Tag: G-Unit Records

Tony Yayo – “The 4:20 Tape” review

Tony Yayo is a 48 year old rapper from Queens, New York who would go on to form a group called G-Unit with his childhood friends 50 Cent & Lloyd Banks up until his incarceration when they started to blow up. He eventually dropped his solo debut Thoughts of a Predicate Felon in the summer of 2005 under G-Unit Records & Interscope Records to mixed reception, which was followed up with 21 mixtapes. However, he’s looking to celebrate 4/20 a few days early by dropping his 22nd tape.

“Boxes” annoyingly start off with this messy beat boasting of him moving pounds of kush on Instagram whereas “So High” featuring Berner & Wiz Khalifa combines an acoustic guitar & some hi-hats so they can talk about getting stoned together. “Smoking Gas” continues to ramble on regarding the weed he smokes being the most potent over an cloudily underwhelming instrumental while “Block Work” featuring Uncle Murda unites G-Unit Records’ only remaining artists for a melodic gangsta rap track.

J.Sos’ verse on “Where’s the Blunt?” was the only feature of the 4 that I didn’t care for at all even if things sonically make a turn for atmospheric boom bap territory leading into “She Wanna Get High” swapping out the kicks & snares in favor of hi-hats again talking about going on a cannabis tour with his bitch for the rest of their lives. “Smalls & Depths” continues to emphasize the cloudier elements talking about getting on planes high & being worldwide than local.

“Kill ‘Em with Success” might have the absolute worst hook throughout The 4:20 Tape, weakly singing about the inability of getting people to stop hating on him & using his prosperity as a way of revenge until “I Woke Up Today” returns to the boom bap talking about getting blazed wherever he goes no matter of it’s overseas or on the west coast. “30¢ a Bag” however takes up the last couple of minutes talking about being zooted in the red light district.

There are only a small handful of songs I like off Thoughts of a Predicate Felon & would consider Tony Yayo to be G-Unit’s weakest link much like how Silkk the Shocker was when TRU was during No Limit Records’ heyday 3 decades earlier, but I certainly would’ve enjoyed The 4:20 Tape a lot more than I did in actuality if this was 2012 & I was still in my freshman year of high school. The production’s subpar & all the features outrap Yayo like I would’ve expected them to do.

Score: 2/5

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Uncle Murda – “Lenny Grant Story” review

This is the 17th mixtape from New York emcee Uncle Murda. Being in the game for nearly 2 decades, he briefly signed to Roc-A-Fella Records/Def Jam Recordings in the mid/late 2000s but has since made himself home over at G-Unit Records for the past 8 years & doing his own take of the Rap Up series a decade ago inspired by Skillz. I can’t say I have a favorite tape of his since they’re pretty much moderately received, but the buildup to Lenny Grant Story got the best of me.

“If I Die” starts off with piano chords & hi-hats explaining that one of his opps is coming with him if he were to pass away whereas “The Projects” featuring Conway the Machine has a jazzy drill vibe talking about the trenches of their home state. “They Said” featuring Symba shifts back into trap territory telling y’all to look at them now leading into the soul/drill crossover “I’m Ok With That” talking about making his son into a king & fulfilling his promise.

Jadakiss accompanies Murda on the atmospheric “Money” dropping braggadocio just before cavernously hazy “No Safety” featuring Benny the Butcher acknowledges that it’s safe to say that ties have been cut. “10 Toes Down” has a spacious quality to the instrumental tackling themes of commitment, but then “Spin the Block” featuring Styles P & 50 Cent finds the trio looking to simply that on top of a ghoulish vocal sample.

“Grimey” weaves a rich boom bap beat in the fold reflecting on the welfare days while the song “Ride Out” featuring Peezy is an acoustic trap cut clearing out any place their opposition is at. The penultimate track “I Changed” soulfully breaks down how he’s become a different person as he’s gotten older & “2 Hurt 2 Cry” rounds out the tape in an upbeat fashion explaining they reason you don’t see no tears from him.

Once again: I’m not big on Uncle Murda’s previous material & I’ve heard numerous features from him across a multitude of projects over the years that I’ve actually enjoyed. Surprisingly, I was impressed to come away from Lenny Grant Story liking it more than I initially thought I would’ve. I’ll even say it’s the best thing he’s done ever since 50 signed him in the first place. The guest-list is impressive, Murda himself sounds concentrated & the production represents both past & present sounds of the New York hip hop scene.

Score: 3.5/5

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