The Abominable Snowman
Member
I acquired this CD alongside T.I.'s newest effort "Urban Legend", Lil Jon's Crunkalicious Crunk Juice, Diplomats Diplomatic Immunity 2, Nas' new Street Disciples and Trick Daddy's Thug Matrimony. I can definitely say that Luda's latest yearly effort is the most enjoyable out of all of them.
Solid beats all around. Not one track skippable, whereas on the aforementioned CDs there'd be a few tracks not worth listening. Luda has seem to have struck that fine balance between beats and lyricism. Definitely one of the more lyrical cats out the South, he dumbs down some of the choruses on the more southen-oriented songs. Starting out with a tight, tight intro that makes you wonder why he didn't flesh it out into a song, you're immediately dropped into one of the more creative songs on any album this year, and definitely among the funniest. If you ever wondered how a rap artist could sample Austin Powers theme and spin it into a song, listen to "Number One Spot" :lol
Nas and Doug E. Fresh make an appearance on Virgo, which is also featured on Nas' Streets Disciple. That song is close to classic status as it is, and his first single "Get Back" is present, but it features one of the more tinny beats, and sometimes it seems to me that the song is out of place with the rest of the album. He explores his smokey side on "Blueberry Yum Yum" and exhibits a bit of West and MidWest flavor on "Child of the Night" Featuring Nate Dogg and travels even further west on "Spur of the Moment". The Neptunes-produced "The Potion" Bangs and definitely is the dance track on this great album. He samples, of ALL movies and stageplays, Oliver! That's right, he's sampling "You gotta pick a poket or two" From that movie, and to good effect. It's a great beat and has a funny message. "In this life, one thing counts, In the Bank, LARGE AMOUNTS!" :lol And of course he shows his softer side on the latter songs "Two Miles a Hour", detailing a troubled relationshp with a man and his decked out car as he ignores everything else, and "Hopeless" featuring Trick Daddy.
I don't think I can pick out songs as absolute must haves without posting over 3/4th of the CD. Definitely a must-have CD from Ludacris. Not his absolute best, but definitely makes up for the so-so album "Chickin & Beer". No string of absolute bangers one after another like his "Back for the First time" but definitely up there. His experience in the game shows.
Rating: A-
Solid beats all around. Not one track skippable, whereas on the aforementioned CDs there'd be a few tracks not worth listening. Luda has seem to have struck that fine balance between beats and lyricism. Definitely one of the more lyrical cats out the South, he dumbs down some of the choruses on the more southen-oriented songs. Starting out with a tight, tight intro that makes you wonder why he didn't flesh it out into a song, you're immediately dropped into one of the more creative songs on any album this year, and definitely among the funniest. If you ever wondered how a rap artist could sample Austin Powers theme and spin it into a song, listen to "Number One Spot" :lol
Nas and Doug E. Fresh make an appearance on Virgo, which is also featured on Nas' Streets Disciple. That song is close to classic status as it is, and his first single "Get Back" is present, but it features one of the more tinny beats, and sometimes it seems to me that the song is out of place with the rest of the album. He explores his smokey side on "Blueberry Yum Yum" and exhibits a bit of West and MidWest flavor on "Child of the Night" Featuring Nate Dogg and travels even further west on "Spur of the Moment". The Neptunes-produced "The Potion" Bangs and definitely is the dance track on this great album. He samples, of ALL movies and stageplays, Oliver! That's right, he's sampling "You gotta pick a poket or two" From that movie, and to good effect. It's a great beat and has a funny message. "In this life, one thing counts, In the Bank, LARGE AMOUNTS!" :lol And of course he shows his softer side on the latter songs "Two Miles a Hour", detailing a troubled relationshp with a man and his decked out car as he ignores everything else, and "Hopeless" featuring Trick Daddy.
I don't think I can pick out songs as absolute must haves without posting over 3/4th of the CD. Definitely a must-have CD from Ludacris. Not his absolute best, but definitely makes up for the so-so album "Chickin & Beer". No string of absolute bangers one after another like his "Back for the First time" but definitely up there. His experience in the game shows.
Rating: A-
