- Release Date: April 1, 2016
- Label: Seven 13 Music
- Total Length: 50:48
- Genres: Rap
1. Slfmade (feat. Mo City Soulja)
2. Don't Change (feat. Scarface)
3. No Lie (feat. Mr. Lee)
4. Miss Our G's II (feat. Z-Ro & Mike D)
5. Never Met Her (feat. Mo City Soulja)
6. Summertime
7. Remember (feat. Bam Rodgers)
8. Scheming on a Million (feat. Og Ant)
9. I'm on My Way (feat. Lil Brent)
10. Nothing to Prove (feat. Bam Rodgers)
11. Southside Groovin' (feat. Big Pokey)
12. This Is Why We Ride (feat. Propain)
13. Talkin' Down (feat. Paul Wall)
14. Before Yo Name
15. Bout My Bizness (feat. G Hustla & Marcus Manchild)
Todays rap music usually falls into one of three categories; commercial, crap, or independent/underground. Those three can be broken up into subcategories, but that's a topic for another day. I would definitely place this album in the latter category, but how would this compare to others in this group, well lets find out.
As soon as the first beat started, I was asking myself if this was the right album. I was not used to this type of beat on a Keke album, but as soon as I heard him rap i knew that this was going to be interesting for sure. I'm used to hard hitting and slowed beats when it comes to most albums from Screwed Up Click alumni, but this works. Then "Don't Change" came on and I was already convinced that this album was going to be better than 90% of the albums that I've heard this year. I am a huge Scarface fan, but I have to say that Keke out did Face on this track. It seems that with the passing years Keke has been able to adapt and change up his flow with the times.
The third track, "No Lie" was solid but "Don't Change" is a hard act to follow. The track has more of his freestyle or S.U.C. flow, which is still better than a lot of the music being played on the radio today. "Miss Our G's II" took me back, and any track with Z-Ro singing and rapping on it is an A+. The bad thing is that it reminded me how many Houston rappers are no longer with us. It made me want to pile up all my old albums and just play all of them right there.
Then came the track, "Never Met Her" and I was hooked with the beat, but it turned out to be an obligatory sex track. I know there will always be a fan base for songs like this, but it took me out of the vibe the album was setting before this track. Maybe I'm too old for songs like this anymore? It's possible, but I'll digress and move on. So I moved on to "Summertime" and it seems Keke got back on track. This track makes you want to play it in your car and just drive. It gave me a "Swangin' and Bangin' vibe (God, I feel so old). This was a great track. "Remember" comes on and I was into it with the Bam Rogers intro then it turns into another track about sex. I ask myself why these tracks really don't appeal to be and it could be that I am burned out on them since I grew up with 2 Live Crew, or that I prefer better lyrical content. But again, I think it's more than likely a combination of both.
"Scheming on a Million" starts and right away the beat makes me think of a Witchdoctor album and I'm hooked. The lyrics are pretty hard on this track, but for some reason that doesn't bother me. I guess I'll never be to old for tracks like this. Then "I'm On My Way" comes on and it's another sex track, but wait a minute, I hear some Bobby Womack on the beat and I'm in! This track was more sexually explicit than the previous ones, but it was catchy as hell. Back to Bam Rogers on "Nothing To Prove", and I loved this track. I am definitely going to have to listen to his mixtape after this. The best way to describe him would be a singer/rapper with a trap vibe.
I would like to take this time to say that I grew up on old school hip hop and I watched movies like Breakin' 1&2, Beat Street, and Krush Groove. So When "Southside Groovin'" started I was shocked to hear the Krush Groovin' song as the tune of a track released in 2016. It seems like a lot of Texas rappers quit taking the old school songs and flipping them like they did in the 90's. It was another great track for sure, and featured another favorite of mine Big Pokey. "This is Why We Ride" was another hard track, but the whole time i kept thinking Propain sounded too much like Plies.
Now to the track I was really worried about, "Talkin' Down" with Paul Wall. I am not the biggest fan of Paul Wall, because I remember him from the Color Changin' Click and his flow was different back then. When he split from the group I felt like he tried too hard to sound like Keke and it bothered me for the longest time. I actually wouldn't buy his albums and usually skipped tracks that featured him. This time I decided to just listen to it for the sake of the review and it turned out to be one of my favorite tracks. I am still not a fan, but I feel like I gave him a chance at least. "Before Yo Name" was a solid track, but definitely the weakest track in my opinion. The last track "Bout My Bizness" was the track that I was leaning on the fence about. The beat was really good, and all three did a great job lyrically. So I went back and listened to it again, and in doing so I think its solid and one of the better tracks on the album.
So, how would someone who grew up on old school hip-hop and followed the S.U.C. from the beginning rate this album? There were a few tracks that I felt took away from the overall vibe of the album, but I admit that I may be overly critical. With that in mind I would rate this album as a whole 8.5/10.
Until next time, DatBeardedBastard is out...
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