Since I listened to this thing.....twice....I'll rate it:
Lyricism - 8.5/10
Production - 5.5/10
Album Cohesiveness - 9/10
Replay Value - 3.5/10
Overall - 6.5/10
The story here is put together nice, but there's TOO much crying and bitching on this album. The song "Backstage" encapsulates this to a tee:
"Joe, you thought you was the head gambino
Made decisions with no regard for the next man, we know (We know)
That Rollie lit up nice, it had the large dial
But you was on your ish for that ice just like you are now
Royce, we was pretty tight and you got around Mike
And let him sell you Joell lies at a discount price
But you know Quick, nigga, the block enforcer
Only thing you had up on me was that rocket launcher"
Joell, in particular, seems excessively bitter on this album. That's why I said initially this whole thing was sad; Joell should've did what Royce did, which was chalk all this SH as a good ride, and focus more one his solo stuff, reaching out to Crook or Royce when it was needed. Not to defend Joe, but RAFOSH has Bitter Bitch Syndrome literally written everywhere on it. Plus some of the vocalist features weren't up to snuff. I could've done without Sly Piper on "Flood Waters."
The "Look Mama" song was a really good bright spot here. THAT's what this album should've had more of; SH broke up, so what? What's in the future, rather than what was in the past. 2-3 songs about the break up would've seems to fit everything well, then the rest of the project should've focused on the next moves to be made.
I'm still a fan of all four of these dudes, and this whole thing sucks, but Joell and Crooked need to do better than this.
Personal Favorite Tracks: Backstage, Fukglasshouse, Look Mama
