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| E-40- Breaking News: In the first minutes of BREAKIN' NEWS, E-40 observes how he's "still hungry, still rappin'" like he's "still poor," and the immediacy and the frenetic pace of his raps back up this claim. This hunger is especially evident since BREAKIN' is Earl Stevens' (E-40, A.K.A. Charley Hustle, A.K.A. a multitude of other names) eighth record since 1994's "Captain Save a Hoe," the crossover gangsta-novelty single that introduced the world to his uncompromising lyrics and an inimitable, unrelenting, slow-then-quick rapping style. With a new hardcore flavor-of-the-month rapper emerging almost every minute, it's easy to overlook E-40, but even a cursory glance at West Coast rap history reveals E-40's influence, and BREAKIN' NEWS reminds the hip-hop world why. The California lyricist references cartoons, raps both playfully and thuggishly (often mixing the two within one verse), gives credit to less-visited soul influences like Clarence Carter and Johnnie Taylor, and even possesses the confident vulnerability to work in an earnest flow about his struggles with his weight. One of the best up-and-coming crews, the Clipse, drop by for the powerful single "Quarterbackin'," and an all-star Dirty South rap line-up (Lil' Jon, Bone Crusher, David Banner) represents on the merciless "Anybody Can Get It. 8 OUT OF 10 |
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| Yukmouth- Godzilla: Yukmouth, sometimes known as Smoke-A-Lot, came to attention as one half of the talented rap duo the Luniz. While Luniz expertly cut their lyrics of raw sexuality and stark violence with a light-heartedness straight out of the Looney Tunes cartoons from which they derived their name, on his own, Yukmouth displays a more straightforward, darker side. On THUGGED OUT and THUG LORD, the titles said it all, Yukmouth is straight-up thug, proud of his West Coast, Rap-A-Lot hip-hop heritage. On his third solo effort, GODZILLA, he tempers the mix just a bit, retaining the ample hooks which earned him ears from when he had "5 on it." Meanwhile, the lyrics benefit from a bit more subtlety and manage to hold on to an undercurrent as brutal as a radioactive monster randomly attacking your city. Yukmouth's verses boast a sharpness that transcend any genre, and just when you think he's fallen into formulaic, predictable rhyme, he'll spit a random line like "you fall off like Spin Doctors." While he can surely move the dance floor, he's no slouch at the slow jam, particularly when he brings in master Aaron Hall on "I Want Yo Body." With GODZILLA, Yukmouth comes into his own as an insightful, wry rapper who will never ignore his baller style. 8.5 OUT OF 10 |
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| MC Eiht- Hood Arrest: Yes! finally a really tight Mc Eiht Album again with that CMW sound. All of the beats are very solid & enjoyable, on that Funk & 70s Soul style that made Eiht a Westcoast Legend! Just like the beats his voice sounds real grimy again as in in his prime! Some new jacks getting on the beats. Definitely will rattle your speakers a little bits. This is the CD all of you EiHt Fans have been waiting on since the glorious mid 90s. He is doing a group album with Spice 1 that should be a banging album. Bring back that funk is a west coast mob song, and the murder show 2 with Spice 1 is definetly a G'z song. Another solid west coast release. 7 OUT OF 10 |