Saturday, August 20, 2005

Capone-N-Noreaga, The Reunion (2000)

Long on anticipation, the follow-up to one of the most critically acclaimed rap albums of our time, CNN unleashes a solid effort. On The Reunion, the thugged out duo from Queens tries to pick up where they left off, but their overwhelming popularity and expectations probably stunted their sophmore effort's growth. They still have great chemistry and make a very listenable album.

On Phonetime, Capone goes line for line with Noreaga on some collect call from a New York State Correctional Facility type shit. Bang Bang is a banger (for lack of a more descriptive adjective) featuring Foxy Brown and a Lil Kim diss or two. Straight Like That, Brothers, and Queens Finest are the necessary crew cuts. And Full Steezy is that jump-off for that jump-off in the hood.

The well done All We Got Is Us bumps seriously. On it Capone sheds "When everything gets sour, I got my dogs/ I squeeze off, break through the pound if they lock my dog/ I'm not scared of your guns I got shot before/ niggas jewels got little rocks like Arkansas/ I'm the prophet of BIG but never the next, I'm the first and in every verse man shit get worse/ you could hate me or wish I lie in a hearse/ respect the game, who the best, select my name/ I salute niggas, jail, I'm big as Latrell/ on the streets you need heat? ask Dominican Will/ my clique-ahs off the meter/ you come gun and bullets whistle past your ear like police of London/ we the best that ever did it, the rest never lived it/ getting bucked at or bing time, stressed on the visit/ I'm Y2K in the flesh, the future nevertheless/ I pop metal to death."

On B EZ with Nas, a boastful Noreaga fires "I see death through the corner, thy kingdom come/ six 500's pull up right in front of the slum/ sticky green fingers, cultures of the great Gods/ Clarence spoke to the poor but he lived in ours/ eh, yo hook like Roy Jones/ I'm a street corner bastard and crush weed with the hashes/ bandana head dome wrap, Caddy trucks with the grills and the chrome snaps/ I'm on point like Al Sharpton and peep the MU marksmen/ the S-Class is shitting on your weak Dhatsun/ graffiti written on the bible, my life is wicked/ I see dead corpses and Rolls Royces/ put your heart in your lap, let's say you hear voices/ my whole personna is the drama and to smoke skama/ how I could live it up, willy what, and in front of your slut/ money busting out my pockets, you bank is stopped."

Finally, the Lord Finesse produced Don't Know Nobody with Musaliny and M.A.Z.E. is a tight way to end the album. DKN is on some arrest me, I've got one hell of a lawyer shit.

When the smoke clears, you have an addictive yet altogether average long play. It's an album you'll be able to play over and over again without tiring, but you won't necessarily rave about it.

Rating: 7 Gold Teefs
Buy or Copy: Copying it will make you one very happy hip-hopper.

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