A League of Our Own Vol. 2 is full-a-flava
Written: Oct 11 '04 (Updated Oct 13 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: For the Most part tight, production, subject matter, & lyrics. "Commercial Rap" is classic
Cons: A Couple Wack Tracks,
The Bottom Line: Underground Fans - Buy, HipHop Fans - Buy, Non-HipHop fans - Worth a Listen
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| MajaFiggaz's Full Review: A League of Our Own, Vol. 2 - Phila Flava Movies |
Within the last few years the Phila Flava show has been one of the top college imprints. The first mixtape from Abby O'Neil and Jason Gloss "Phila Flava Presents: A League of Our Own" featured a bunch of well respected underground rappers along with some commercial hip-hoppers on a plethora of hot tracks. All areas were represented with cats like W.C. and Planet Asia reppin' the west, cats like Obie Trice and Royce 5'9 reppin the D, and guys like Baby Blak and Talib Kweli holding it down for the east from Philly and New York. Other notable names from that mixtape are Murs, Masta Ace, Copywrite, and Devin the Dude. Production came from the likes of Pete Rock, Chops, Kanye West and Hi-Tek amongst others. Needless to say this joint was pure fire.
This time around with Vol. 2 when you look at the tracklist, it won't stand out as much as it did with Vol. 1. This installment feature a bunch of rappers who, if you haven't been down with the underground hip-hop scene, you probably won't know about thing about a single artist here. Well you may have heard of Brother Ali, Evidence, and maybe Baby Blak of Ill Advised. And the QN5 AllStars includes Cunninlynguists. Also with this release they stepped up from a mixtape to a nationally released compilation distributed via Vintage Music Group. How will this one stack up to the first? Will it be a Phila Flava classic? Are they in a league of thier own or just the Nation Rappers Developmental League. Lets find out.
1. Adrenaline(Supastition) - $$$$$ - The album kicks off with some hard production on this joint. Supastition rips into this throwing more punches then a fired up boxer, in this battle rap. Letting you know his intentions from the jump off "You wanna make peace with Supa, don't gamble with your life/The only time I shake hands is when i'm handling the dice". Even after beef is over he claism to beat a dead horse not giving a damn about animal rights. Supastition just spits some amazing sh!t here. Punchline after punchline, and I am hard pressed to find any wack pucnhes here. It'll be a common occurance for you to be pressing rewind every 10 second or so.
2. Veteran's Day(Dave Ghetto feat. Rok One, Pumpkinhead & Breez Evahflowin) - $$$$1/4 - This joint features some awkward production, however the sick bassline makes up for it. Rok One rips into this joint spittin some introspective lyrics. Dave Ghetto jumps into it from there and talks about his hip-hop career. Pumpkinhead drops a potential sick verse but he is extremely unfocus here, and he seemingly drops a hot couple of rhymes and follows it with commercial garbage. This cycle happens about every 4 bars. Spiting weak lines like "We trying to make our money stretch like Fruit Roll-Ups". Breez Evahflowin really drops the ball here as he disses old-school hip-hop acts that try to make a comeback as well as hardcore underground hip-hop fans. I think he is trying to get at the people who b!tch about underground hip-hop not getting props, but he kind of f!cks it up with weak lyrics and a message in general of "F!ck underground hip-hop". Also wack bars like "I'll shoot the rhino off your Ecko pants" don't help.
3. Fire in the Eye(Brother Ali) - $$$$ - Brother Ali gets some over-produced sh!t with this one. Still Brother Ali fails to disappoint as he rips into this joint. Introspective rhymes are in full effect here as Brother Ali takes us on a journey of the emcee. Warning others not to walk to near the cage when he's hungry. However this joint at times seems awkward. The transition from verse to chorus is weird if not just plain sloppy, and sloppy is a word never used(until now) to describe Brother Ali. The production doesn't help and makes it even sound odder during that transition. However it's really not to big of a deal and Brother Ali just tears it up with his thought-provoking lyrics.
4. Heat(Baby Blak feat. Evidence) - $$1/2 - Baby Blak spits some gangsta sh!t here, mixed with some watered down battle rhymes here. He throws some braggadocio in as well but this joint is extremely disappointing. Baby Blak spits some uninspired and boring rhymes about how you ain't sh!t. Weakness like "I got bullets for everytime Black Rob said 'Whoa'". Also odd punchlines like "and I don't miss like Shaq at the Free-Throw, Yo" make Blak look like an idiot. Of course he is saying he doesn't miss, like Shaq misses free throws, but if you don't pay attention it sounds as if he is saying it like Shaq is a great free throw shooter even though, after hearing it again you know what he means. Dilated's Evidence gives a chorus that will tuck you into bed. The best thing about this song is the production and that isn't even that good. Surprisingly weak sh!t from Blak.
5. Commercial Rap (QN5 All-Stars) - $$$$$($) - This joint is pretty humorous. It starts off with two guys, I think its Deacon & Kno conversating about hip-hop going insanely commercial, and granny's dancing to hip-hop on commercials. What follows is a sequence of commercials in which the QN5 Allstars rap....commercials. This sh!t is amazing actually. The first has a guy sounding like the Public Service Announcer from Eminem albums, but he is rapping and it is just sick. I didn't really notice he was spittin, as he advertises the "Trojan Nut-Flap". The next one is a commercial for shampoo which has side effects like making you addicted to crack, insomnia & mild depression, but you won't have the flakes anymore! After that is the acne cream Spatch-N-Gale. Then we have the SpicDonalds commercial with a latin spiced, salsa-tinged, hispanic steriotyped fast food restaurant. This sh!t is crazy funny. However it may offend some. Next is Sweet Sticky Dream, the deodorant that makes you a complete pimp. Japhony & Liars law firm is here to encourage you to sue everyone. Sue the razor company if you cut yourself. Sue your one-night stand if she got a hairy chest. The last commercial is strictly Kno advertising Denny's getting a hip-hop facelift to combat the racist accusations with Lil Jon in the background giving What's and Yeah's, and selling Chopped-N-Screwed Hash Browns and Fried Chicken flavored Pancakes. This will have you on the floor rolling. This makes me reminisce of good times when Eminem did thoughtful humorous albeit offensive tracks. Those were the days...
"Are you concerned about the risk of STD's, when your balls slap the buttcrack/
Introducing the all new and improved Trojan Nut-Flap/
The only protection against disease for your sack/
That intervines with the splash, of even the sleaziest snatch/
Now breathe easy in fact, you can rest assure that your safe/
The elastic band attaches faster than it'll hold it in place/
No exposure to AIDS, Herpes Symplex, or Scrotal Warts/(TROJAN FLAAAAP)
For when your little lady is a total wh*re/(Thank You Trojan Flap)"
6. Good Die Young(Godamus Rhyme feat. Young Siah) - $ - Godamus Rhyme spits some weak @ss gangsta rhymes. The best sh!t he spits is on the chorus with "If the Good Die Young, I'ma be 106". Young Siah also drops commercial bullsh!t rhymes.
7. Style Tips(Styles of Beyond) - $$$$1/2 - This song features some tight uptempo production with and absolutely sick bassline and piano keys. This joint has a tight old-school feeling to it. Ryu and Takbir compliment each other perfectly here. These two spit about how hip-hop was back in the day and the way people used enjoy it, and thier way of coming up in hip-hop. They also touch on bitting.
8. Ball Till You Fall(Planet Asia) - $$$ - Lyrically on this track Planet Asia is above average. However this track is just so damn boring. Maybe it is the lame synthesized violin-lead beat, that'll put you to sleep. The background sample used quite frankly sucks, and Planet Asia can't save this one at all from being any more than an average song.
9. A Thief in the Night(Roosevelt Franklin(Mr. Len & Kimani)) - $$$$ - This joint kicks off with an old soul sample which is also the chorus.Mr. Len & Kimani spits some hot introspective lyrics on this. This song does lack energy however and takes away from the overall value. Still, the tight lyrics and soulful production keep this a pretty dope track.
10. What Would You Do?(Born Unique feat. Lonnie B) - $$$$1/2 - Sick production with light snare, bobblin' keys, and soft synthesizers with a solid bassline. Born Unique raps about coming up hard and spittin' without a deal. He talks about having a lot of pressure and doing negative sh!t because of his situation. Then asking a bunch of "What Would You Do's" and placing you in a bad situation. Lonnie B then continues to ask question while bashing rappers who think they are holier than thou. Lonnie B then answers his own question and raps about giving back to kids through religious rhymes. The chorus is tight just adding together for a dope track.
11. Y'all Don't Know(Diabolic feat. Poison Pen & Block McCloud) - $$$$1/4 - Starting with a mobster intro about a gangster carrying the stink of the streets with him. Diabolic opens it with some hard rhymes of the gangsta code. Some may pass this off as a regular gangster bullsh!t, but Diabolic spits some pretty tight sh!t. The chorus however is horrid with some absolutely mirror-shattering singing by Poison Pen, who should be rapping instead of singing. Black McCloud also spits a tight verse about growing up in a bad situation. The dark, gritty production is what stands out here which feature bagpipes of all things.
12. Dangerous Game(F.T.) - 0 - His name stands for Fuc That so what can this guy really bring to the table? If you thoughts were nothing you got it right on the head. This cat speaks some weak gangsta rhymes. The chorus of "Hustlaz, Gangstaz, Say Yaaa, Prayazz" sums it all up. However this sh!t is just so f!cking weak it isn't funny. I am hard pressed to find a word longer then 5 letters long...Ok so he says Dangerous, but that doesn't count! This cat is straight up garbage. If you though 50 Cent spits weak gangsta ish, you haven't heard F.T. This guy takes that cake for wackness. Listen to this song? F!ck That!
13. In Case You Forgot(Storm the Unpredictable feat. Pries Da Nomad) - $$$$$ - After a records crackle the beat slams home with a haunting voice, thumping bass, synthesizers and claps. Storm absolutely runs wild on this joint and makes up for the garbage from Fuc That. Absolutely rocking the mic with dangerous battle rhymes "I've increased my potential, by numbers that's exponential/Leaving your mental in a vegetated state, Simple". Pries also spits some venomous battle rhymes with haymaker punchlines. "I'm all heart, your flow barely hit the liver". Storm takes the last verse crushing the world claiming to be "the reincarnation of Lynn Bias in rap form". He just going bonkers on this sh!t, with mind-boggling bars, showing that Storm the Unpredictable would have wiped Florida off of the map.
"Yo, stepping to me, that's not logical/
Storm so nice he make Jesus Christ look diabolical/
Blaze cats leaving nothing but hair folicles/
My molecular composition is ill so holla dude/
Blaze em so bad they can no longer swallow food/
I.D'ing there arm, then back to my fortress and scholar tools/
See you rappers best to chill/
You messin' with the lyrical equivelent of a rouge Navy Seal/"
14. The Recession(Red Clay) - $$$$$ - The production here suffers from a serious case of Over-Productionomy. With too-many Yeahitis, and synthesized violingitis. Red Clay does his best to make up for it and he damn sure does with ridiculous bars full of tight metafores and similies, and introspective rhymes rappin' about the state of hip-hop. He talks of there being too many players on the floor that wont score. He says we shouldn't settle for this bullsh!t. After he stops rapping the beat slows down and actually sounds much better.
15. The Self-Proclaimed World's Greatest Tag Team(K-Otix) - $$$$$ - Over some tight production from producer The Are, Mic & Damien rips back and forth as they tag each other in every 8 bars or so. Damien rips with mean and angry violent bars in which he claims to "make your face look like P.Diddy toes after the marathon". This joint is straight up classic battles as K-Otix lyrically whoop your @ss on record.
16. Black Elastic Rhythm(Flii Stylz feat. Martin Luther) - $$$$ - I'm not exactly feeling this production, which feels a little bare bones. However Martin Luther does a tight job on the chorus and Flii Stylz spits some tight old-schoolish rhymes. He spits about having fun using tight similes and metafores.
17. One Way(Tribeca feat. Camp Lo) - $$$ - The production on this track sounds like a poor and disjointed attempt at a Carribean dancehall tune, and this just sounds way too happy for my liking. The woman on the chorus is pretty damn mediocre. Tribeca doesn't help with weak club based lyrics. Geechie spits some above average lyrics but Sonny rips this joint apart with a weird flow the mixes a typical hip-hop delivery with a reggae flow. Well whatever the hell he's doing it works, and helps get this out of the gutter Tribeca put it in.
Once again Jason Gloss drops another dope mix on us. With some unbelieveably hot track this could have been another classic compilation. However this joint is marred by a few mediocre and truely wack songs. Also a disappointing song from Baby Blak, and Planet Asia as well as an oddly paced Brother Ali track failed to meet my expectations even though the Brother Ali track is still tight. The QN5 crew however stole the show with Commercial Rap. Man that track is just amazing. This compliation has really made me aware of a few more artists in which I will take a serious look at, as well as warning me to say away from such trash like F.T., Godamus Rhyme and Young Siah. Even though the latter two may have just messed up on this song, Fuc That is just straight up garbage and there is absolutely no hope for him. If you are a fan of compilation albums and mixtapes you should check this out, as its one of the best compilations i've heard this year.
4.3 Stars Rounded Down to 4.
Top 3 Songs
1. Commercial Rap
2. In Case You Forgot
3. Adrenaline
Honorable Mention(s) - Veteran's Day, Style Tips, Y'all Don't Know
Also Check Out
We Came From Beyond Vol. 2
Recommended:
Yes
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MajaFiggaz
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