Rapreviews rates 213 at 5.5 of 10

[Jome]

http://www.rapreviews.com/feature.html

213 :: The Hard Way
Label: TVT Records
Author: Matt Barone

Before Snoop Dogg introduced the world to his Doggystyle tactics or Nate Dogg and Warren G regulated their G-Funk, the California-bred trio existed as 213. Repping their respective area code, this current super-group honed their skills as an upstart crew, eventually leading into prolific solo careers. From the jumps-off of their individual successes, though, each has continually shouted out their original collective, hinting at the long-awaited reunion of 213 but never seeing it come to fruition. With Snoop Dogg now a worldwide celebrity and Nate Dogg acting as hip-hop's go-to chorus crooner, 213 have finally put together the highly anticipated The Hard Way.

An audio journey attempting to take listeners back to when the West Coast ran this here rap game, The Hard Way ends up being a bigger disappointment than an enjoyable experience, tainted by overly generic left coast production and uninspired verses. Rather than pushing the envelope and crafting 2004's surely welcome G-Funk upgrade, 213 do exactly what they have done since the Dr. Dre's classic "Deep Cover" blessed the masses with the crew's genesis. For die-hard Snoop Dogg supporters, sticking to the proven formula may not be a bad thing. For those with higher standards, though, The Hard Way comes off as a wasted effort.

Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, and Warren G all possess high levels of talent, so The Hard Way does have several highlights that help to slightly rescue the album from complete disaster. Newcomer Quaze hits the boards lovely on "Absolutely," sprinkling engaging bells over light conga drums to create a laidback swagger that 213 attacks with refreshing energy. "Lonely Girl" finds producer-on-the-rise Nottz in top form as Warren g and Snoop deliver on-point narratives about saving misguided females, while "Joysticc" is a formulaic sex romp aided by beat-makers Terrance Martin and Marlon Williams' vibrant, synthesizer-heavy sampling of Mtume's "Juicy Fruit." "213 Tha Gangsta Clicc" sports a rougher-edged instrumental and battle-ready bars, and "So Fly" lifts the Missy Elliot-produced backdrop from Monica's "So Gone" nicely, as it fits the vocal stylings of 213 just right. Kanye West keeps his consistency intact on the smooth-as-butter "Another Summer," flipping expert tempo changes and an undeniably cool vibe for Snoop Dogg to kick polished game:

"Pool party after church, G'd up and barbequin'
Ain't no tellin' what your daddy or your momma doin'
Chewing on these baby backs, poppin' bottles with these macks
Everybody swimmin', backyard full of women
I'm entertaining folks
gave the lil' homie twenty dollars just to shine my hundred spokes
Coke with the Hennessy, tends to be the remedy
Family and friends to me, everyone pretends to be kin to me
I can't wait, til' the Fourth of July, to pop some fire works with my kids
And fly some kites high in the sky
See it's the family reunion
and down at the church, they givin' up the annual communion"

These selections are about as good as it gets, unfortunately. The rest of The Hard Way lacks the precision of the aforementioned cuts, and teeters off into a forgettable oblivion. The beat on "Groupie Luv" is even blander than the tired groupie dedications spit by the members of 213, and the Rick James-inspired "Mary Jane" is a messy bore. "Gotta Find A Way" comes close to recapturing some 70s funk nostalgia, but slowly loses steam due to its repetitive sounds. Further wack juice drips onto tracks like "MLK" and "Keep It Gangsta," while the misogynistic nature of both "My Dirty Ho" and "Lil Girl" is laughable in execution and concept.

The Hard Way won't do much to harm the already strong reputations of Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, who dominate the festivities throughout. Warren G does little to bolster his stock, however. Dropping raps far from quotable status, Warren G gets lost behind the powerful presences of his 213 comrades. What he should have done was contribute some of his impressive production capabilities to the mix, but for some reason Warren has not one beat on the album.

While it may churn out a few hits, The Hard Way ultimately is a letdown. 19 tracks in length, some serious trimming was needed to be done before releasing this exhausting record, as the seemingly endless number of songs only helps to induce the 'been there, done that' reaction. If 213 were to drop The Hard Way seven or eight years earlier, its weaknesses would be less obvious. Hip-hop has progressed considerably in sound over the years, though, making 213's union a stale display of how complacency can hold even the brightest stars back from shining.

Music Vibes: 5 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 6 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 5.5 of 10

[hector]

not gonna read the review but their number ratings are right on point.

[Danté Williams]

An audio journey attempting to take listeners back to when the West Coast ran this here rap game, The Hard Way ends up being a bigger disappointment than an enjoyable experience, tainted by overly generic left coast production and uninspired verses. Rather than pushing the envelope and crafting 2004's surely welcome G-Funk upgrade, 213 do exactly what they have done since the Dr. Dre's classic "Deep Cover" blessed the masses with the crew's genesis. For die-hard Snoop Dogg supporters, sticking to the proven formula may not be a bad thing. For those with higher standards, though, The Hard Way comes off as a wasted effort.

If that was true, the album being generic left coast production and "exactly the same since "Deep Cover"", people on the westcoast would be giving that album a 10/10. But that kinda review is what you get when an east coast reviewer talks about what he doesn't know about.

And I'm not saying he's not right about the album being weak, or deserving 5.5/10, but when one reads the whole review and reads some ingnorant shit, it's kinda hard to believe everything else. I myself have not heard the album yet and won't give my opinion (never did in any of my posts) until I hear it.

Dropping raps far from quotable status, Warren G gets lost behind the powerful presences of his 213 comrades. What he should have done was contribute some of his impressive production capabilities to the mix, but for some reason Warren has not one beat on the album.

Yeah, for some reason.

[lbc213]

They call Find A Way & MLK wack 

[Nima - Dubcnn.com]

thats a very well-written and good review

[BL7]

I disagree with this review. This is a solid ass album IMO. Probably would've been better if Warren produced the whole thing, but it's still good.

[T-Dogg]

Pretty much on point as far as expectations go - a great disappointment. And not just because Warren G didn't produce on it (although that's the biggest fault in the album for me by far).

But yeah, some ignorant shit in that review. If 213 had actually done something like what Deep Cover sounds like, this album would be the shit. But they didn't achieve that level, so the album is just shit. Not the shit, just regular shit. Like poop. I agree that there are some good cuts there, but knowing what these guys can do, and seeing what this album is, I ain't hyping it. Nate the Great always blesses the track he's on, Warren's production has always been excellent (when exactly did he fall off? I don't think he did) and although Snoop nowadays sounds pretty lazy on records most of the time, he still spits the occasional dope verse when he's got a guest spot. They had the talent to do it, but they lacked the heart and mind to use that talent. This time.

[Killa-G]

only snoop groupies around here or what!! This album sucks!!! 5.5/10 is ok, if was me i would give it a 4/10!!! A very bad album!!

[Z the laidback Virus]

Rapreviews is never openly biased against the westcoast but you can often sense it inbetween the lines or with phrases of ignorance.
Take this from the review of 'DPGC: U know what I'm throwing up'

If he'd cut back on the number of skits, produce a few of the songs himself, and get the obligatory guest like Redman or Nas on a track, the next album could straight murder the music business, or Suge himself - whichever he reaches first.

Their review of 'Last of tha Pound' is even worse. For one,they don't even seem to know about Daz & Kurupt beef and Kurupt rejoining Death Row:

Judging both by the choice of introductory track and the outro that was added to it, Daz & Kurupt have decided to take one more shot at their former label and it's CEO.

The most disrespectful thing however is that they quote one verse from the album......a Nas verse. Straight up disrespect to the westcoast,IMO.

[Minkaveli]

7/10   Snoops best flow is on MLK.

[bjax]

The Hard Way won't do much to harm the already strong reputations of Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, who dominate the festivities throughout. Warren G does little to bolster his stock, however. Dropping raps far from quotable status, Warren G gets lost behind the powerful presences of his 213 comrades.

Warren G outshines Snoop in almost every song.  I didn't think this guy even bothered listening to the whole thing. And lmfao @ "MLK" being called wack.  That's probably one of the best songs ont the album.

[Eddie G.]

The guy who wrote this is an obvious East Coast dickrider.  Even though "The Hard Way" didn't have much of a west coast feel to it, he still criticizes it for having "left coast production."  What kind of bullshit is that, what do you want them to do?  This was a total shit review, he calls he dopest songs (MLK and Find A Way) wack, and then says Warren G should have produced on the album after criticizing it for having West Coast production.  Fuck this faggot.

[KING VerbalAssaulta]

i disagree with the review...its more like a 4/10...a 5.5 is too high...this is right up there with snoops last album as one of the worst albums ever def one of the most dissapointing

[Lord Funk]

they lacked the heart and mind to use that talent. This time.

Good point - wonder if they'll ever get around to making a follow-up? Maybe in another 10 years time...

[mauzip]

The guy who wrote this is an obvious East Coast dickrider.  Even though "The Hard Way" didn't have much of a west coast feel to it, he still criticizes it for having "left coast production."  What kind of bullshit is that, what do you want them to do?  This was a total shit review, he calls he dopest songs (MLK and Find A Way) wack, and then says Warren G should have produced on the album after criticizing it for having West Coast production.  Fuck this faggot.

Real talk.