculously-forced delivery. He tries way too hard, but at least he tries. I don’t know what Canibus was doing. Canceling at the last hour would’ve been better. Instead he lost in a profound way.