Big Pun, Yeeeah Baby (2000)

So right before this thing was supposed to be released, the immensely immense Big Pun bit the dust. The rumor mill churned out anecdotes of how fat he'd supposedly gotten at the time of his death. But the single on the streets, It's So Hard featuring Donnel Jones, had him talking about how he just offed 100 pounds. It indeed was hard as it had the streets buzzing for months. The whole summer had the South Bronx nodding collectively to the catchy Donnel Jones sung hook and Big Pun's rapid fire delivery. "Fuck that, spun a uey lost a hub cap/ it's back to the shack, came back in a 'what's that?!'/ straight from Paris, check out Gaby's friend's baby carraige/ Perry Ellis, hot bird, cherry-radish/fresh out the dealer, got the tech for the squealers/ wear a vest for the killers nothing less 'cause it's realer/ in the Big Apple, where it's quick to get your shit tackled/ enemies spit at you, best friends kidnap you/ trust no one, got beef bust yo' gun/ you don't need no one talkin' 'bout that you owe 'em/ I'ma go for dolo, Scarface without Manolo/ want beef? I be solo, bustin' heat, throwin' bolos, it's on!" The video featured cameos of some of New York's biggest hip hoppers, like fellow New Yorican Noreaga, all out to mourn one of their own.

Another album highlight was the introduction of Remy Martin, Terror Squads resident female gangsta rapper. She seriously killed a long verse in Ms. Martin with her deliberate and well put together delivery.

Off With His Head featuring Prospect, however, was the real highlight of the project. The two Terror Squadians flow seamlessly back to back, going line for line talking shit the whole time to an upbeat horn laced track... the way hip hop is supposed to be rocked.

All in all, Pun never strays far from his winning formula of machine gun fired raps with a twist of thug humor, killer cameos (like M.O.P. and Fat Joe) and uptempo beats. He certainly has more than enough ability to carry an entire album, and this is a rather short one. Consice and succicnt with a couple hiccups, i.e. We Don't Care and My D**k this comes across effectively.

Rating: 7 Gold Teefs, it's hard to pull out the crates and just listen to after the first month.
Buy or Copy: Buy, it's certainly no slouch!