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interview DILATED PEOPLES - 20/20 | Review By: Shaun


Release Date : February 21st 2006
Label : Capitol Records
Rating: 3/5

 


This album leads off with a little piece of the past as Dr. Greenthumb (“Are you a real doctor, dude?”) makes his first appearance since Cypress Hill’s “Temples of Boom.”

I have to admit, I didn’t really take to this album at first, however it really grows on you after a while. The album is lead by the first track and single “Back Again,” and I’m definitely feelin’ it. The beat is on par with material from Alchemist or DJ Muggs, and I love the samples that make up the hook.

“You Can’t Hide, You Can’t Run” is next up and again its dope material too. Tracks like this are where you really get a feeling for what Dilated is all about. They almost sound like the local dudes you can go see around the corner at a bar in any town. There’s nothing commercial about it, it’s real raw hip-hop and you have to respect that from a commercially accepted collective.

I also like the track “Another Sound Mission.” The beat almost reminds me of that old Master P joint, “Pass me the green, I need some weed with my Hennessey.”

“Rapid Transit” the single’s B-Side is another dope track with some nice lyrics.

”I’m dead serious, you f----- with best damn rap show, period.
Go strong, till I’m delirious, on the international stage, like people here it is
(Right Here) From LAX, word-wide direct, where the flights connect
Got the right to vote and will elect, and these labels can’t stand us but give these checks
Every where we go now
Move through the city, got a crew and tools to use with me
Cats got weak s---, come at me with a better line,
I don’t respect rappers, I respect Kevin Federline
Karma’s good, judge slams the hammer, I got 16 on deck like Joe Montana.”


There are a number of tracks that really do not stand out, and that’s what brings this album’s score down, at least in my eyes. There are only 13 total cuts and that’s including the intro, so it’s a relatively short album so if the music is all quality it makes for classic material but unfortunately - its not. It’s not that they’re bad; I’m just not really feelin’em. I like the fact that they aren’t afraid to get political (“Sharpest beats, broadcast from Jupiter, got boots on, now we know Bush is Lucifer”) and they do talk about subjects most rappers are afraid to even touch on but on many tracks they miss that cutting edge.

The song “Alarm Clock Music” really gets on my nerves. I don’t like the beat or the hook at all. That goes double for “The One And Only.” I know the point is to be off-key, but it just doesn’t work for me.

The title track, “20/20,” is definitely a favorite of mine. The beat bangs and the lyrics are on point. Whenever I review a CD, I always make sure that I listen to it in my car too. Everyone who has a system knows exactly what I’m talking about. Make sure you play this one in your whip – It bangs!

That brings me to the absolute – far and away – best track on the album. Actually scrap that - One of the BEST tracks I’ve heard in a long time, on ANY album, that accolade goes to “Kindness For Weakness,” featuring Talib Kweli.

You know when you find that new song that you’re just flippin’ over and you can’t wait to play it for your peoples? You know they ain’t heard it yet because it’s brand new, but you know how tight it is. Just to see the look on their face when you start jumpin’ it and they like, “Yo, who the hell is that?” That is this song! All the true music fans out there know exactly what I’m talking about. Words can’t even describe how dope this song is, the beat, the hook, the lyrics, all of it. This track makes the album, so if you’re debating on whether to cop this album or not, “Kindness For Weakness” is worth whatever they’re taxing you at the music store, no doubt.






 

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