Author Topic: HELLRAZA - HELL RAZED US  (Read 783 times)

Lost__Soul

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HELLRAZA - HELL RAZED US
« on: May 02, 2003, 06:54:18 AM »
Hellraza, the younger brother of Outlawz member Napoleon, was raised in New Jersey until he was 15 and moved to California with his big brother, when Tupac Shakur recruited him in the group Outlaw Immortalz, later to be renamed in The Outlawz. After appearing on albums like Ride Wit Us Or Colide Wit Us, Novakane, Jerzey Mob Volume 1, Street Warz & Noble Justice, Hellraza was ready to release his debut album.


1.INTRO (Napoleon)

Just a basic intro where Hellraza's brother Napoleon introduces Hellraza and his album. A simple beat is being played in the background.


2.TIMES WAS SO HARD feat. Talib
Produced by: Reefologist

Relatively unknown rapper Talib starts the track with some tight lyrics about his hard times on the streets, then Hellraza continues with a verse on the same theme. The instrumental is produced by Outlaw Recordz in house producer Reefologist, or shorter: Reef. Times Was So Hard is not the best song on the album, it's pretty short too with only two verses, but Hellraza shows his skill in his opening verse, which makes the track a good album opener.


3.MORE CREAM TO MAKE
Produced by: Len

The title basically says everything that needs to be said about the lyrical content of this song. This is the first of the three Hellraza solo appearances on the album, where he does all his verses and the hook by himself. The beat is pretty simple and not very variable, which can get a little boring after listening to it for a while. All in all - an OK song, but there are still a lot better ones to come…


4.THOUGHT YOU BETTA feat. Young Noble
Produced by: Mike Dean

Hellraza joins forces with Outlaw member Young Noble on this track. The beat is provided by an established Rap-A-Lot producer Mike Dean, but this is not one of his best works, mainly because in some parts of the song the horns get too loud, which makes the song very hard to listen and therefore you can not completely hear the verses. Because of a bad sound level, I don't play this track very often, although it's lyrically quite good.


5.DREAMS feat. Benjalino
Produced by: Joey Glasses

This is one of the best songs on the album. Hellraza raps about his future plans and the things he wants to achieve in his life, but also about the hard times he experienced when he was younger and about the problems in his past. (Both his parents were murdered and his brother Seike commited suicide.) The hook by Benjalino fits this deep song perfectly as an addition to Hellraza's superb lyrics. The dope beat is provided by Joey Glasses who has also produced 2nd Hand Smoke on the Outlawz album Novakane and it completely caught the mood of the song. A classic song.


6.DAYZ IN THE DARK
Produced by: Len

Another Hellraza solo, although there is a female singer doing the background vocals, however she isn't credited. It was said that this was the first song Hellraza ever recorded. He showcases his storytelling skills and raps about a family from the hood and their struggles. First he talks about a lady he calls Mrs. Crackhead and then about her young son, who is trying to become a thug, which reminds me a lot of Pac's song Shorty Wanna Be A Thug. Too bad that this track is so short, it doesn't even last 2 minutes. But it doesn't have a hook, so there is almost the same amount of rapping as in a normal length track, which is the only thing that really matters.


7.CRY 4 HELP feat. Napoleon
Produced by: Mike Dean

Hellraza's brother Napoleon does all the verses here, Hellraza only sings the hook. This is another deep track where Napoleon raps about his hood, his future hopes and even about some political issues. When the rapping ends, the track goes into a clip where some reporters talk about suicide bombers and other kind of terrorism. The Mike Dean beat is better than his previous one on this album and he just lets it ride for some time to end this great track. Judging on what we hear from Napoleon here, we can expect his future solo album to be very meaningful, socially and politically orientated.


8.LAST DAYZ feat. Hussle Russle
Produced by: DJ Ali

I consider this song the highlight of the whole album. The beat samples the music from Mel Gibson's blockbuster movie Braveheart and it matches perfect to Hellraza's deep lyrics about the struggles in life. Hellraza and the singer Hussle Russle do the great sounding chorus together. Last Dayz is definitely one of the deepest tracks I have ever heard, you really can see the influence Pac has had on Hellraza. This song can really touch you in a similar way as a deep track by Tupac.


9.BALL OR DIE feat. The Outlawz
Produced by: Reefologist

The song features all of the Outlawz, even Kastro makes his only guest appearance here. There isn't much to say about this song, all the rappers come tight as usual, I like Noble's verse best. The pretty long and complex hook is done by Napoleon.


10.LIE TO ME feat. Akwalla, Napolean, Ya Yo & Young Noble
Produced by: Reefologist

Another Reef produced track. New Jersey rapper Akwalla opens the track with a tight verse, which is the first of his four guest spots on this album. The white female rapper Ya Yo sings the hook together with Napoleon, Hellraza and Noble come tight again on their verses.


11.OUT OF POSITION feat. EDI
Produced by: EDI

EDI used scratches on the beat for this song which is something he doesn't usually do, however it works out very well here. Hellraza raps the first two verses and the hook, then EDI reps his Outlaw clique to the fullest in his lyrics. I liked EDI very much here, it seems to me that he came pretty good every time he was featured on this album and definitely proved wrong the people that say he fell off.


12.Y'ALL AIN'T RIDAZ feat. Akwalla & Benjalino
Produced by: Benjalino

Another gem of the album. Akwalla and Hellraza first each spit a hot verse and then trade dope short verses for the rest of this song dedicated to Makaveli. Benjalino sings the catchy chorus and also proves his production skill with the tight beat. Great song.


13. HISTORY (REMIX) feat. Napoleon, Akwalla, Ya Yo, Seal
Produced by: Reefologist

The original version of History can be found on Novakane, but on the remix the only remaining Outlaw in the song is Napoleon, the other three members are replaced by Hellraza, Akwalla and Ya Yo. Hellraza opens the track, followed by Ya Yo, who actually has a verse here. It is decent, but she doesn't come as impressive as the only female Outlaw - Storm. Akwalla comes tight again, which should make people anticipate his future solo album release. The hook is sung by Seal. I've seen many people hate on it, but I actually like his singing here.


14. LIFE, LOVE IT OR LOSE IT
Produced by: Lance Pierre

Here we have another powerful beat that can get your head bumpin'. It is produced by Lance Pierre, who worked as an engineer on Tupac's Don Killuminati and has mixed many songs for Outlaw Recordz. The song is another Hellraza solo and one of the better tracks on the album. But then again, Hell Razed Us doesn't really have any songs you couldn't listen to.


15. GET DOE feat. Fatz, EDI, Akwalla
Produced by: EDI

The last track has hard lyrics and talks about the struggle, but with a pretty laid back EDI produced beat. The rapper which is refered as Fatz here is actually former Regime member Phats Bossi. Hellraza has two verses, he even raps about Kadafi's murder in his first one, then Akwalla comes with another one of his raw verses, followed by another a little shorter Hellraza verse. EDI ends the track with repeating the chorus twice and giving shoutouts to his homies.

Bottom line: Hellraza's debut Hell Razed Us has some mainly Outlaw Recordz family guest appearances, but Hellraza still manages to get his shine, mainly on deep solo tracks such as Dreams or Last Dayz. A lot of times he also outshines other rappers on collabo tracks. The album is a nice mixture of deep, party and hard tracks, nothing is left out.

Hell Razed is in my opinion the best record ever released on Outlaw Recordz and one of the better albums of 2002. What surprised me the most was the maturity of some songs and the very deep thoughts Hellraza shares with his fans. It almost reminds me of Pac's classic works like Me Against The World & Makaveli, although I won't go as far as saying that the album is anywhere near the level of those masterpieces. But if you consider that this is the work of a 21 year old and if you compare it to 2PacAlypse Now, maybe you can imagine what might come from Hellraza in the future if he advances the way Pac did during his career.

 

_That_Cracka_J

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Re:HELLRAZA - HELL RAZED US
« Reply #1 on: May 02, 2003, 09:08:19 AM »
Nice review...I've never heard of this album...Looks dope, so I just copped it off of half.
 

Lost__Soul

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Re:HELLRAZA - HELL RAZED US
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2003, 03:58:45 AM »
Aight, cool dogg. :)
 

Lost__Soul

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Re:HELLRAZA - HELL RAZED US
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2003, 07:50:31 AM »
So naybody else got this album?