[Review] Hurricane Chris - Unleashed

Artist: Hurricane Chris

Album: Unleashed

Release Date: 21st December 2009

Label: Polow Grounds Music
Guests: Plies, Mario, Bobby Valentino, Beanie Man, Cherish, Isis, Superstarr, Fiend 4 da Money & Mouse.

Producers: Play-N-Skillz, Phunk Dawg, Don Vito, Rodnae, The Inkredibles, Shawty Redd, Mouse, Fiend Crack Alley Music, Drum Majors & Raphael RJ2.

Hurricane Chris returns for his second studio album - Unleashed, featuring the club banger 'Halle Berry (Shes Fine)' and the follow up single, 'Headboard' featuring Mario and Plies, Hurricane Chris seems to be taking a more commercial approach to the music industry, in comparison to his 51/50 debut album.

'Headboard' is a slick RnB love song with very sexual connotations, featuring one of Plies best features in my opinion. However, dont expect the rest of the album to follow track - the CD still has a 'snap' feel to it, and apart from the second track on the album - 'Beat It Out The Frame', expect another Soulja Boy 'wannabe'.

5/10

[Review] Lil' Wayne - Rebirth

Artist: Lil' Wayne

Album: Rebirth

Label: Cash Money/Universal

Release Date: Unknown 2010

Guests: Kevin Rudolf, Shanell, Nicki Minaj & Eminem.

Producers: Cool & Dre, Eminem, Develop, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, DJ Infamous, Essay Potna, Chase & Cashe, Hit-Boy & Drew Correa



When Lil' Wayne announced that he would be recording a rock album, I never thought it would happen. I mean, Kanye made an album where he sang about heartbreak, but it is nowhere near his strongest material, and failed in comparison to what I think he was expecting. But when the best rapper (supposedly) is dropping an album aimed at a different audience, Im sure the label must be expecting a backlash.



Afterall, Weezy has already generated hate from rap fans on social netowrking sites such as Facebook, telling him not to make a rock album, and even rockers themselves are saying it wont work. And this becomes another problem for me - do I review the album in comparison to other rap albums and other Lil' Wayne albums, or do I review it as a rock album, and in comparison to other rock artists?

The factor is, Im not sure whether this album will be acceoted on either side. Rap fans will be hugely disappointed with the style, and not just because he is not rapping, but because he is not inflicting clever punchlines, and his lyrical content has changed. I feel that he is aiming this album towards male high school students, as he is putting himself in their shoes. But on the other hand, rock fans will know that Weezy is not a rocker, and is just trying to add more fans to his following. Although he does play the guitar in a few of the tracks, it is pretty much nothing ground breaking, and dont expect any clever string solos or crowdsurfing at gigs for now.

There are a few nice touches to the CD - the track with Eminem has a nice feel to it, and Eminem's verse, possibly something leftover from all of his Relapse material, dives straight into the dark mind of the artist of the decade. 'Prom Queen', is a song about rejection, and despite being leaked several months ago as the first single off the album, it remains one of the handfull tracks I think fans will take to. There is another track that I think will be the next single - a sample of the intro of Amy Holland's 'Shes On Fire', fans of the Scarface movie will recognise this instantly, but I feel that the sample (produced by Cool & Dre) is a too basic loop, and fails to capture much of the best parts of the original song.

Personally, I would give this album a low score, as I think Weezy's rock style is fake and see through, but I do not think it will be a disaster. With his reputation on the line, it may be that Weezy changes his music completely and decides to release more rock albums, but I hope not. Bring on Tha Carter IV.

5/10

[Review] Young Money - We Are Young Money

Artist: Young Money Entertainment (Lil' Wayne, Drake, Jae Millz, Mack Maine, Tyga, Nicki Minaj, Lil' Twist, Gudda Gudda, T-Streets, Shanell & Lil' Chuckee.
Album: We Are Young Money
Label: Cash Money/Universal
Release Date: December 21st 2009
Guests: Birdman, Lloyd, Gucci Mane & Clyde McKnight.
Producers: Tha Bizzness, Kane Beatz, David Banner, Chase N. Cashe, B.Carr, Andrew "Papa Justifi" Wansel & Warren "Oak" Felder.

50 Cent has his G-Unit Records, Jay-Z had Roc-A-Fella and Eminem has Shady Aftermath, and now Lil' Wayne is showing that the Young Money movement that he has spoken about over the years, has some strength behind it - in the form of a new album.

Its no myth that Lil' Wayne has been regarded as being the best rapper making hits for several years now. His wordplay on tracks have made him popular with the fans, and on the mixtape circuit, and with an estimated 2,000 songs tracks that he has recorded, there is no shortage of Weezy verse out there.

So, when I became aware of a Young Money group album coming, it was instantly something that I was looking forward to, especially with the newest sensation, Drake also confirmed for appearance. Potentially, two of the best lyricists in the rap game as of 2009, were going to be making a CD, with several other label mates - it had the ingrediants for an exciting album, helped further by the smash hit 'Every Girl'. The song was a synopsis for what we could expect to hear on the album, and a chance to hear some of the talent that was emerging from the label, especially Drake. Wayne started off with not a one of his best verses, but still strong enough to be ahead of other MCs in the game, but Drake killed it. His flow, technique and delivery was perfect, and I have to say, I was also impressed with Jae Millz and Mack Maine's efforts to. However, I was left wondering whether or not this was going to be an Autotune bashing disc, but I was not too concerned, as Weezy is one of the few artists that has adapted his style to use it...in fact, I think apart from T-Pain, Weezy is the only artist who has used the effect and made it work for him in my opinion.

I needed to hear more though. A second single began circulating the internet a few weeks ago called 'Bedrock' and featured a hook sang by Lloyd, and despite it being an old chat-up line, I liked the sound of it - the beat was tidy, and once again, there was a strong verse from Drake, but again, I was expecting a better Weezy opening. It might sound picky, but I am comparing verses to what he is famous for - remix songs that he has killed in the past, and features on other artist's albums. I actually think that Weezy is like a sportsman. He has a good game and gets picked for the team, but other times he can play bad, and needs substituting at halftime, and other times, damn right shocking and deserves fining a week's wages.

So I made sure that this album was right at the top of my list for 2009. 50 Cent has dropped, Eminem has dropped twice, Fabolous dropped, Jay-Z dropped and now the end of December in the middle of the Christmas season, there was to be another big one. I was just hoping that Birdman did not carry on his tradition and push this one way back into 2010, although I was thinking that if he did do tat, I would just pre order it on Amazon.

So here it is, I sit flicking through the tracks, listening to the verses, and I am loving it, right? Wrong. There just feels like tere is something missing from it. Should the opening line on the album be "Sitting on the toilet..." The intro song, 'Gooder' just does not have the impact that the start of albums usually have, but anyway, it is straight after that that 'Every Girl' comes - probably the strongest track on the album. The next track 'Ms. Parker' feels like maybe it should be a single, but the beat does not give it strength. This seems to be the case throughout, the album has 'average' beats, and Weezy is not spitting at his strongest, in fact, he is outshone on quite a few tracks - this will be a disappointment for most fans,because 90% will buy this because Lil' Wayne has been involved in it, the other 10% get it as a gift at Christmas.

Other songs that I liked from the CD were 'Bedrock' , 'Steady Mobbin', 'Roger That' and 'Finale'. The last of these being the outro for the album, and features several bars from each of the Young Money artists, and despite Weezy seeming to have a much longer verse on the track, it was far from the best. In my yes, Drake is becoming the aplha male of the label, and you can understand where the buzz is coming from. Nicki Minaj, a female rapper on the label, also showed some good lyrical skill as did Mack Maine and Jae Millz.

To some up this album, I would say that its purpose has been to promote the talent of the label, rather than to try and take over the rap industry. The album will be enjoyed by most rap fans, but I feel that the songs on it seem to be 'overcrowded' by artists. Dont be put off by this review, it is a good album, but not a classic.

6/10

[Review] Gucci Mane - The State Vs Radric Davis

Artist: Gucci Mane

Album: The State Vs Radric Davis

Release Date: 8th December 2009

Guests: Lil' Wayne, Cam'ron, Rick Ross, Jadakiss, Birdman, Soulja Boy, Usher, Waka Flocka Flame, Keyshia Cole, Bobby Valentino, Trina, Nicki Manaj, Jason Caesar, OJ Da Juiceman, Plies, Bun B, E-40, Devin The Dude & Wooh Da Kid.

Producers: Drumma Boy, Shawty Redd, Bagladesh, Scott Storch, Polow Da Don, Zaytoven, FATBOI, Jazze Pha, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League & Mannie Fresh.

Until late 2009, I was never been able to understand the hype surrounding Gucci Mane. I have been aware of his presence since around 2005, when he gained public attention through a deadly feud with fellow Atlanta rapper, Young Jeezy. In fact, even MTV were gripped by the ongoings in what can only be described as a rediculous, childish and immature beef over something so small.

In fact, not even a collaboration with Young Jeezy caught my ears, as Young Jeezy's presence on the record was the outstanding factor, as he was just blowing up at the time. Gucci never struck me with anything hype worthy, in fact, I just assumed he was a fellow southern rapper that gets on a track because they are good friends with the star rapper, like Tony Yayo and Memphis Bleek.

However, this beef showed how rappers are willing to come across as 'street' for their fans, when there was totally no need. It seemed Jeezy wanted the track for his own album, but Gucci refused to allow it, as he had just captured a big name Def Jam artist for his project, which was sure to give him some attention.

The beef turned nasty when Jeezy released a mixtape track, aimed at Gucci Mane, in which he put a $10,000 bounty on Gucci's chain - anybody that could rob him and bring the chain to Jeezy, would get the cash. However, when an associate of Young Jeezy's CTE broke into Gucci's house after a tip off from a prostitute that had gone back with Gucci, and after being attacked with a gun, Gucci's only self defence was to shoot to kill - with an arrest warrent being issued a week later when the body of the man was found near Gucci Mane's house in bushes. Although he was aquited of all charges, it just goes to show how a small disagreement can go too far.

Gucci has also hit the headlines in the buildup to this release, after being given a year in prison for drugs charges, and for ending the feud publically with Young Jeezy, but as they always say, all publicity is good publicity.

But I first began to realise how large Gucci's presence in Hip Hop when MTV listed him in their absurd top 10 of current rappers, ahead of the real #1, Eminem, whom was not included in the list. Was I missing something about Gucci that others can see that I cant? It certainly wasn't his flow, lyrical ability or style, as I would have noticed, and he certainly didn't have the on track presence that a Young Jeezy, a Fabolous or a Juelz Santana would give.

So, getting back to the album, what was I expecting? To be honoust, I thought it would be just another southern album, with a bit of crunk and maybe a little bit gangsterism. I certainly was not anticipating a commercial success. However, looking at early sales, I was so wrong.

The album features a lot of big names, ranging from the Polow Da Don produced track with Usher, to the track with Lil' Wayne and Jadakiss on. Surely his label must be paying these guys a lot of money to make these appearances?

Apparently not. Gucci has certainly stepped his game up for this one, and I certainly believe this album has been well packaged by his team. 'Spotlight' is by far the best track on the CD, shortly followed by 'Sex In Crazy Places', which reminded me a lot of the 2000 hit by Ludacris - 'What's Your Fantasy'. I was also feeling the beat from 'Bad Bad Bad', although I think Keyshia's hook could have been stronger to nail the song.

It would still be optimistic in my eyes to put Gucci as being in the top 10 of Hip Hop in 2009, but he certainly has impressed me with this effort. The album is well worth a listen, but will not challenge any of Jeezy's projects.

7/10

[Review] Eminem - Relapse: Refill

Artist: Eminem
Album: Relapse: Refill
Release Date: 21st December 2009
Guests: Dr Dre, 50 Cent, Drake, Kanye West & Lil' Wayne.
Producers: Dr Dre, Eminem, & Boi-1da

No matter where MTV rank him in a list of the greatest rappers at current, or where Hip Hip fans place him on the blogs, Eminem is the best rapper alive today in 2009. This is a statement that I can back up with facts, statistic and reason that will also be backed up by millions more that will back the next rapper. Fact.

So when Eminem released his fifth studio album following the 2005 greatest hits collection, it seemed that the world had gone 'Slim shady' crazy again. He may be one of the most controversial musicians of the modern era, but it soon became obvious that when Relapse dropped in the summer, how much this man had actually been missed - the only other artists that could hideaway for four or five years with so much demand for a return, are probably dead and in the music hall of fame. Its a fact, that the backwards 'E' logo, carries with it more than just a white man who grew up in the slums of Detroit, trying to make it big in a game that traditionally didn't play by his rules. From being a Hip Hop misfit, to felling over 80 million records world wide, it is clear to see why Eminem has touched so many hearts.

As I write this, and listening to the second edition of Relapse, I have just finished reading a story about how Scottish singer, Susan Boyle has outsold the first edition of Relapse, which meant she is now the best selling artist of 2009. I am happy for her, but not only that, but I am happy that Eminem is a markstone for who you need to outsell to be number 1. Not even Bono's U2, or another post retirement Jay-Z effort could come close to Eminem's album sales. So maybe MTV should go away, anylise the people who work for them, have then checked out by mental health experts, and then come back and revise another top 10 list of the greatest rappers of the current time, because their last effort was an insult not only to Eminem, but to Hip Hop, and the music industry as a whole. Rant ended.

So what did I make of the first installment of Relapse? I did not think it was a classic, and certainly not top of the list of past Eminem albums. If I were to rank previous material from Mr Mathers, my all time favourite would be none other than his 2002 album 'The Eminem Show', purely on the lyrical depth that he went into, followed closely by his 8 Mile soundtrack album, then 2000's 'The Marshall Mathers LP', 'Relapse', 'The Slim Shady LP' and finally 'Encore' from 2004. That does not go to say that that I found Encore disappointing, just that it didn;t contain as much excellence as the rest.

The album goes deep into Eminem's troubled private life, mainly his drug problems. The album mixes fiction with personal health issues, and a little bit of exaggeration. Not only is Eminem helping resolve his own problems by extracting it from himself via the use of music, he is also helping others around the world to, from album to album, dealing with depression, drug problems, family problems to issues of fame, Eminem offers an insight into not only how he swerved to avoid them, but added a touch of light hearted comedy to the remedy. Sure when he talked about killing Kim, he was only venting his anger and frustration of a troubled marriage through the power of creativity in his music, but as a society, we knew Eminem was never a mennace with a chain saw - only a fool would believe that.

Relapse itself pokes fun at the media's perception of himself, hence the use of interludes on the album which create little sketches around his rehabilitation program. Songs such as 'Medicine Ball', and 'Must Be The Ganja' all look back at drugs, and are explicit warning messages to others. The album itself told a story, that you would only understand if you listened to the tracks in the order on the disc. From being in rehab, to getting cured, from being high, to being depressed, which songs such as 'Old Time's Sake' and 'Beautiful' portray perfectly.

The album may only have produced three distinguished singles, 'Crack A Bottle' with Dr Dre and 50 Cent, which was the first of two 'cartoon' songs by the famous Aftermath trio, 'We Made It' which was a traditional Eminem single, like the days of 'The Real Slim Shady' and 'My Name Is', and finally 'Beautiful', which acted as the aftermath of when a high fades. All in all, the album was cleverly constructed with time and precision. My only disappointment was that I thought Dr Dre had too much production on the album, and I thought his work was quite a long way from his best. I was have felt easier if Eminem had produced more, but with only one track not produced by Dre, I got the feeling that maybe he was not giving Em his best work - a hint that he is keeping some of the good old Dr Dre beats for another up and coming major album... I am actually hinting at Detox!

So overall, I was satisfied in the summer of 2009 when this album dropped, it sold well and fans seemed to enjoy it, so what do I make of the re-packaged version? Is it just a late rally for more sales before Christmas? Or was Eminem so desperate for his fans to hear all of his work that otherwise, may have just been scrapped? Well I will hide no fact that Aftermath records are in serious trouble. They owe parent company,Interscope millions, and it is becoming an issue, especially in the current climate. That is why some of the less selling artists on the label have gone - why spend thousands putting beats together for a B list rapper to rap over, then another million or so on promotion and shooting videos, when the only reason that artist gets 'some' sales is because he has been mentored by Eminem? So for that reason Obie Trice left the label. Stat Quo left the label. Bobby Creekwater left the label, and I have a feeling Ca$his wont be getting royalty cheques from Mr Iovine for too much longer either. As much as I like these artists as a Hip Hop fan and writer, they are not the way forward for a label like Shady Aftermath. That is why in 2009, Dr Dre knew that only the big hitters could come out. Eminem had to put something out there, whether it meant eating less takeaways and getting back into shape and getting back into the game, whethe rit meant 50 Cent had to his the streets with another CD, and of course, whether it meant the biggest myth on the planet since the creation, 'Detox' would come out, then it had to be done. Believe me, Detox will be out soon, it is happening and it has to - Aftermath depends on it.

So Eminem had 'good' sales from Relapse, but they wern't his highest, and maybe the label could have wished for more. Afterall, I remember Eminem saying he would record 30 songs before selecting the best for a CD, the rest hidden away in Jimmy's lost files, never to be heard by the public - so for Eminem to be doing this, you know times must be deperate, and 50 Cent's album sales wont be turning those frowns upside down.

Refill kicks off witha song that only came about by accident. 50 Cent revealed that Eminem had recorded a verse Drake's song, only to next year that Kanye West and Lil' Wayne were also on the finished version of the song. The song is a battle of the lyricists as Drake and Eminem seem to go head to head, the latter victorious in my opinion, with Lil' Wayne and Kanye off form. 'Hell Breaks Loose' is next, and as I suspected, Dr Dre was the producer of this, and the rest of the songs after this on the CD. Theese songs are basically a carry on from what has already been heard on the album, so that is the sort of thing that you should expect.

'Elevator' is by far my favourite of the new tracks on the CD. The song talks about his vision of his career before he met Dre in the mid-late 90's. It talks about how he never expected to sell records, as well as a reminise of the late Proof. Not only does the song then talk about how he can now afford an elevator in his mansion from the success of his record sales, but it also is a metaphor for the direction that his career has taken.

The best beat on the album goes to 'Taking My Ball', which gamers may find familiar from the recent DJ Hero game that was released a few weeks back for Playstation 3 and XBox 360. I get the impression that the chorus may be talking about the fact that although he has become so well respected in the industry, that he has been feared, and nobody will 'take his ball', meaning go against him. Maybe Susan Boyle will play with him (and I meant that as a personal joke).

'Music Box' dark and mysterious song which is hard to understand the meaning of. It talks about being drunk, high and this is reflected in the sureal lyrics. Finally, another Dr Dre beat, which you can tell because he has almost used the same beat that he gave Mary J Blige on 'Family Affair' in a song called 'Drop The Bomb On Em'. The song talks about not his MC career in total, in a battle rap format against a fictiocious character and situation. Hip Hop fans might jump to the conclusion that the fact a current rappers name was mentioned that he is taking shots. I doubt it, but make your own mind up. Em raps: "Boy I told ya boy, Im a soldier boy, Im DeShaun/holding in this b****, Im the proof boy, you're a fraud." Whatever this is about, Im sure this is not an attack on Soulja Boy!

To some this album up, I am unsure whether fans should by this repackaged CD if you already have the first edition of the album. Since Rihanna, Chris Brown, 50 Cent and Lady Gaga have all brought out delux editions of their albums with either new tracks or bonus DVDs or whatever, it will not make this a best seller of 2009. In fact, Em stated that this was to keep fans in the frame of things while Relapse 2 is in the pipeline. But overall, I am a Relapse fan, but if you are such a fan that you would buy the album again for seven extra tracks... then its up to you. Lets see what Santa brings eh?!

9/10

[Review] Chris Brown - Graffiti

Artist: Chris Brown
Album: Graffiti
Guests: Lil' Wayne, Swizz Beatz, Plies, DJ Khaled, Tank, Eva Simons, Trey Songz, Game, Lupe Fiasco, Ester Dean, Sean Paul & Rock City.
Producers: Swizz Beatz, Big Makk, Keith Thomas & Big Lo, The Messengers, Polow Da Don, The Runners, Ryan Leslie, Tha Bizness, Free School, Brian Kennedy, Jevon Hill, Charlie Bereal, James Fauntleroy, Oak & Scott Storch.

So within two weeks of his ex girlfriend launching in my opinion, was a CD of moaning, Chriw Brown is back at it. The man who had smash hits with songs such as 'Run It', 'Superhuman', and 'Forever' would normally have released this album with the intention of it being one of the biggest albums of the year, but sadly for Chris, this will not be the case this Christmas.

Chris Brown has sold out arenas all over the world, and rightly so, as he is one of the biggest names in RnB. In fact, at his 18th birthday party, which was filmed by MTV, the late Michael Jackson phoned Chris to wish him a happy birthday. In fact, Chris was expected to be the next Michael Jackson in terms of success and style. There was no limit to where this young man's career would go, and how massive he would become.

However, the incident in a L.A. suburb that left his ex girlfriend, Rihanna looking like she had stepped in as DMX's replacement has in fact ruined his career. Which is a shame because this album is quite good.

Two Chicago newspapers rated this album less than '2/5' in seperate reviews, and without backing this up, it would appear that it was the fact that the pop music journalist that wrote these articles may not have kept a neutral opinion. I am not in anyway defending Chris's actions from February 2009, but all Im saying is, Gucci Mane is about to release a largly anticipated album, and he shot and killed an intruder in 2005 before being aquitted, Snoop Dogg was 'involved' in an incident where a man was beaten to death in the early 90's and became one of the biggest names in Hip Hop fan's iPods and T.I. once got caught buying machine guns from an undercover police officer and still sells records. Get over it.

So Princess Dihanna released her album two weeks ago with excellent reception (except by me it seems - see Rihanna - Rated R review) and Chris Brown released this album which is just himself getting on with his own thing, and people give it low ratings, despite the fact I think it may actually be better than 'Exclusive' was?

The album gets straight into the action with 'I Can Transform Ya' featuring Lil' Wayne and Swizz Beatz, which was actually Chris Brown's lowest charting first single from any of his albums gone by. The song itself is not that bad, in fact quite catchy, the first great hit produced by Swizzy for the best part of a year in my opinion.

The Polow Da Don produced 'So Cold' is clearly an apology to Rihanna, as to is 'Famous Girl' in which a few secrets come out, like Brown's regret at ghost writting 'Disturbia' for Rihanna, and also his opinions when the rumours of when Drake and Rihanna were apparently dating. Another positive comes from the song 'Wait' which features Game and Trey Songz, although I would prefer it if the dirty version of this song was also released, as Game's verse is ruined by cuts.

An unusual collaboration with Plies and DJ Khaled is another big hot on the album, and I have to say this, but Plies kills it, although I was disappointed that the beat did not feature more of the intro, which gave 5 seconds of impression that it was going to be a explosive Hip Hop club banger... which it is not. Also on the album is a sample of Eric Prydz' hit 'Call On Me', although I feel more could have been done with this to turn it into a single.

So overall, I was happy to hear more of Mr Breezy, in fact like I mentioned earlier, I like this album more than 'Exclusive', although I do miss the times when I was sat at home in 2005 watching MTV with 'Run It' being played almost every hour. I really hope the world takes Chris back into their hearts, as I know we have all mocked him over the incident, myself included, but it is all about the music.

So in the battle of the albums between the ex boyfriend and the ex girlfriend... its the ex boyfriend that wins.... easily.

8/10

[Review] Rihanna - Rated R

Artist: Rihanna
Album: Rated R
Release Date:November 20th 2009
Guests: Young Jeezy, Slash, will.i.am & Justin Timberlake.
Producers: Chase & Status, Stargate, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, Ne-Yo, Chuck Harmony, Brian Kennedy, R. Swire, will.i.am & The Y's.

Earlier this year, Rihanna and her fairytale boyfriend, Chris Brown hit the headlines for all of the wrong reasons. Like Bobby and Whitney, the popular RnB couple's relationship came crashing down, it seemed like misic was the last thing on anybody involved's mind.

Yet its now December 2009, and the ex couple have just released their latest albums within the space of 14 days - coincedence? It would appear not, as the couple have only recently spoken out about the situation that they were in as part of their promotional tour of chat show sofas.

Rated R marks the commercial return of the 'Pon De Replay' star - but dont be fooled into thinking this album will be full of pop music, in fact, it is far from this. The album shows the first of the dark side of Rihanna, in what can only be described as an album full of negativity. The lead single 'Russian Roulette' was full of subliminal ex boyfriend disses towards Mr Breezy, and although this song became a well liked track on radio stations, it is hard to find what else Rihanna will be able to use from this album onto mainstream music video channels.

In fact, Chris Brown seems to be the subject of this album sublimanally and it begins to become annoying after a couple of songs. It can be understand that Rihanna became emotional after the fight, but the depressing sound that haunts speakers. The only positive track I was enjoying from the CD was 'Hard', track 3 which features Young Jeezy. The song is very 'Polow da Don' like, but is in fact a one of The Dream's masterpieces. Since this is the next single, it is likely that it may receive mediocre attention. It must also be noted that the song contains a subliminal diss towards Young Jeezy's long time rival, Gucci Mane: "See my Louis chucks, Louis flag, Louis frames, Louis Belt, what that make me Louis Mane?"

Apart from this however, the album is not something I would keep in my CD changer, and in fact, I feel like going back and finding 'Good Girl Gone Bad' - I really miss that Rihanna.

2/10

[Review] Snoop Dogg - Malice N Wonderland

Artist: Snoop Dogg

Album: Malice N Wonderland
Release Date: 8th December 2009
Guests: Lil' Jon, Jazmine Sullivan, The-Dream, Soulja Boy, Kokane, R. Kelly, Brandy & Pharrell.

Producers: Scoop DeVille, Terrace Martin, Lil' Jon, Teddy Riley, PMG, The-Dream, B-Don, Super Ced, Danja, Timbaland, Jason Martin, Battlecat, Nottz, Tricky Stewart & The Neptunes.

Snoop is a rapper who has been around the block a few times, in fact, it almost seems that Snoop Dogg has been around since the start of time. A household name that even your granny will have heard of, even if she does not know any of his songs. To be precise, this is album number 10 for the man who once was part of Suge Knight's Death Row Records, a man who can sit and reminise about the days of N.W.A., and maybe even tell you stories about times he used to chill with the late 2Pac.

So 16 years after the first album dropped in 1993, is Snoop still the rapper that he was? A money hungry gangster from Long Beach California may have dropped the 'Doggy' from his name many years ago, but he will always be listed as a legend, alongside the Jay-Zs, Nas's and the Biggie and Pacs, Snoop has become more than just a rap star, he has endorsed many products, acted in Hollywood and reeked chaos in London's Heathrow airport.

So album number 10 follows 'Ego Trippin', which received positive reviews with the internet bloggers, although I was left unconvinced. I could not connect with the style that he rapped, and I was wondering whether this album would follow track. However, despite a pointless intro, the album does leap into action straight away. 'I Wanna Rock' may have leaked a couple of months back, but it has a high adrenaline beat and is one of the album's best songs despite a dry hook. There is also '1800' with the crunk hitmaker Lil' Jon that I can imagine being pumped out of the speakers of bouncing Impalas.

I then began to realise that the problem with 'Ego Trippin' was that Snoop was trying to get back to his old-skool west coast roots rather than continue his mainstream attack on European and international listeners.

'Upside Down' is by far my favourite beat on the album, produced by Jason and Terrace Martin, it would be a song I would also go in with at any party that was starting to go flat and needed a little mouth to mouth. I was also suprised by the 'Pronto' track featuring Soulja Boy. I was expecting some 'snap' beat with Soulja Boy repeating something over and over, but instead is instantly catchy, and I would be suprised if this was not the next single. Although Snoop used autotune on his last album for the lead single, 'Sexual Eruption', it is a brave move from such a giant in the industry to use this again, on the same track with an artist that has created many internet debates whether or not he is Hip Hop material, but it actually works, and no matter what Mr Carter expresses on 'D.O.A.', autotune can still work if used properly.

On the other hand, I was a little disappointed with 'Gansta Luv' with The-Dream. The-Dream usually hits you with fire that you can listen to over and over, and although this track was one of the first I listened to, I knew atraight away this may have been one of his cheaper beats. The disappointment did not improve with his second featured track on the album 'Luv Drunk'. In fact, I began to drift away from the positive feeling of the album by the second half. The first nine tracks are the best, and then it begins to fade. Not even Pharrell or R. elly could revive it.

So overall, I was quite pleased with this album. It is certainly one of the best albums Snoop has released in recent times. To compare it to the early Snoop Doggy Dog days would be like comparing Lil' Kim now to the photos before the opperation, or comparing R. Kelly to the days before the trial. Maybe these are a little extreme, but old skool West coast fans will not feel this. This album is a little bit more 'mushy' in terms of the love songs on it, but is still worth a try for the other MTV fans. It must be noted that when you see this on shelves in your local store, despite the strange album artwork which does not seem to have any reflection on the content, it is not actually a mixtape as it would appear.

8/10