Movie Review – “Notorious” (2009)

Release Date: January 16, 2009

Production Companies: Fox Searchlight Pictures (Later known as Searchlight Pictures after Disney acquisition)/Bad Boy Films/By Storm Films/State Street Pictures/Voletta Wallace Films

Wow. It had been quite some time since I had last seen this. I recall seeing this on opening weekend at the start of 2009. So it’s been a little more than 14 and a half years since I had last watched. Not to say I didn’t have chances of revisiting it, but after doing my re-review on “All Eyez on Me” (the film), it was a given that I would revisit this.

Back in the late-2000s, I remember hearing that a movie on Biggie Smalls (or The Notorious B.I.G.) was in production. I know that as a longtime hip-hop head that I would see it because up to that point, aside from an MC Hammer movie done for VH1 (which was in 2001, the early-2000s), there had not been any biopics done on rappers. I knew I was going to see it anyway, especially since my younger cousin, who was about 12 at the time, wanted to see it.

It’s crazy to think that Biggie had quite an impact and legacy after his untimely demise. He had only recorded two albums (though for the second one, he died weeks before its release). He had a crew of his own, Junior M.A.F.I.A. (it stood for “Masters at finding intelligent attitudes”) whom had released an album of their own. He also was known for getting the East Coast back on the map in the rap world as up to that point (the 1990s), the West Coast was getting big with the likes of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, Too $hort, E-40, etc. I can go on, but the point I am making is that even though the East Coast originated hip-hop, during the time of Biggie’s rise, the West Coast was at the top of the rap game but Biggie helped bring it back to the East as well.

So it was no surprise that a biopic about him was made. Plus, this was the first one to get a theatrical release.

Before I get into my review, let me just say this – I can’t say that I was the biggest Biggie fan out there. Now don’t get me wrong. The man ripped the mic well. He was good at rapping and had different topics he rapped about. He was popular. I have listened to his albums, “Ready to Die” and “Life After Death,” and his two posthumous albums, “Born Again” and “Duets: The Final Chapter.” But what has always gotten in all my years of listening to hip-hop, when looking at Top 10 or 20 lists, you often see Biggie and Tupac at the top of the lists. Again, Biggie was popular and sure knew how to spit, and he does earn the respect he was given as an artist, and I say this as someone who lived to see his career up to his untimely death, it just feels like when it comes to rap legends, it’s always either Tupac or Biggie at the top over everyone when there are other artists to consider legends. Hell, I remember an old coworker (who was much younger than me) asking me who I chose between Biggie or Tupac, but I had to school him on other artists, many of whom he had never heard of. Part of me wonders if it’s because they’re deceased, but I never ever denied that Biggie had a good flow and storytelling. So a biopic on him was in order back in those days. I still wouldn’t consider him to be one of my top favorite artists, but I did like his music even when he was alive.

With all that being said, it’s time to talk about the film.

The story starts with a young Christopher Wallace (Biggie’s real name, by the way) at school with his friend talking about rapping and stuff. I also found out recently that young Biggie was played by Christopher Wallace Jr., who was Biggie’s real-life son with Faith Evans. I found that interesting that his son played his father as a child. Anyway, so it showed bits of him in childhood then into his teen years when he was pushing crack up until he started rapping and then his rise to fame and then everything that led to his untimely demise.

Biggie was portrayed by Jamal Woolard, who is a rapper himself and he captured the essence of the late rapper. He not only had the look but his voice was similar enough, but what really stood out was that it seemed he did his own rapping for the recreations of some songs or the scenes when he would freestyle. It didn’t sound like he was lip-synching over the real Biggie’s vocals.

So it was good to see that Woolard did his own rapping for this film. He was a rapper before he got cast, after all.

As for any other performances, I can’t complain when Angela Bassett is on screen as she did fine as Voletta Wallace, Biggie’s mother. However, I can’t say the same thing about Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur.

I must say this. When I went to go watch this in theaters and I saw who was supposed to be Tupac, I was like “Huh? Him?!” Okay, yes, while he may be known for portraying Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but because it was 2009 when this came out, I mostly remembered him as Poppa Doc in “8 Mile,” who got roasted to bits by Eminem in the climactic rap battle scene. Even when he was in 2013’s “Pain & Gain” I still saw him as Poppa Doc. It doesn’t help that he didn’t feel like Pac in the scenes he was in.

But aside from that, I like how the storytelling also paints Biggie as a not-so-good person. While he may have been beloved as a rapper, he was definitely no saint. He not only sold drugs but also treated women badly, especially the women in his life like Faith Evans and Lil’ Kim. Did I also mention that he wasn’t very faithful to both women? I guess what I said is evident of such behavior.

Many of the characters felt shallow and if you think about it, there was a lot to be told in this story that there wasn’t enough focus on the others because it had to touch on some events that had occurred. Yes, this film was full of clichés, but a lot of films are like that.

After this long since the first time I saw it, I have to say that it holds up for what it is, but when compared to other biopics, at least those released in cinemas, “Straight Outta Compton” still felt superior. I know I need to revisit that one because it has been a long time since I last saw it, but regarding “Notorious,” it’s miles better than “All Eyez on Me.” I won’t pretend that this film didn’t have flaws. I already mentioned Anthony Mackie’s performance as Tupac (which in a lot of ways is kind of funny in hindsight) but there were some parts that felt a little unnecessary. For example, one scene with Biggie and Lil’ Kim having a moment. I am sure it wasn’t meant to turn anybody on, but still, it was kind of disturbing. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Lil’ Kim was portrayed by Naturi Naughton, who was a member of the girl group 3LW (3 Little Women) back in the early-2000s. I just thought that was an interesting casting choice. I wonder if she did her own rapping in those scenes.

Overall, I would call this film average, if better than average. Despite some clichés and some cheesy performances, I did like the concert scenes and the studio scenes. The film had a good soundtrack by The Notorious B.I.G. himself. I mean if the movie was about him, would you expect anything else? I would say I didn’t mind it, if liked it enough, but I didn’t love it.

3.25/5

Re-review – “All Eyez on Me” (2017 film)

Release Date: June 16, 2017

Production Companies: Summit Entertainment (In association with Lionsgate Films)/Morgan Creek Productions/Program Pictures/Codeblack Films

For my original review on this film, click here.

I knew it would come to this. After doing my series on Tupac’s films, there was this itch that made me do this… again.

I’ll be blunt – I was not a fan of this movie when I saw it in theaters in 2017. I know a lot of people didn’t like the film, and there are some people who did like it. That’s fine and all, but I wasn’t one of those people who liked it. That doesn’t mean that there weren’t any redeeming factors to it, though. However, for the most part, there were a lot of issues with this film.

When discussing biopics of films, more often than not, there may be some inaccuracies to the story. There are also some factors that may have been omitted from the film because really, at the end of the day, they are films, not documentaries. I could say that there were inaccuracies in 2009’s “Notorious” and in 2015’s “Straight Outta Compton.” It’s been years since I have watched those two, though, so I may need to revisit them (and maybe cover them).

When I had heard that a Tupac biopic was in development back in 2016, I was not surprised. It was a given that a film on him would be made. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was done to ride on the coattails of “Straight Outta Compton” because of how successful that film was. Really, for someone who lived a short life, he has quite a life story. You could talk about his upbringing, his acting career, his music career, his run-ins with the law, and the impact he made (even before he died). This film tried to do all of that but it fell flat on many levels.

Because the negatives outweigh the positives, I will talk about the negatives first.

The narrative tried to cover all sorts of aspects of Pac’s life, whether it was his upbringing with his mother, Afeni, who was a Black Panther, to taking acting classes, his friendship with Jada Pinkett, his time with Digital Underground, etc. I could go on about everything this film tried to do. Many of the scenes felt like clips of certain aspects and then moved onto the next aspect. For example, you had the part of the release of “2Pacalypse Now” to Dan Quayle talking about Pac to Ayanna Jackson and the rape charge, to getting shot at the New York recording studio. Oh, and it’s important to know that for the majority of the film, it was framed around an interview with an journalist trying to get Pac’s life story, and then came his time in Death Row, which was basically the second half of the film.

Speaking of the stuff with Ayanna Jackson, I found it really weird how in the scene where she and Pac were making out at the club that “Honey Love” by R. Kelly and Public Announcement played in the background. Yes, it was a popular song but knowing what we know now about R. Kelly and the fact that this subplot talked about sexual assault, it’s really weird. Was it intentional? Good question.

Another nitpick I had, and I know I wasn’t the only one who felt this way, was that in a scene where he is performing “Ambitionz az a Ridah” and “Hit ’em Up,” he also performed “Hail Mary.” Okay, being that “Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory” came out not long after his death, he never had the chance to perform any of the songs from that album. In fact, he recorded that album a month before he was killed.

The other problem I had was how the Death Row chapter was handled. Sure, it covered the bases of its unsafe working environment, such as Suge Knight and his fellow Bloods beating down people at the Death Row headquarters to even this dinner scene.

In my last review on this film, I talked about how it all of a sudden felt like a gangster movie with the ominous music played in the background. Now I recall some violent scenes in “Straight Outta Compton,” and I know that some biopics don’t have to cover everything that actually happened, but when I saw this in theaters, I was like “what kind of movie am I watching now?”

Then you have parts where Dr. Dre and Faith Evans were shown. Okay, I know Dre was one of the co-owners of Death Row at that point but he was only scene twice and forgotten about. Faith Evans, however, that was mostly done to not only recreate a photo that she did with Pac and to try to cover more of Pac’s beef with Biggie (who was played by the same guy who played him in “Notorious”) but it was never mentioned again after that.

What was also distracting was that in the climax, and yes, the scene in Las Vegas where…well, you know where I am going with this. Anyway, I will give the producers credit for having the scene shot in Las Vegas but then you have some more up-to-date businesses in the Hershey shop on the strip. I know this because I had visited Vegas more than a month before seeing this film in theaters and the store didn’t open until 2014 while that scene took place in 1996.

Then you have this bit.

As covered in my post about the murder investigation, I noted that there was security footage of the beat down that happened in the casino. While I don’t mind that they recreated that for this scene, what’s distracting is that the security footage is the real deal. That’s right. That footage that you see here is the real footage of what happened that night.

Oh, and when you saw Snoop Dogg on screen, it was clear that the real Snoop dubbed his voice for the fake one. That was so distracting.

I feel like I am repeating myself but the film’s biggest problem is that it tried to cover so many bases but it felt like vignettes of some events and onto the next. If anything, Pac’s story could work as a miniseries. And yes, I am aware of the “Unsolved” series and how that one allegedly covers it better (not to mention that the guy who played Suge Knight returned in that), but I need to find a way to watch it. However, this film felt almost like those biopics produced for VH1, Lifetime, and BET. There are some examples of shoddy biopics done for those networks. Don’t even get me started on the one about Aaliyah. However, I kind of gave “Surviving Compton” a pass as the real Michel’le (pronounced “mee-shell-lay”) had some input on the film and also narrated it. That’s another one I need to revisit.

On the positive side, however, I have to give Demetrius Shipp Jr. some credit for trying to portray Tupac as best as he could. He had the look and I could see that in some scenes when some interviews were recreated, he did what he could to help replicate those scenes. Also, Danai Gurira did a good job at her role as Afeni Shakur. That’s about as far as I could go with the positives on the performances. I also liked the use of some songs on the soundtrack, especially the use of “Blackberry Molasses” but 1990s R&B group called Mista (which had a young Bobby V in the group). From what I had read, it was one of Pac’s favorite songs before he died, so I guess someone wanted to use the song as kind of a tribute.

I know I left some information that was mentioned in my old review but you could read that if you want to. I also forgot to mention that a couple of Outlawz (E.D.I. and Young Noble) were in this movie and they played themselves. They didn’t really do much. They had no lines. They were just there. I don’t even think they were advisers for the film, either.

So where do I stand with this film now that I have revisited it after six years? Well, it’s still not a good movie. I maintain the positives that I stated in 2017 and they still stand. However, I maintain the negatives. My mind has not changed for the better, but it has changed for the worse, though. I feel like maybe a Tupac movie can work if someone really does his story justice. Maybe not a movie but rather a series. If there is “Unsolved,” which I heard works, then a movie centered on his life can work. Hell, I think it’s time for me to check out that Wu-Tang series.

1.75/5

Movie Review – “Gang Related”

Release Date: October 8, 1997

Production Companies: Orion Pictures

It has come to this. I had covered all of Tupac’s other films, such as “Juice,” “Poetic Justice,” “Above the Rim,” “Bullet,” and “Gridlock’d.” So this had been quite a project for me. What separates this film from the others was that this was the first time I had watched it. That’s right. I had seen the other ones before, though “Bullet” and “Gridlock’d” had been once before and the first-time viewings were a long time ago. This one, however, I remember hearing about it. I had my chances but never got around to it. But with me doing this series of cover Tupac’s films, I had to watch it eventually.

Now that I have seen it, where do I stand with it?

Going into it, I had a feeling what I was getting myself into. While I hadn’t actually seen this movie before, I had read the plot synopsis and read that it was a crime drama about dirty cops covering up a murder. The plot involves detectives Divinci (James Belushi) and Rodriguez (Tupac Shakur) killing a drug dealer early in the film, only to find out he was an undercover DEA agent. The two crooked cops had to come up with the perfect alibi to cover up the murder. So they try to find some people to pin the rap on and also turn to a stripper named Cynthia (Lela Rochon), whom Divinci had an affair with, to help them out on this cover-up.

A lot of the movie has the plan fall apart as expected, but just how things fell apart kept me engaged. I had a feeling that Rodriguez, while dirty, was more sensible and wanted no part of the plan after a while. While I have seen plot elements like this before, I think they were executed well.

Belushi impressed me with his performance. His career has had its ups and downs, whether it was doing some unfunny comedies (I have seen some to which I can make an exception, however) and some serious films here and there. I do recall finding the 1988 film “Red Heat” with Arnold Schwarzenegger to be underrated and he did fine as the comedic cop as some comedic elements were more subtle than overt. In this film, however, he gave a chilling performance. His portrayal was rather terrifying as the film progressed.

While Tupac was one of the leads, I can’t say he was the focus for the most part. While he did fine in the role, there was not a lot of focus on his character. Most of the film’s plot focused on Divinci as it showed he was cheating on his wife and was also the one behind the plan. We didn’t know much about Rodriguez. Not to say Pac didn’t do well because these scenes showed that he had range. In fact, when you look at the two films that came out after his death, he didn’t play street thugs (“Poetic Justice” could be argued as he wasn’t a thug in that film), so he showed he had enough range to branch in some roles. Here are some examples:

One thing I will say about these scenes, and another that came after this one, is that it’s hard to watch when you know how he was killed. As a matter of fact, this movie was filmed in the summer of 1996. It wrapped up in August and then not long after that in September, he was murdered. It’s uncomfortable to see.

Another thing I should mention is that when I saw the opening credits, I noticed Dennis Quaid was listed. It took me a bit to finally figure out who he was in this movie. It was not until an interrogation scene that I had to look closely. Being that he portrayed a hobo, I could see how he was made up to look that way with the long hair and beard but then came when he had a haircut and shave.

I was at the edge of my seat for most of the film but the gripe I had was with the ending. I felt like not only it was rushed when filming but also had some rewrites. Another thing that I found confusing was that one prominent character was seen at the end all cleaned up and working again. This was supposed to be four months later. I don’t think that is enough time to get some skills back after being homeless and having mental issues. It would take more time to relearn such skills and a lot more time before one is ready to work again. Then you have the sudden ending. Maybe I should read the script to see how things went.

I would have to say that this is an underrated crime drama. The performances were done well. It had a good script for the most part and the overall tone didn’t feel too bleak. As for this being Tupac’s last film, because of his untimely demise, no one can know for certain where his career would have gone. There were rumors that he wanted to do a “Star Wars” film considering the first prequel was in development in the mid-1990s. There has been speculation that he was considered to play Mace Windu but then I had read that the original concept for that character was different. Like I had said before, this film and “Gridlock’d” were good examples of him branching out into different roles. While he was a dirty cop here, I wonder if he would have played a good cop at some point. No one will ever know.

Where do I stand with all of these films? Having watched six of his films for my series of reviews, I have to say that Tupac Shakur was indeed a talented man. I will admit that while I do like his music, I was never one of those fans who act like he is the single greatest rapper of all time and anyone who disagrees is wrong. I do admit that he left a mark on the hip-hop industry and there is a reason he is still talked about to this day. As for him as an actor, he was one of the better examples of rapper-turned-actors, though you could also say he was a rapper-actor who excelled at both. Yes, his more common roles were as street thugs when you look at “Juice,” “Above the Rim,” and “Bullet.” The other three films showed he had some range to do other types of roles. Yes, while I mentioned that “Poetic Justice” was debatable, he wasn’t a thug in that film. He was a mailman and for the majority of the film, Lucky was just someone who wanted to make a career in music. There was some depth to him that showed he wasn’t a one-dimensional character. Being that he had done six films, half of them he portrayed a thug and the other half were different roles. When you look at other rappers turned actors, whether it’s the likes of Ice-T, Ice Cube, DMX, etc., a lot of the time they played thugs but then there were times when they played different kinds of roles. The difference, however, was that Pac had an acting background prior to becoming a rapper. With “Juice” being his first film, the promotion for the film didn’t say anything like “starring popular rapper Tupac Shakur” or anything like that. If anything, “2Pacalypse Now” was released mere months before “Juice” was released. Plus, he wasn’t on the soundtrack to promote his music, either. So I think if he had lived, it’s possible he could have done more in acting.

That’s it for the series of Tupac films, but there is a side of me that may want to revisit something. Something I was not a fan of but I have the itch, even though I thought it was not a great biopic. I may get to that soon.

Movie Review – “Gridlock’d” (1997)

Release Date: January 29, 1997

Production Companies: Polygram Filmed Entertainment/Interscope Communications

Over the years, I had done done some research on the career of Tupac. When I was a kid, I remember seeing that he had new albums being released after his death. I had read that he had recorded a lot of music prior to his murder, which explained that he had multiple albums coming out. But back in 1997, I recall he had two movies come out (three if you count “Bullet,” but that was filmed a couple of years prior and was shelved for those two years before its release). While I am aware that the films were shot prior to it, I also learned he had quite the work ethic at that time. He not only recorded a lot of music but also filmed multiple music videos, some of which were alternate versions of some songs, and also filmed a couple of movies.

Many people close to him have said interviews, like Outlawz members and other fellow rappers like Bad Azz (RIP), that he knew he wasn’t long for this world. With that said, I am going to talk about this film, “Gridlock’d.”

I recall seeing TV spots for it and hearing about it on Entertainment Tonight sometime in late 1996. It was released in early 1997 and while it wasn’t exactly a hit, it had some positive feedback. Personally, I didn’t watch this movie until years later, like maybe it was the early-2000s when I rented it from Hollywood Video (man, I just feel old referencing that). I think it was just that one time I had watched it but I recall seeing bits and pieces of it on Showtime here and there. I recall enjoying it but aside from some scenes, I had very little recollection of the film itself.

So the story goes like this. Spoon (Tupac) and Stretch (Tim Roth), along with a friend of theirs (and sometimes lover) Cookie (Thandie Newton) come home from a party with a bunch of drugs and alcohol. The trio are a jazz/poetry band and also drug addicts, by the way. Cookie ends up overdosing and taken to a hospital and it gives Spoon a sign that he and Stretch should kick the habit. Throughout the film, the duo try to find clinics so they could detox, but along the way, they come across a crime boss named D-Reper, (Vondie Curtis-Hall, who also wrote and directed this film).

Because this movie is a crime comedy-drama, there are a lot of comedic elements to it but it wasn’t overt that it needed to be over-the-top or goofy. Granted, comedies come in different shapes and sizes. Some are goofy, some are subtle, I could go on. With that said, aside from “Nothing But Trouble,” this may probably have been the only comedy that Tupac was in where he was the lead. I think he did fine in this role as a drug addict trying to clean himself up. He and Tim Roth had good chemistry in this film. The two worked well with another. Also, with this being a comedy, while some situations they were in were serious enough, there were some bits that made things less serious. It’s really hard to describe, but when some scenes have a quick zoom closing on one character before another cut or when a character tries to reach the two leads and the camera zooms out and goes through a window while you see the two leads in the foreground and the other character in the background talking on the phone. Being that this was Vondie Curtis-Hall’s directorial debut, I can see he implemented some style into his direction. Now that I think about it, he had directed “Glitter” and “Waist Deep.” I had never seen the former (but I had heard a lot of negativity surrounding it) but I had seen the latter though it’s been a while. I may have to see that one again and probably cover that one, too.

I felt that this was an underrated film. It didn’t do too well when it came out. Being that Tupac’s death helped with album sales, you would have thought that this film would have done better. Then again, despite seeing some ads for it way back when, I don’t recall there was a lot of promotion for it. It was released by Gramercy Films, which was connected to Polygram and they weren’t that high on the top film distributers. I know that Gramercy and Polygram were later acquired by Universal, but even there has not been any more up-to-date DVD releases of this one. The DVD I watched this had non-anamorphic widescreen, which meant I had to adjust the screen to help the picture fit. It’s better that seeing the screen dead center between the black lines from top to bottom and left to right.

But still, it’s an entertaining film.

Movie Review – “Bullet” (1996)

Release Date: October 1, 1996

Production Company: New Line Cinema/Village Roadshow Pictures/Clipsal Films

When looking at Tupac’s filmography, I know people would often think of “Juice,” “Poetic Justice,” “Above the Rim,” and then you have two that came out after his death, “Gridlock’d” and “Gang Related.” However, there is one that not a lot of people know about and that is “Bullet.”

There is kind of an odd history regarding this film. I remember hearing about it sometime in the late-1990s or early-2000s. I had looked it up but I wasn’t sure if I got it mixed up with the 1996 action-comedy, “Bulletproof,” which starred Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler. I do, however, remember that it was listed on local TV listings for it to be shown on local channels in the after-hours like around 2 a.m. when no one is likely awake, or when shown on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. Some information had said that this was given a limited theatrical run. I could have sworn I may have seen a trailer or TV spot at some point. I will say that this was released not long after Tupac’s death, but this wasn’t like “Gridlock’d” and “Gang Related,” which were released in 1997, months after the fact.

Now I had seen this one before but it was quite a long time ago. I can’t pinpoint the precise timeframe, but I think it was around the end of the 2000s to maybe the turn of the decade into the early-2010s. I remember kind of enjoying it, but now that I had seen it again, while I maintain those feelings, I can appreciate the film for its rawness and grit, and believe me, it definitely has a realistic feel of New York’s criminal underworld that I almost felt like I was watching an episode of the 1990s police drama, “New York Undercover.”

The film’s plot involves the titular character, Butch “Bullet” Stein (Mickey Rourke) getting out of an eight-year stretch in prison and suddenly he and his friend rob a couple of rich guys for drugs. Right from the jump, he also assaults another criminal to send a message to local crime boss Tank (Tupac Shakur). Of course, Bullet comes home and sees his family again, whether it’s his parents who want their newly-released son to do something with his life, a shell-shocked Vietnam veteran older brother, and a younger brother who is an artist with ambitions but chooses to paint on walls and stuff rather than canvas.

Now the film really doesn’t hold back on the grittiness. I am not from New York, so I don’t know how true to life this film is, but it feels real with some racial tensions. This movie does not hold back on the use of racial slurs and homophobic slurs but it isn’t like racism and homophobia are key elements to the plot. Plus, it was still the 1990s when homophobia was still a little more socially acceptable, but if you really think about it, it was also to show realistic sides of the criminal underworld. Besides, it’s not like the major characters (save for one who had a crucial role) were good people. Having watched a featurette on the DVD, it was said that Bruce Rubenstein, one of the writers of the film, based some of the script on some of his life experiences. I later found out that Rourke also co-wrote the script but used an alias for his credit.

To add to the overall gritty feel, there was very little lighting in many scenes. Even in some scenes where it took place in a bar or nightclub, there was some lighting but not a lot. There was also a fight scene that felt more painful to watch than be as epic as seeing a fight scene in a martial arts movie or even an epic final battle in action movies nowadays. Here is what I mean:

But then you also have this scene where it kind of goes Hollywood with its slow motion effects and wide angle shots with the gunfire. I am amazed that this scene didn’t feature civilian casualties, yet a scene earlier in the film took place in a drug den where some addicts were shot.

However, this scene in the climax actually stood out because it showed a kind of realistic end to the titular character, as well as a different side that didn’t want to see his brother get killed. I mean when I first saw it, I wasn’t sure if Bullet would make it, but it was unexpected.

When I watched the featurette, the director said something about how the movie itself about that there is some good in some people. Really, Bullet was not a good person. You weren’t supposed to root for him at all. It was like Caine in “Menace II Society” who was a criminal who was raised on the streets and had little interest in changing his ways but there was also a character who was worse than he was that he seemed like a saint compared to him. Here, it seemed that Bullet didn’t want to see his brother get hurt.

Another thing that I should talk about is Tupac’s performance. It felt like Tank was a cross between Bishop and Birdie. Tank was as crazy and intimidating as Bishop but was also as powerful and established as Birdie. Not to say Birdie was not intimidating but he was a little more subdued than Bishop. Here, it was like a cross between the two characters. It also amazes me how given that this movie was filmed in 1994, which meant that Pac was only 23 at the time of filming, it’s heavily suggested that he was playing someone older than his actual age. Then again, it’s implied about Ted Levine’s character being a Vietnam vet when he was about 36 or 37 when this film was shot. He was probably supposed to be older. Of course, he did well in his role as someone who is shell-shocked and suffers from PTSD, as well as how the character talks.

Overall, I can see that this is a movie that is long forgotten. Yes, I know we are about three decades removed from this film’s release but even at that time or after that, like in the 2000s, I doubt people around me knew of its existence. While I do think it’s good for what it is, I don’t think it’s for everybody. It’s gritty, it’s raw, it’s realistic for the most part and that may turn off some viewers. If you can handle that, then I would recommend it.

3.75/5

Movie Soundtrack Review – New Jack City

Year of Release: 1991

Record Label: Giant Records

It has been quite some time since I have done anything for this site. My own personal life got in the way, enough that I was started to lose touch with doing this. Luckily for me, I am usually conscious of my own habits, and a lot of the time I try to fight it when my interest wanes a bit, enough that I have to give myself a push.

So what led me to do a review on the soundtrack to New Jack City? Well, recently, I had been in the mood to watch the movie, which I may cover soon as it does relate to the hip-hop culture, as well as Ice-T starring in it, which then also caused me to listen to the soundtrack CD.

Brief history lesson, I first watched New Jack City back in 2001, which was 10 years after it had come out. I remember looking up the soundtrack on Amazon back then and noticing the lineup and thinking that it was stacked some popular artists, as well some who were not known (I’ll get to that). I remember I was intrigued by the soundtrack, especially with its early 1990’s vibe, which also showed signs of the late 1980’s (It really was fresh off of that, if you really think about it).

According to some sources, this was at number 2 on the Billboard 200 back in 1991, which indicates that this album was a hit back then. Hell, a lot of the songs from the soundtrack were released as singles.

The album kicked off with “New Jack Hustler” by Ice-T, who also starred in the movie. Remember, there was a time that whenever a recording artist was in a movie, whether as a character or playing himself/herself, the soundtrack was featured on the soundtrack. Anyway, the song was subtitled as “Nino’s Theme,” as it felt like it related to the villain of the movie, whose name was Nino Brown. The song was about the drug game and a drug dealer gaining success in it. It really describes the movie pretty well, too, and Ice-T did a damn good job on the song. The beat really went with the fast-paced verses that Ice-T delivered.

The second song on the album came from another guy who was also in the movie. Well, one who played a character, I mean (Because some other artists actually sang in the film). Christopher Williams, who had a decent career at one point, had a hit single with “I’m Dreamin’.” His strong vocals were good, but what made this song stand out as well was the New Jack Swing sound that it had. It even had rap verse put in, though I don’t know who it was from.

Of course, that was not the only New Jack Swing song that was on the soundtrack. The song, “New Jack City” from Guy is definitely a good example of it. It’s definitely one song that can get you get moving on your feet.

A lot of the songs on here, actually, are not without merit. Two of the slower R&B songs on here, “I’m Still Waiting” from Johnny Gill and “There You Go Telling Me No Again” from Keith Sweat definitely hold up now. I could be biased because I have always liked Keith Sweat, but Johnny Gill definitely made his song shine with his powerful vocals. Plus, both songs definitely could help you get in the mood for some alone time.

In my personal opinion, the song that stood out the most on the soundtrack was “For The Love of Money/Living For The City” from Troop and LeVert, as well as a rap verse from Queen Latifah. Now THIS song totally describes the movie to a T, especially when watching that sequence in the film when the CMB takes over that apartment building and it had Troop and LeVert harmonizing the songs and singing them acapella. Queen Latifah did a damn good job with her rap verse.

Another song that was a hit at that time was “I Wanna Sex You Up” from Color Me Badd. On a personal note, I remember hearing this song as a young child and having NO CLUE WHATSOEVER what the song was about. Now with that out of the way, one thing that I will note is that there were two versions of this song. There is the one that was on Color Me Badd’s album, “C.M.B.,” and then there was the one on this album. Either way, both versions have their merits.

I think it’s time that I should talk about the songs from the less-than-well-known artists on here. After hearing “Lyrics 2 The Rhythm,” I really wonder what happened to Essence. She actually showed some promise as a rapper, but it seems that this is the only song that she actually had released. Plus, this song was produced by the legendary Grandmaster Flash. “Get It Together” from F.S. Effect also had some good qualities to it. I am not sure if F.S. Effect was a rapper or a group, but the rapper did a good job on his part, not to mention it had a good message behind it. Also, Al B. Sure did a good job in the production on this track. I also cannot complain about Danny Madden’s “Facts of Life.”

The album closed off with “In The Dust” from 2 Live Crew. One thing that stands out about this track is that song was different from a lot of the songs that 2 Live Crew was known for. This song had a positive message behind it, especially when you hear Luke giving a brief interlude about drugs. I am not too familiar with a lot of their catalog, aside from “Me So Horny” and “Banned in the USA,” so it’s possible that they may have done other songs like this.

There was a reason why this album was such a hit back then. Even nearly 30 years later, it still holds up well. I cannot imagine someone blasting this album without skipping a track while doing something. You had a good mix of rap, R&B, and New Jack Swing. You really can’t go wrong with this one.

5/5

Top 5 Tracks:

1. For The Love of Money/Living For The City
2. New Jack Hustler
3. I’m Still Waiting
4. There You Go Telling Me No Again
5. I’m Dreamin’

Honorable Mentions: “In The Dust” and “New Jack City.”

Rap Movie Review – Half Past Dead

Year of Release: 2002

Film Studio: Sony Pictures/Screen Gems/Franchise Pictures

I have not really been keeping up with this lately, but because I have plans to write about the Murder Inc compilations in February, I figured that this would be a good place to start. It is not just because Ja Rule is in this film, and also Kurupt, but also because there is a good amount of songs from The Inc on the soundtrack, and also other stuff from non-Murder Inc performers.

I will add that I have also been on a Steven Seagal kick lately, probably thanks to a YouTuber who I follow named Ramboraph4life as not too long ago he had done a Seagal marathon where he reviewed and ranted on films that he starred in. I still have Exit Wounds to do, and I will cover that one in the near future along with its soundtrack, but that will be for my Andrzej Bartowiak’s martial arts hip-hop trilogy marathon which also consists of Romeo Must Die and Cradle 2 The Grave, along with the soundtracks to those films.

Anyway, I am here to talk about Half Past Dead, the last movie that Steven Seagal starred in that was given a theatrical release, which also has Ja Rule in a starring role. This movie came out nearly two years after Exit Wounds, which was a surprise hit and that was also another movie that Seagal had done with a rapper, who was DMX. For many years I had heard that this film was the last straw for Steven Seagal as a leading man in theatrical movies because afterwards he had starred in a slew of direct-to-video films. I think another reason was that this film was a critical and box office flop. A lot of people disliked the film and it did not make a lot of money. Of course, I decided to see it for myself.

Some of my synopsis may contain spoilers.

The film’s story in a nutshell is about this undercover FBI who is infiltrating a prison because a criminal plotted to interrogate a prisoner about stolen gold and where to find it. The film’s title has to do with how Seagal’s character was declared dead at the beginning of the film, only to be revived. Seagal played Sasha, the FBI agent who was undercover in a criminal operation with his friend, Nicholas, played Ja Rule. Of course, Ja’s character did not know that he was undercover at first. The opening sequence was more of a prologue as Sasha was shot and the main plot takes place eight months after those events. The villain, who is called 49er One (don’t ask), played by Morris Chestnut, leads a team of criminals, also codenamed 49ers with a number after that. For example, the second-in-command, played by Nia Peeples, is named 49er Six. My only guess is because the film took place on Alcatraz and being that they are after gold, it is rather clear as to why they are named that. In some ways this feels like The Rock, with Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris, but with elements from The Matrix thrown in.

In regards to whether this film was bad is entirely subjective, but I personally didn’t mind it. Would I call it good? No, but there was some fun to be had. The thing that really got me were the acting from parts of the cast. I can’t really say much about Seagal’s acting considering how he has admitted that he is not much of an actor and how in a lot of movies he basically plays the same type of character, or is he playing himself? I can never tell. Ja didn’t do a bad job in his role but I have not seen enough roles of his to really say if he is playing himself. I know he was in a movie with Pras (From The Fugees) called Turn It Up, but I have never seen it. He was only in The Fast and The Furious for a few minutes and the only other film that I have seen with him was The Cookout, but that was a long time ago and I mostly remember that being a cheesy comedy. As for Morris Chestnut, his performance as the villain felt like he went through the motions. I couldn’t buy him as a bad guy. I felt that he was more convincing as a criminal-type in the movie Confidence, which came out sometime after this one. He didn’t really convince as a bad guy in this film and he is usually such a good actor. Nia Peeples didn’t have much to work with except be the femme fatale who wore tight leather and did martial arts. Also she reminded me too much of Trinity from The Matrix in this. She even wore a trenchcoat in some fight scenes.

As for others, Kurupt basically played the comic relief in this film. He was actually pretty funny in some scenes, one of which included comedienne, Mo’Nique. I can’t say he acted much before this except for one small scene in The Wash, but that was it.

As for action scenes, this movie was chock full of explosions and pyrotechnics that I think it would make Michael Bay blush. The film was already over-the-top, but it just felt like firework show in some sequences. There was a lot of ridiculousness in some other sequences like one that had Seagal and Ja driving a car and Ja totally flew out of a car or when Kurupt fired a rocket launcher and was sent flying. Those scenes got a laugh out of me for the absurdity in both scenes. Not to mention when a gun got caught in an elevator door and Seagal flipped it over to have it point at the bad guys. Also, I could not help but laugh during the climax when two guys jump from a balcony and start firing their guns. I mean, come on, how could the bullets not hit the other guy who jumped as well?

Of course, I can’t complain about the fight scenes, even though some involved doubles for some people. Although Peeples’ character was a total knock-off of Trinity, she impressed me a bit in her fight scenes. I can’t say that I am surprised because she had done a lot of fight scenes when she was in Walker, Texas Ranger.

Acting and action scenes aside, the complaint I had for the most part were some songs from the soundtrack. I wonder if this movie was edited and initially supposed to be rated R. This was PG-13, and I believe it is Steven Seagal’s only PG-13 film. The reason for my complaint is that a lot of the songs were edited. This film came out around the same time as the compilation, “Irv Gotti Presents The Inc” and a number of songs from that compilation appeared on the soundtrack. The film started with “Gangstafied” from a few Murder Inc artists (Including Ja) and it was distracting to hear parts of the lyrics censored. The same can be said about the use of “I’ma Bang” from DMX. It was just weird to hear it censored when it said “Do My Motherfucking Thing.” If the movie was rated R, the lyrics would all be intact.

I also must add that the song in the credits, “The Pledge (Remix)” contained clips from this film in the music video for it.

End spoilers.

Half Past Dead is more flash than substance, however, the film is still fun to watch for some reason. I don’t think this is a good film, but it is entertaining in some areas. I found myself laughing with and at some scenes, especially at a little Sony product placement with an inmate playing PS2 in a cell. The film also didn’t take itself seriously which was one reason that I had fun with it. I also must add that there is a direct-to-video sequel that stars Bill Goldberg and from what I understand, Kurupt reprised his role in that film. I might watch that and review it one day because judging from the DVD artwork it appears that Kurupt has a bigger role in that one than in this one. I am also curious about Bill Goldberg’s performance being that I am mostly used to seeing him in his wrestling persona. I’ll check it out one day.

Album Review: West Coast Bad Boyz – High Fo’ Xmas

Year: 1994

Label: No Limit Records/Solar Music Group

Track Listing:

1. High Fo’ Xmas
2. Intro
3. Lock Up Fo’ Xmas
4. Talk
5. Jacking Fo Da Holidays
6. Chillin’ N Da Game
7. Ghetto Nite
8. Christmas In Da Ghetto
9. Hood Carols
10. Rev. Do Wrong Xmas Party
11. No Limit Party

So now I am continuing with my Christmas/holiday special. I held on to my promise to do the compilation of “High Fo’ Xmas” from West Coast Bad Boyz. This is a No Limit album, by the way, and unlike “Christmas On Death Row,” this isn’t a traditional holiday album and I will admit that I bought this album as kind of a counter to the Death Row album. I saw that this wasn’t a family-friendly Christmas album to begin with.

If anything I bought this as a joke on my part. It wouldn’t be the first time that I heard some Christmas rap song that isn’t really appropriate to listen to. “Merry Muthaphuckkin Xmas” from Eazy-E is a rather humorous song that spoofs Christmas songs. Some songs on here are similar to that, and then you also have songs that didn’t need to be on this album to begin with.

I will note that this album came out in the days when No Limit still represented the West Coast, particularly the Bay Area. This was before they became a more south-based label when they had those gaudy Pen & Pixel album covers. Hence why this was a West Coast Bad Boyz compilation.

One thing that really got me about this album was that it had the intro as the second track, when the intro is often the first track of the album.

Anyway, a lot of the tracks on this album varied and mentioned Christmas and the holidays in passing, but there weren’t that many tracks that were about Christmas. For example, the opening track, which was also the title track, talks about getting high around the holidays in one of the verses, but then the rest has little reference to the holidays. Not a bad track. It has a laid-back beat that has the feel of a stoner song. Hence the name.

“Lock Up Fo Xmas” was similar in that it talked about being locked up during Christmastime but then went into the struggles of being locked up. King George, a rapper who I am really unfamiliar with, actually had good verses in this song. So this was actually a decent track. I will say the same thing, or maybe that this song was better, when thinking of “Jacking Fo Da Holidays,” as that song used a lot of beats from different songs ranging from “Thuggish Ruggish Bone” from Bone Thugs to “Funkdafied” from Da Brat. There were a lot of beats used on this song to name, and it was funny to hear P try to rap some of the verses similar to the rappers from each respective song.

One song that drew my attention prior to buying this album was “Christmas in da Ghetto” and it’s kind of a strange track to listen to as there is some transition in beats when listening to the chorus and the verses. One minute you would hear the chorus, which is similar to “Deck The Halls,” and then when you hear the verses from C-Murder and Master P, it has a totally different beat. I will add that when I listened to one verse from C-Murder, it reminded me of a song from RBL Posse, particularly from their album, “A Lesson To Be Learned.”

“Rev. Do Wrong Xmas Party” is another decent track from other No Limit rappers during that time, Big Ed (RIP), Lil Ric, and Dangerous Dame.

Keeping with the Christmas theme that this album has, a couple of interludes had different versions of traditional Christmas carols, like “Ghetto Nite” was a different take on “Silent Night.” While the “Hood Carols” was Master P singing his own rendition of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” It’s actually rather humorous.

Remember when I said that there were tracks that felt like they belonged somewhere else? Well, those two songs are “Chillin’ in Da Game” and “No Limit Party,” which the latter is a remix. They have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas, but they are decent tracks nonetheless. I now wonder where I could find the original version to “No Limit Party.”

The only thing that I have an issue with about this album is that it really didn’t have the feel of a gangsta rap Christmas album. Sure, there were songs that talked about getting high, the drug game or hard time around the holidays, but take that part away and it really wouldn’t have made a difference. It’s still a decent compilation, though. I plan to do other No Limit albums in the future and I know that there are a lot out there.

Top 5 Tracks:

1. Jacking Fo Da Holidays
2. Christmas In Da Ghetto
3. Lock Up Fo Xmas
4. High Fo’ Xmas
5. Rev. Do Wrong Xmas Party

Album Review: Christmas on Death Row

Year: 1996

Label: Death Row Records/Interscope Records

Track Listing:

1. Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto – Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Daz Dillinger, Bad Azz, and Tray Deee
2. Christmas Song – Danny Boy
3. I Wish – Tha Dogg Pound
4. Silver Bells – Michel’le
5. Peaceful Christmas – Danny Boy
6. Christmas in the Ghetto – O.F.T.B. (Operation From The Bottom)
7. Silent Night – B.G.O.T.I., 6 Feet Deep, and Guess
8. Be Thankful – Nate Dogg feat. Butch Cassidy
9. On This Glorious Day – 816
10. Frosty The Snowman – 6 Feet Deep
11. O Holy Night – B.G.O.T.I.
12. Party 4 Da Homies – Sean Barney Thomas feat. J-Flexx
13. White Christmas – Guess
14. This Christmas – Danny Boy
15. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – 6 Feet Deep
16. Christmas Everyday – Guess

It is now December and before I had started this blog, I had planned on doing a review on “Christmas on Death Row,” which was, as you would guess, a Christmas-themed album released by Death Row Records. Not just that, I just realized that today was the 20-year anniversary since its release, so what better way than to kick off this month than to review this album, especially on its anniversary?

Before I get into the album, let me just give some input on the deal regarding this album. Regarding the Death Row label, anybody who had listened to rap at any point in their lives would know what the contents of the music from this label consisted of, whether they involved drugs, violence, sex, misogyny, you get the picture. I will admit that when I was 10 years old, when I had heard about a Christmas album from Death Row coming out, I chuckled a bit. It just seemed a bit off because of what I was used to hearing from them, whether it was from Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 2Pac, etc. Hell, the album refreshed my memory about four or five years later when Death Row started re-releasing their albums and all the artworks had said “Digitally Remastered” on the cover. However, being that I was a teen then, I remember going on Amazon and looking at the listing and seeing a lot of negative feedback for this album. I was a naive kid then so I assumed that the album would suck. Then came when I reached my 20’s and the curiosity kicked in again.

I looked up the album again and finally listened to some samples and thought “Hey, maybe I would give this a shot.” I later bought it online and noticed that the copy that I got was the original 1996 release. Which I think was better considering how I liked on the “Parental Advisory” label, it had a red bow on top of it, unlike the 2001 re-release. Also, I will get to the part about the PA label.

Anyway, being that a lot of people would assume that this is a rap album that has people rapping about Christmas mixed in with violent content and other no-so-family friendly content, I decided that I would do the rap songs first before I go into anything else.

The song that kicked off this album was “Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto” from Snoop, Daz, Bad Azz, Nate Dogg, and Tray Deee. It is an interesting song considering how each guy talked about their experiences around Christmas time and as always, Nate Dogg (RIP) delivered a solid hook to the song. Plus, the song had a laid-back beat as it sampled “Do Your Thing” from the late Isaac Hayes. It’s a good song that was accompanied with an even better video. You just have to see it to believe it.

The thing that got me about “I Wish” from Tha Dogg Pound were the lyrics from Daz and Kurupt about how they wish they had love around the holidays. It was refreshing to hear them in a vulnerable state talking about how it was hard for them around the holidays. It had a good beat to go with it, produced by Daz, and also a chorus from a female singer, who I have trouble identifying.

And finally, in regards to the rap tracks of the album, we get to “Christmas in the Ghetto” from O.F.T.B.. I am mostly unfamiliar with these guys as I only know their songs from this album, the “Above The Rim” soundtrack, the “Gridlock’d” soundtrack, and the “Gang Related” soundtrack. I know that they had an album before signing with Death Row and later an album album on Death Row that was released way after the label’s heyday (When the label was seized by Wideawake and released a lot of their unreleased albums), both of which I may check out sometime down the line. Anyway, regarding this track, I have to give these guys credit for rapping about how Christmas was hard for them in the ghetto, but it really didn’t need the beat for the song as it was best suited for any other song. It’s one of my least favorite songs from the album, despite the lyrics and content, both of which also could have been better. Also, believe it or not, this song was the reason that this album was slapped with the Parental Advisory label. Yes, that is right, this song actually had profanity on there. Believe it or not, “Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto” and “I Wish” had no profanity in them at all. All three songs had minor drug references as they mentioned weed here and there, but that was about it, but the other songs were more appropriate to listen to around people.

That is about it for the rap tracks (Well, there is one other track with a rap verse that I will get to). What? You thought that this would be all rap? Well, that is not the case, because Death Row also had a lot of R&B acts on the label. That’s right, the majority of the album is R&B, which is not a bad thing. In fact, R&B works better for an album like this. First, I will touch on the original tracks before I touch on the traditional tracks.

“Peaceful Christmas” is one of three songs that Danny Boy had done for this album. This is actually a more original track as it isn’t one of those Christmas songs that you hear all the time during the holidays. In fact, some of the lyrics made reference to a few traditional Christmas songs. Danny Boy shined in this track with his soothing vocals, but regarding the beat of the song it gives off a rather dated feel. This album was released in the 1990’s, so it had a 90’s R&B feel. The beat reminded me a bit of “Pretty Brown Eyes” from Mint Condition. If you can look past that, the song is solid.

“Be Thankful,” on the other hand, is a very relaxing song to hear from Nate Dogg, along with Butch Cassidy, who provided additional vocals. Nate’s vocals didn’t come in until 30 seconds into the track as it started with an instrumental intro. The soulful vocals were strong with the two singers and the song’s message really stands out too. It had a nice soothing beat, too.

I was unsure if “On This Glorious Day” was a traditional track, but it seemed like it wasn’t as it had more of a holiday feel than it a religious feel from a more common song of the same name. This song was from 816, which I suppose was an R&B group on Tha Row at the time but never came out with anything new. The thing that I also must point out is that the intro to this song was also used in the intro bit for the video to “Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto.” Anyway, I have to say that this is actually a solid track. The beat and the lyrics can really get you in the mood for Christmas. It’s actually a standout, in my opinion.

However, the last of the original R&B tracks left a lot more to be desired with “Party 4 Da Homies” from Sean Barney Thomas. The beat was a little too fast-paced and a bit out of place, too. It was mostly a song about setting up a Christmas party with the guys and having a bunch of women over. J-Flexx provided the rap verse for this song, which was also a bit mixed in some areas, as in he rapped about partying in the majority and then at the end said to be thankful for what you have in life. I get that the final bit of the rap verse was to get people in the spirit, but it didn’t help. Also, the chorus was rather repetitive. This song was actually another one on here that I didn’t care for.

The rest of the album had covers of traditional Christmas songs. The main thing that I noticed is that a lot of them were done by the same artists. What I mean is that you had multiple songs by one artist, and other songs done by a group, and then it happened with another few.

“Silent Night” featured an ensemble of B.G.O.T.I. (Which stood for “Bad Girlz of The Industry), 6 Feet Deep, and Guess. I have no idea who 6 Feet Deep and Guess are, but I mostly know of B.G.O.T.I. from their contributions to the “Gridlock’d” and “Gang Related” soundtracks. That is about it. Anyway, this version actually had a gospel-like feel to it. I can’t complain about the vocals from the singers on this song, but I think it was a little too long. That was about it in terms of complaints. But it’s still good. Also, this song had a video to go with it.

As for the other covers, I wasn’t too big on 6 Feet Deep’s version “Frosty The Snowman” as it had the feel of a boy band covering it, but I’ll listen to it if it comes on. The same could be said about “White Christmas” from Guess, which feels dated now as it has that 90’s R&B feel. It had a unique spin on it, but it’s not too bad.

However, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from 6 Feet Deep was actually a pretty good song from them, but it did not need the interlude in the middle of the song with one of the singers talking about the group. So that docked a few points from the song.

Guess’s version of the Smokey Robinson song, “Christmas Everyday” actually surprised me a bit when I first heard it. It definitely has a more urbanized touch to it and the singers really did a good job in trying to do Robinson’s vocal style in it. I cannot complain about this one.

The other two Danny Boy tracks, “The Christmas Song” and “This Christmas,” were more of a bright spot as he had provided soothing vocals and both songs had quite a jazzy beat to them. Both songs stood out and I will also say the same thing about “O Holy Night” from B.G.O.T.I.. Those ladies really gave it their all on their vocals.

Michel’le had only one track on here and that was her version of “Silver Bells,” which was pretty straightforward and she provided some great vocals like always. It was a pretty good track from her. I don’t understand why she didn’t have any other songs on here.

Overall, I have to give Death Row credit for trying to do a holiday album. This album is not bad, by any means. It’s actually decent, even though there are a couple of songs that I did not like, and a few that I wasn’t crazy about but would still listen to. It’s definitely not a gangsta rap album like one would think. It’s kind of funny to see the Death Row logo decked out in Santa gear on the album cover. It also must be noted that with the exception of “Christmas In The Ghetto,” this album is appropriate to listen to around people. So don’t be afraid to blast it while doing stuff (Though skip that track if you must, otherwise just burn a copy without that song). Also, Christmas albums from hip-hop labels are nothing new. In fact, I will review “High Fo’ Xmas” very soon, as in West Coast Bad Boyz. Stay tuned.

Also, check out the artwork that was used on the inside of the booklet. It’s a nice touch how the artist put the wings and halo on Tupac, because this album was released after he was killed. I wonder if he hadn’t died if he would have contributed to it.

Top 5 Tracks:

1. Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto
2. I Wish
3. Be Thankful
4. On This Glorious Day
5. Silver Bells

Review: Method & Red Episode 4 – One Tree Hill

Original Air Date: July 7, 2004

I will say that I have been putting off continuing my series of Method & Red episode reviews, but I will also point out that I still planned to finish them. I took the month of October off to do other pieces on other things and now we are more than halfway through November, it is time to continue this. I will also point out that I have plans for December as I will do a review on the Christmas on Death Row album, along with High Fo’ Xmas from West Coast Bad Boyz, which is a No Limit album. At the moment, I can’t think of other things that are Christmas-related that I might do, but I will do those for sure.

Now onto the review of this episode.

The first thing that I must point out is that yes, this episode is entitled One Tree Hill, and it shared the name of a relatively popular drama series that was on around the time this episode aired. I wonder if the people at the WB got on the people at Fox for the use of the name. Anyway, this episode’s plot has to do with Red and Meth becoming presidents of the Neighborhood Homeowner’s Association and then they get mad with power that they forget about other things. The episode’s title is derived from the fact that Meth’s mother, Dorothea, has a tree in their yard that she had been planting for years and it meant a lot to her.

Regarding the episode’s quality, while it was still a bit over the top in some areas, it actually conveyed a decent message in the end. The one thing that it really did not need is to repeat a gag twice, however. It got a chuckle out of me the first time, but when it was done the second time it wasn’t as funny. It also felt different than the previous episodes considering how Meth and Red were a lot more antagonistic to Nancy in this episode as they had more of the upper hand on her than before. I get that despite the two being presented as protagonists that they aren’t exactly “good guys,” but in this episode they looked more like assholes than before. However, it might be the point as the two got mad with power and things got worse for them later.

Until I watched this episode I had forgotten about this one. I mostly remember when Nancy told Method Man and Redman about what led to their inevitable fall from grace at the end of the episode. I can’t complain too much about the writing as it was a little different than what had been seen so far. I just didn’t like how Red and Meth were portrayed for the most part in the episode, but like I also said, it conveyed an average message about how power can get the better of someone and that they tend to forget about other things that are more important. It might be least favorite episode yet, but I didn’t hate it as I was still entertained.

Next up, Episode 5. Stay tuned.

Preview and editorial: Method and Red TV series

Review: Method & Red Episode 1 – Pilot

Review: Method & Red Episode 2 – The Article

Review: Method & Red Episode 3 – Well Well Well