Author Topic: Bad Azz - Word On Tha Streetz/Money Run  (Read 473 times)

Okka

Bad Azz - Word On Tha Streetz/Money Run
« on: February 28, 2008, 10:51:32 AM »
Bad Azz
Word On Tha Streets
Priority
Production: Ant Banks, DJ Pooh, Gangsta, Priest "Soopafly" Brooks, Kenny McCloud, others

3 Mics

With California slowly creepin back up since the decline of Death Row, Dogg Pound Gangsta and LBC affiliate
Bad Azz manages to add more hope and direction for the future of the West Coast. With his debut, "Word
On Tha Streets", Bad Azz shows that his strength lies in his ability to spin thought-provoking, intense
narratives. The burn from Bad Azz's bang-bang-gangsta boogie begins with Snoop Dogg assisting the funk on
"We Be Puttin It Down". And just when you thought the West Coast couldn't give a fuck less about a free-
style--plaadoow"--he hits us with "A Hold On Hip-Hop", which features vintage performance from The Lady
Of Rage, while "Continued Dedication", marks the solid debut of his crew, The LowLife Gangstas. However,
the album's best moments occur when Bad Azz speaks the "treal". Songs like "This Life Of Mine", featuring
The Outlawz, the uplifting, country/western guitar-dipped "The Last Time" and "Everythan Happens Fo' A
Reason"--arguably the best track on the LP--provide substance to go with the style. But what gives Bad
Azz and advantage over the average reality rap album are his skits. Check out "School Girl", on which a 14-
year-old remorsefully confesses to Bad Azz that she has commited her first 187. Sadly enough, like all too
many hip-hop albums these days, "Word On Tha Streets" contains its share of ailments. The bite from the
"weak production" and "tired subject matter" bugs infects like "Cookin Cookies", "I Ain't Concerned", "Livin It
Up" and the album's lowest point, "The Shit (Why U Fuck With Me)". Although Bad Azz's debut establishes
him as one of the premier upstarts on the West Coast, a re-evaluation of what does and doesn't work would
lock his name on the all-star list. Unlike a myriad of other gangsta rappers, Bad Azz does have something to
say. Let's just hope the world wants to listen - Miguel Burke



Bad Azz
Money Run
Out Of Bounds/Bayside
Production: Big Hollis

3 Mics

Succes has always been one step ahead of Bad Azz. Expectations were high when Big Snoop introduced him
as a member of his LBC Crew in 1995. But the budget-busting production and high profile cameos of his
previous offerings (1998's "Word On Tha Streetz" and 2001's "Personal Business") left young Bad Azz on the
sidelines. To remedy the problem, Bad Azz made the risky decision to go no-frills on the independently
released "Money Run". The Long Beach native has obviously found some solace in a world without big name
collabos. The sped-up soul samples of "My Street" (which sound eerily like Jay-Z's "This Can't Be Life")
see Bad Azz's humble soliloquy replacing his usual bad boy as he earnestly conveys, "See me, i thank God
that i'm still here chillin with y'all/That i can go up to my grandma's house and chill in the yard.../Look
everybody knows this little mission we on/Is goind to end up one day, but keep it all on the up and up".
However, this is not a kinder, gentler Bad Azz. "N 2gether Now" finds him and 40 Glocc reaching a
comfortable synergy while spitting boastful gangsterisms over a funky streamlined production. At times, a little
more help might've done Bad Azz some good. Although Big Holis, who churns out all of the album's tracks,
is a gifted beatmaker, he fumbles miserably on the B-rate Neptunes jack "Checkin All The Spots". And while
it's good to see Bad Azz venture out, aid from Snoop, Nate or Battlecat migh've injected some needed fire.
That said, Money Run proves that Bad Azz has not wavered too far from the road to succes - Ryan Ford

Both from The Source Magazine.