Blogcritics Author: Thomas Rodriguez

DVD Review: Storm Warning

Thomas Rodriguez — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 22:33:02 EST

Sick, twisted, but more than a little effective.
Jamie Blanks, director of Storm Warning, is someone you could argue has been held down by "the system." Blanks has worked mostly within strict Hollywood guidelines, previously churning out by-the-numbers, mid-'90s slashers such as Urban Legend and Valentine with the main goal being to amass as much money as possible for each...

DVD Review: Live Free or Die Hard

Thomas Rodriguez — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:15:13 EST

An energetic, entertaining action extravaganza - the second best in the series.
Live free or Die Hard, indeed. The best Die Hard picture since the original (though this entry's overt modernization could have something to do with me enjoying it so) and it accomplished it, initially, with a PG-13 rating. With that being said, though, this film should have failed. A fifty-year-old Bruce Willis stars alongside Justin...

DVD Review - Hostel: Part II

Thomas Rodriguez — Fri, 2 Nov 2007 22:02:23 EDT

Not perfect, but a solid sequel to one of the best horror films of the last five years.
What is the desired worth of a torture flick in today's world of PG-13 horror films and summer blockbusters? The first Hostel was a major success, in director Eli Roth's opinion, because it mirrored the violent atrocities of America's (and other countries') involvement in the war in Iraq. To Mr. Roth, it acted as sort of a grisly...

PC Game Review: John Woo Presents Stranglehold

Thomas Rodriguez — Wed, 3 Oct 2007 22:00:40 EDT

Bloodshed is his only option.
It's been a long, arduous journey, but Midway's bullet riddled, spiritual sequel to John Woo's 1992 film, Hard Boiled, finally makes its way to the Xbox 360, PC and, in the coming weeks, the PS3 with much anticipation. But now that it's finally here, how does it fair against other recent, like-minded shooters?First and foremost, one thing I'd like...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Music Review: Trick Daddy - Book of Thugs: Chapter AK, Verse 47

Thomas Rodriguez — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 08:44:02 EDT

Trick Daddy, born Maurice Young, has amassed quite a bit of both popularity and clout with Rap fans below the Mason Dixon line. With his current stardom, it’s almost ironic to think that six and a half years ago he was simply trying to break himself out beyond that aforementioned imaginary border. The Miami native (Trick was born and raised in Miami’s Liberty City, arguably the city’s roughest area) finally got some major airplay with “Shut Up,” his biggest hit since 1998’s “Nann Nigga,” and also the lead single off of Book of Thugs: Chapter AK, Verse 47. And if you followed Trick Daddy’s career up to this point, you know exactly what to expect. Trick was not new to the Rap scene at this point (he released Based on a True Story…, his debut, under the name Trick Daddy Dollars three years prior). He was and still is, undoubtedly, one of the hungriest southern rappers to ever receive some major airplay. Trick’s subject matter was nothing original, but his presentation is light-years ahead of the competition. He would eventually progress through his career and lean more towards Pop-oriented topic matter and become less concerned with the thug themes he relied on in past material, but that doesn’t keep his once darker approach to music any less entertaining. Trick’s aged output was much gritter than the rest (competition included) and that is no more evident than on Book of Thugs’ 17 tracks. The most prominent material on this particular release, as per usual with Trick’s older works, is the thug tracks. It may be his first album on a major label, but Trick’s formula remained largely the same as that on Based on a True Story… and its excellent follow-up www.thug.com. The gritty, almost haunting “Thug Life Again” is the alpha and omega of the gangsta tracks that can be found on this LP; none of them quite measure up to this one. Harsh, uncompromising lyrics which revolve around breaking a crew member out of prison and upholding thug laws, not to mention the vicious, skittering production, are unmatched by anything else that this album has to offer. Tracks that manage to come close are the club-ready “Shut Up” which acts as both one for the streets and one for the dance floor and manages to successfully merge the two subgenres with little error. Guest spots include frequent Trick collaborators Duece Poppi, Trina and Co who all drop serviceable, if ultimately forgettable, verses. The album’s opener, “Boy,” is unique in that it incorporates Miami’s bass roots into its thumping production, combining catchy lyrics and also truly vibrant, upbeat backup for Trick, Miami-based group The Lost Tribe and J.V. to spit over. Even the darker, synth-heavy “Bout My Money,” which could have almost been too dark for its own good, stands alone as one of the album’s best moments. Trick’s charismatic rhyming and unique flow is a perfect match for the throbbing bass and light piano keys. Anyone who lives in the south certainly remembers Trick’s smash hit, “Take It to da House,” from just five and a half years ago. It seems this formula has always been something Trick wanted to experiment with as “Get on Up” is as close as any other Trick Daddy song has come to replicating that sound. It’s catchy, dirty, catchy, well-produced and… oh, yes… catchy. It contains everything one could ask for in a club jam and Trick serves it up on a silver platter. Not a stranger to songs relating to the opposite sex, either, there’s a good number of them to be thrown around throughout Book of Thugs’ near 54 minute running time. “Thug for Life” is a rhythmic, laidback ode to Trick always keeping his player ways intact, while “Could It Be” is a complete 180; instead of an ode to the player lifestyle, the rapper professes his love to a female and describes to the listener just how he enjoys loving her. Could this be a true love or simply lust? Trick asks a similar question on the hook. It’s much deeper than anything else on the album and, for that, it deserves repeated listens if simply for an early verse from Twista and the fantastic production. Mystikal had just left No Limit when this album was released and this was one of his first gigs off of the ill-fated label. “Tryin’ to Stop Smokin’” is one of the few songs I find myself skipping when listening to this album if simply for the too-busy-for-its-own-good production. Mystikal brings his usual brand of self-referential humor and charisma to the table and Trick handles himself well while in the company of one of the Dirty South’s finest, but the production holds little to no weight here. It seems even the toughest rappers have to have a song dedicated to the problems they face in their day to day lives, and for Trick, “America” is no different. Explaining to the listener what a poor black man (or the poor in general) face everyday, as well as speaking on such things as corrupt police officials and a poor judicial system, Trick’s lone message track is certainly worth the disc it’s printed on. Society guests with Trick and also manages to spit the better verse. Trick proves here that he has a good eye for social consciousness and should definitely try to put it to use more often. The synth-heavy, keyboard-laden production is nothing too fancy, though it provides the perfect ambiance for the track as a whole. One of the strongest songs here and, without a doubt, one of the most eye-opening, this will surely turn some heads. Book of Thugs: Chapter AK, Verse 47 is easily one of the best of Trick’s early albums. Not quite as good as www.thug.com, but also not as commercially viable as Thugs Are Us, it lies somewhat closer to the former, but with a bigger budget behind it. Trick is an exceptional rapper, though not the best, and the production is solid throughout, which is more than I can say for some of his later albums. If you like Trick’s singles but never wanted to give his albums a chance, you’re certainly missing out. He’s always been one of the south’s most promising rappers and this disc is one of the reasons why I continue to say that.

Thomas Rodriguez is a reviewing renaissance man whose first passion has always been, and always will be, writing.

Music Review: Silkk the Shocker - My World, My Way

Thomas Rodriguez — Wed, 4 Apr 2007 09:11:10 EDT

Like many of No Limit’s current and former soldiers, Silkk the Shocker is not the most talented of rappers. But that never stopped him from achieving platinum (Charge It 2 da Game) and even multi-platinum (Made Man) status. By the time the new millennium rolled around, however, many of No Limit’s hardcore fans were labeling many of their acts repetitive and even incapable of holding their own amongst the heavyweights. These criticisms were not unwarranted, and with rappers like Silkk representing the Tank, I’m sure these criticisms seemed more than legitimate. But Master P knew his game plan from day one and he was going to make sure his No Limit soldiers – family included – stuck to it. While Silkk’s sophomore album, the excellent Charge It 2 da Game, was all but pitch-perfect product, its follow-up, Made Man, followed the No Limit formula to a “T.” Nonetheless, Silkk has always been one of No Limit’s flag bearers and expectations always seem to fall down on him to deliver a standout record.Silkk is not the rapper that would leave talent scouts scrambling for their contacts, nor is he, topically, all that mature. What he is, however, is a solid rapper with an ear for catchy hooks with a charismatic demeanor. This was best exemplified on past releases rather than his recent work, but My World, My Way is not without its merits. More mature than past works and a bit more introspective as a whole, My World, My Way proves that there’s more going on in Silkk’s “world” (pun intended) besides guns, drugs, and thick women. The only problem is, without Beats by the Pound backing him in the production department, that signature No Limit sound would be noticeably A.W.O.L. The most enjoyable moments, and it is readily evident, are those that are uncompromised by the mainstream. The trunk-rattling, bass-heavy “Na Na Na” and the gritty “Funny Guy” are perfect examples of where this album should have gone. The production supplied fits Silkk like a glove and gives him enough leverage to spit his lucid, verbose rhymes over. His flow may be one of the more unique that the game has heard, but he manages to weave it effortlessly throughout these two backdrops. Other standouts include the grimy bass kicks of “Run” and the faux-fanfare of “Uh Ha.” Even though the backdrop consists of blaring synths and skittering drum patterns, Silkk and guest Slay Sean manage to make “Uh Ha” sound as menacing as humanly possible. The smoothed out “Pop Lockin’,” which features Snoop Dogg and Goldie Loc, is a standout as well. Soopafly’s production is nothing special, but the three rappers work the beat perfectly. The title track, “My World, My Way,” is a carbon-copy of any late-‘90s/early-‘00s DMX track, but Silkk flips it well even with a beat that wouldn’t sound out of place on X’s Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood. The more mature material, of which the best is easily the introspective “What’s Heaven Like,” is just as good. Background vocals are provided by an uncredited female vocalist for the aforementioned track and, when coupled with the mellow, keyboard-laden production, it makes this one of Silkk’s best backing tracks. Again, the youngest Miller brother is nothing special on the mic, but with more reflective material, he gets to stretch his songwriting abilities beyond the usual cliché No Limit themes… and it works. The album’s closer, “The Day After,” is much in the same vain as “What’s Heaven Like,” just without the fantastic backing vocals. Think of it as its inferior cousin, although the rapping certainly continues in the right direction. All of the No Limit prerequisites are met, and as per usual with an early ‘00s No Limit release, there are a couple of club joints to be found here. The better of the two is “He Did That,” which features banging production, a decent verse from Master P, and a standout appearance from fellow No Limit soldier, Mac (as usual). The highly inferior “That’s Cool,” which follows right after (and also features Trina), manages to get the entire formula wrong. “That’s Cool” is exactly how not to write and/or produce a club hit. Silkk isn’t completely without a heart and he proves it on tracks such as the female-friendly “Seem Like a Thug,” which might actually work if not for the lackluster production. “What I’m Looking For” is a bit more misogynistic, and the bouncy production certainly does nothing to make one think otherwise, but it’s entertaining nonetheless. Silkk’s shortcomings as a rapper are more than obvious as his attempts to stay on-beat are met by clumsy rhyming, but the end results could have been much worse. Not a complete travesty, but definitely not the best album in the No Limit catalogue, My World, My Way is firmly in the middle. If the production can carry the weight, then the track is listenable. If the production falters, then everything else is fairly worthless. The biggest problem is that half of the album is your standard No Limit fair (i.e. worth your money) while the other half suffers from poor production and raps. It’s not like Silkk was the most revolutionary artist in the first place, but he has always been at least listenable; here he is just bearable.

Thomas Rodriguez is a reviewing renaissance man whose first passion has always been, and always will be, writing.

Music Review: Master P - Only God Can Judge Me

Thomas Rodriguez — Sun, 1 Apr 2007 09:39:22 EDT

During this particular moment in No Limit history, Master P’s once unshakeable empire was finding itself on shaky ground. They were still selling records, but some of their more talented soldiers had already jumped ship (Mr. Serv-On, Fiend, Mia X, Kane and Abel, and Big Ed, just to name a few) and a few would leave soon following Only God Can Judge Me’s release (Mystikal, for example). P didn’t know it yet, but he was in a lot of trouble. P had announced his retirement from rapping a year earlier with the release of MP Da Last Don, a double-disc album that received decidedly mixed reviews. I’m sure about two people believed that P would retire for good, and the product that stems from his return is Only God Can Judge Me. Panned even more by critics than his previous release, it has been called, arguably, the worst album culled from P’s lengthy career. This is also the first of P’s “floss” albums. In order to keep up with the Joneses, P. Miller steadily moves away from the darker sounds of the likes of Ghetto D and focuses more on flossing and balling. There are a plethora of harder-edged gangsta numbers to be found throughout the record’s 23 tracks, as well as introspective joints, but there are also a good number of tracks aimed at the clubs and other such mainstream-oriented material. This resulted in the loss of P’s core audience, but it never really garnered him much acceptance in other circles as he probably would have liked, either. Everything else remains very much the same; borrowed hooks, cheap beats (although they are provided by different producers because, by this time, Beats by the Pound had left the label as well) and poorly written rhymes. But no matter how cookie-cutter the album is, it remains one of Master P’s most underrated works to date. Immediately noticeable, though, is P’s over-reliance on standard club jams and typical mainstream topic matter. Tracks such as the rabble-rousing “Step to Dis,” which featured newly signed No Limit soldier D.I.G., just doesn’t seem characteristic of the P that long-time No Limit fans grew to respect. Even “Say Brah,” which guests Mac (and also contains an excellent verse from him), isn’t anything special. It seems more akin to something fellow Dirty South representatives Cash Money would have released right around this particular time; production and all. Even more cookie-cutter and clichéd is “Ice on My Wrist (Remix)” which was shamelessly jiggy and sounded even more like a Cash Money carbon-copy than I’m sure P anticipated. The Latin-tinged “Oh Na Nae” is no better, featuring lackluster production and poorly written rhymes. The hook, however, is all that is really worth listening to.. There’s even a Jermaine Dupri feature here (“Da Ballers”) that sounds exactly like everything else JD appeared on during the ’98-’99 era (and that’s not a good thing). Generic rhymes and poorly realized production ensue. But, thankfully, there’s much more to the album than a handful of club joints and Cash Money imitations. “Ghetto Prayer” opens up the album with haunting faux-organ and piano keys and a truly reinvigorated Master P and Magic on vocals. Silkk the Shocker guests on the rough-n-tumble “Return of da Don” which features some of P’s better lyrics and a bouncy, hypnotic beat provided by producer Dez. The bass heavy, nihilistic “Ain’t Nothing Changed” would sound like classic No Limit material if not for the complexly layered production courtesy of Pennatentire. In fact, material such as the aggressive “Y’all Don’t Want None” and the D.I.G. feature “Who Down to Ride,” which has, quite possibly, the catchiest hook on the album, are all successes. Not one of the hardcore numbers falls flat. Perhaps that’s saying something about where P’s talents lie… Combining both the genres of R&B and Rap and calling it one became a big commodity just before the new millennium, and there are a couple of tracks that attempt this throughout the course of Only God Can Judge Me. The best of these is most certainly “Crazy Bout Ya.” It’s backed by syrupy-sweet vocals from Mercedes and a forgettable rap from Ms. Peaches. The production, however, is perfect; backed by mellow guitar plucks and hard bass. It is undeniably one of, if not the best, beats on the record. P is even unusually open and revealing, portraying a side of himself not normally heard on his albums. The second of these tracks, “Boonapalist,” features a more mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop approach, even though the lyrics are slightly thugged up in execution. This approach does work, however, and it makes for an entertaining listen. Ms. Peaches is featured once again, this time guesting on the hook, and D.I.G. drops a short verse. A bit more meaningful than the rest of the material on the LP, but still containing a harder edge, one could almost think of this as a prelude to Ja Rule’s genre-bending Thug&B material of the early 2000s. Even the introspective joints, such as “Where Do We Go from Here,” which features guest spots from Nas and Mac, and “Ghetto in the Sky,” which is, surprisingly, a Master P solo, are all excellent. “Where Do We Go from Here” contains some of P and Mac’s most uplifting (and best) lyrics while Nas feels simply tacked on for star power. “Ghetto in the Sky” is another revealing, introspective joint with a powerful hook, but isn’t quite as good as the former. Even the album’s intro, which is titled after the record itself, finds P mouthing off words of wisdom and spirituality. Perhaps he had more on his mind than we thought. Only God Can Judge Me is much better than any paid critic would tell you. Most of them would probably lead you to believe that some of P’s worst work is contained right on this disc, while I believe that it is the other way around. Sure, this is where P started to pick up the “baller” mentality and that certainly began the decline in No Limit, but the rest of the material packs a mean punch. If you can find it for a decent price and you consider yourself a decent enough No Limit fan, give it a shot, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.

Thomas Rodriguez is a reviewing renaissance man whose first passion has always been, and always will be, writing.

Music Review: Silkk the Shocker - Charge It 2 da Game

Thomas Rodriguez — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 08:20:39 EDT

Apart from being Master P’s youngest brother, Silkk the Shocker is also one of the weakest links in the No Limit chain. He debuted in 1996 with The Shocker when he was known simply as Silkk (later adding “The Shocker” to his moniker due to legal issues with R&B group Silk who claimed they had the rights to the name first). Whatever the case may be, however, the fact remains; Silkk released one of the label’s most important, and best, albums during it’s glory days (the ’96-’98 era). Charge It 2 da Game is absolutely nothing different from what No Limit fans were receiving from them during this time period. What it is, though, is a perfect product from the label that knows exactly how to market itself. The catchy hooks are in place, Beats by the Pound’s productions are all perfectly layered with pianos and synths, the guests are piled on top of one another endlessly, but Silkk has endless, undeniable charisma. Whether or not it’s Charge It 2 da Game or Ghetto D that perfectly illustrates No Limit’s mid-‘90s game plan, that fact is purely arguable, but one thing is for certain; Silkk’s sophomore album is one of the most enjoyable records released under the No Limit imprint since P’s 1996 effort Ice Cream Man. More adept at crafting female-friendly, club-ready material than his fellow No Limit soldiers, that is where Charge It 2 da Game excels. “Just Be Straight With Me” is the first in a small line of these tracks and was also the album’s lead single. Featuring a very young Destiny’s Child on the hook and electronic, bass-heavy production provided by Beats by the Pound, this has all the markings of your typical No Limit single. It’s as feel good as they come (and as flossy as any of them got) and it even featured a jigged up guest verse from Master P. Destiny’s Child do not add nor subtract much from the track, but working strictly as a single, this could have been much worse. The only real problem is that it doesn’t paint a very accurate picture of the rest of the album. The smooth, synthed out “Thug ‘N’ Me,” however, is the perfect example of No Limit’s sales tactics. 2Pac was one of the hottest artists selling at the time of his death and “Thug ‘N’ Me” follows his formula perfectly; a lyrical love affair between a good girl and a lowdown dirty thug with the thug wanting to better his life because of her. It works mostly because of Silkk and Master P, who guests, charisma, as well as producer O’Dell’s inimitable synth whines. The hook is also of note. Although it is interpolated from Ready for the World’s classic ‘80s hit, “Love You Down,” it’s also one of the tracks most immediately identifiable attributes. Another standout includes “Let Me Hit It,” which features a guest spot from one-time No Limit favorite, Mystikal. A song based entirely on meeting women and bumping them, “Let Me Hit It” is easily what one would call a “guilty pleasure.” Laced with profanity, more sexual innuendo than you can shake a stick at and insane, bizarre flows from the two rappers on No Limit (and, now, an ex-No Limit rapper) who were hardly ever on-beat, “Let Me Hit It” is one of Charge It 2 da Game’s most entertaining moments. The production is atypical of the No Limit sound, but is much livelier than anything else on this record and lacking the dirtiness of past releases. Beats by the Pound began incorporating funk elements into their sound during this era and “Let Me Hit It” is a great example of No Limit’s ever changing production landscape.Many of the remaining tracks on the album are exactly what you would expect to hear from the No Limit camp. Everything ranging from the quintessential bang-out-and-grab-a-nine gangsta jam (“We Can Dance”) to introspective, reflective meditations on life in the projects (“If I Don’t Gotta,” which features Fiend and Master P, and “Mama Always Told Me,” which guests Master P, C-Murder, and Eightball) are covered in typical No Limit fashion. There’s even the rowdy “Make ‘Em Say Ugh” void atypically filled here (I’m speaking, in particular, of the raucous call-and-response track “Who I Be”). “Tell Me” is misogyny at it’s finest, but P and C-Murder manage to make it entertaining. The only times Silkk and company manage to break up the monotony are on songs such as “You Ain’t Gotta Lie to Kick It” and “Me and You.” The latter finds Silkk letting his personal friends know that just because he’s a high profile rapper, you don’t have to brag about what you don’t have to be down with him. Big Ed and Mia X drop admirable verses as well and, as usual, they are the highlights (as well as the perfect production), but Silkk is, nonetheless, tolerable. “Me and You,” however, is a dedication to Silkk’s fallen brother who was murdered a few years prior to this album’s release. It’s a touching, heartfelt song and Silkk expresses himself beautifully. It’s one of the rare moments on the album where there isn’t an over-reliance on cliché thug themes and sexually explicit rhymes to push the rapping forward. No, Charge It 2 da Game is nothing truly spectacular in terms of originality or ingenuity, but it’s one of No Limit’s most consistent albums yet. Right up there with C-Murder’s Life or Death and Bossalinie, Master P’s Ghetto D and Tru’s Tru 2 da Game, Silkk’s Charge It 2 da Game is again, one of the most important records in No Limit history. Silkk is a mediocre rapper at best, and the guests are usually better MCs than he is, but the production is perfect and this is one of the rare moments where one of No Limit’s LPs doesn’t feel like cheap product.

Thomas Rodriguez is a reviewing renaissance man whose first passion has always been, and always will be, writing.

Music Review: Master P - MP Da Last Don

Thomas Rodriguez — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 18:34:03 EDT

An earmark of Master P’s formula was to haphazardly imitate whatever was hip at the time in the Rap game. When P and his No Limit empire blew up, double-disc albums were a hot commodity. The late, great Tupac Shakur had released a double-disc set with All Eyez on Me in 1996, as did the Notorious B.I.G., posthumously, with Life After Death a year later. Even Bone Thugs-N-Harmony jumped on the bandwagon with their excellent (I know I’ll catch some flak for that one) double-disc release The Art of War in 1997 as well. With all of these two disc sets, not to mention successful two disc sets, P probably wondered to himself why he hadn’t thought of this sooner. MP Da Last Don is a bloated, never ambitious, clichéd piece of mid-‘90s gangsta Rap that desires to be nothing that it’s not. If you already hated Master P at this point, this album gave you all the more reason to keep doing so. Cluttered with guests, interpolations of classic ‘60s and ‘70s hits and cheap beats, it came complete with everything No Limit stood for. P’s yearning for Pop success is readily evident on a few choice tracks here, but as a whole, MP Da Last Don is generally what you would expect from him. Although P got his formula down pat with the excellent Ghetto D just a year before, MP Da Last Don, however criticized it may be, is the last truly great Master P album. You would figure for a double-disc release that P would at least delve into topics that he hadn’t in the past. P knew what his audience wanted, however, and he delivered it to them with absolutely no chaser. Whether it’s elementary gangsta rap or foreboding, New Orleans thug anthems, P knew exactly how to keep the records flying off the shelves. Although that eventually became a double-edged sword for him, while it was working, P and his No Limit cronies could do no wrong. And throughout the course of this 29 track release (14 tracks on the first disc and 15 on the second), P rarely deviates from the formula he’d set for himself. This is back when No Limit’s production crew, Beats by the Pound, was developing a new sound and that is the key element to this record’s success. It sounds far more industrial and layered than past No Limit works, and tracks such as "Welcome to My City" and "Hot Boys and Girls," are perfect examples of that. The crew even utilizes samples on occasion (which were rare for the team) and this adds some much needed depth to their otherwise synth-and-bass-oriented beats. There was obviously more money to be thrown around by this time and Beats by the Pound used it wisely. But where Beats by the Pound were improving their productions and experimenting with new styles, Master P was the same rapper that he’d always been. Hardcore tracks such as the anthemic "Soldiers, Riders, and G’s," which featured the newly signed Snoop Dogg, as well as No Limit favorites Mystikal and Silkk the Shocker, and "Let’s Get ‘Em," which featured C-Murder and Magic, were perfect examples of No Limit’s bottom basement, cheap, spare sound. The lyrics were not the important factors here. That honor goes to Beats by the Pound’s increasingly complex production. Other standouts include the flossy E-40 feature "Get Your Paper" and the insightful "Ghetto’s Got Me Trapped" which is as good as anything P stuck on Ghetto D. Every Master P album since his inception has had a song dedicated to his deceased brother, Kevin Miller. Ghetto D had the standout single “I Miss My Homies” and P emulates that song to perfection with the touching “Goodbye to My Homies.” Backed by excellent production, backup vocals supplied by Sons of Funk, and a superb verse by Silkk, this track has gone down in history as one of Master P’s most honest and introspective. Contrary to popular belief, P has always been introspective and songs like this perfectly exemplify this. P even makes sure to include a few socially conscious numbers. "Black and White" is about the struggles a black man experiences in a society dominated by whites, while "Dear Mr. President" finds P writing an imaginary letter to, you guessed it, the president of the United States. Both are excellent tracks and are complemented by insightful lyrics. Silkk the Shocker guests with an admittedly mediocre verse on “Black and White,” but Mac proves why he was always one of the Tank’s most underrated lyricists on the unforgettable "Dear Mr. President." Other topics covered throughout the course of the album are an ode to P’s mother with "Mama Raised Me" which features Snoop Dogg and Soulja Slim and even a brief storytelling rap, featuring Mia X, which describes a situation between two drug dealing lovers that eventually get knocked by the DEA ("Thinkin’ Bout U"). There’s even a remix to “Make ‘Em Say Uhh” here; a remix that I’ve favored over the original since I first heard it. The only songs that I really don’t care for are those that have a slight Pop edge to them, such as the catchy "Thug Girl" and the all-but-entertaining "Gangsta B…" Even on more mainstream-oriented material, the gangsta elements shine through in each and every one of P’s raps and that’s what saves this album. Beats by the Pound also play a large part in the record’s success, as I said, and even though the album is far too long, maybe that’s a good thing. You get a lot for your dollar, and if you’re a No Limit fan, this album is certainly worth it. MP Da Last Don was out-of-print for a couple of years, but was recently re-released. Unlike the re-release of P’s Ice Cream Man, none of the tracks have been deleted; this is the LP in its entirety. Not quite as influential, or as good, as both Ice Cream Man and Ghetto D were, MP Da Last Don is still worth every penny you own. And with the re-release currently available, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg.

Thomas Rodriguez is a reviewing renaissance man whose first passion has always been, and always will be, writing.

Music Review: Master P - Ice Cream Man

Thomas Rodriguez — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 08:55:19 EDT

Being one of the wealthiest Rap moguls the game has ever seen, a net worth well over $200 million and your own clothing line, can do a lot to a rapper. For Master P, it has resulted in him sacrificing the quality of his music for increased record sales. Not that he was without his marketing gimmicks in the past for just that reason, but his current output seems as shameless as anything the man has released to the public yet; a public that is no longer checking for him. Never the most talented of rappers, but certainly one of the most honest, his current work simply lacks the heart and charisma of his past material. Let's take a step back, shall we? Let's take it back to the days when Master P was a relative unknown. Let's take it back to the days when Master P was selling tapes out of the trunk of his car to get his name on the tongues of Rap fans. Let's take it back to the days when No Limit was receiving virtually no airplay other than on local radio stations. Enter Master P's Ice Cream Man. Less cluttered with guests and that "flavor of the month" feel and more focused on creating a cohesive West Coast sound, Ice Cream Man is also one of the last of No Limit's California-based albums. Displaying more promise than anyone could have anticipated from Pistol P and, on top of that, rearranging the game in the process, P's Ice Cream Man is an undeniable classic straight out of the No Limit vaults. P's current sound is much more akin to crunk than anything he recorded during No Limit's heyday. Ice Cream Man, on the other hand, is full of thuggish, aggressive, nihilistic raps that would sound much more comfortable on East Coast hardcore albums than on P's latest releases. Perhaps too far ahead of his time for most to recognize, the southern Rap P was delivering here is far beyond the subgenres of the era. Hard gangsta and drug dealer anthems that sound far too ferocious for mainstream consumption; it's obvious why P received little to no radio play. Tracks such as the aptly titled "Mr. Ice Cream Man" and "1/2 on a Bag of Dank" celebrate both drug dealing and using with accompaniment from P's Beats by the Pound production squad. His often simplistic rhymes are far from complex, but there is a unique charm in P's delivery and steadily improving flow. Much of the album covers similar topics with little variation, such as the bombastic "Time to Check My Crackhouse" and equally aggressive "Bout That Drama." All that changes from track to track is the tempo, drum loop and the synth usage. Imitating the current sound of the time (i.e. West Coast G-Funk), P manages to make Ice Cream Man one of the most unique LP's in the No Limit catalogue. When P isn't speaking on the ghetto lifestyle or drug dealing, it's usually about trife females or about those he loves/has lost. The touching "No More Tears" is dedicated to the problems his mother faced throughout her life, while "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" is an explanation on what goes down in the ghetto and how what goes down today is so increasingly different from what went down when he was growing up. Both are insightful, revealing tracks and they work beautifully thanks to surprisingly exceptional lyrics by P and excellent production. Even the misogynistic "Killer P," which is simply about how having sex with certain females can get you bodied, is more entertaining than it has any right to be thanks to P's delivery and Beats by the Pound's production. Guests include an uncredited Silkk the Shocker on the rowdy, above-mentioned "Bout That Drama" which also benefits from able production supplied by the Beats by the Pound unit and even a young Big Ed on "How G's Ride." At this time, however, No Limit was a much smaller conglomerate than it would become just a year later and, as a result, there are far fewer guests than usual. Mia X puts in a spectacular appearance on the classic No Limit joint Bout It Bout It II. She's always been, arguably, one of the better lyricists that P let enter his studio doors and, with her pristine flow, she proves, once again, why she deserves more credit than she's received. Houston legends and consistent No Limit collaborators U.G.K. even put in a worthy appearance on the downbeat "Break 'Em off Something" Oddly enough, though, it is Beats by the Pound crew member Mo B. Dick, who also performs back-up vocals on various tracks, who adds a good deal of flavor to the album. His falsetto vocalizing would almost seem to contrast with a good number of songs, such as P's ode to the playa lifestyle on "Playa from Around the Way," and the smoothed out hustlers anthem "Sellin' Ice Cream," but, oddly enough, he's the perfect complement for them. I doubt P will ever release another album as good as Ice Cream Man. Although it's not quite as influential as the record following this, Ghetto D, it is an undeniable classic nonetheless. For anyone who remembers what No Limit used to stand for, this is a must-have. The recent re-release deletes one song from the track listing (that song being "The Ghetto Won't Change"), but with the current cost of the original pressing of this album, the re-release is the best way to go. Remind yourself just how influential and, dare I say, important No Limit used to be and pick this up immediately

Thomas Rodriguez is a reviewing renaissance man whose first passion has always been, and always will be, writing.