Bring Da Ruckus ....A Loud Story
Well, it’s another various rap album, but where are the Outhere brothers and that dodgy remix of the Fugees we’ve all come to expect? Well, and here lies the second surprise, this is a label sampler, all the artists coming from just one record label! "oh dear" you would think, they should be giving this CD away with packets of Frosties. However, it seems Loud Recordshave some major artists signed to them, not only from the field of rap, but a sprinkling from swing and jazz flavoured groups too.
The albumn kicks off with the emperors of Hip-Hop, the Wu-Tang Clan, with an atmospheric 28second intro-track, and slides into a remix of Raekwon’s "Rainy Dayz". And this is where the whole album’s strengths lie, the overall sound being mellow and chilled out, with fat bass-lines booming in the background. However, it’s not all chilled out hardcore rap, withn the inclusion of April’s "Love what I feel", definitely sounding like the Sade of Hip-Hop, and Yvette Michell the overnight R & B phenomenon.
That’s not where it ends though, with the Alkoholiks bringing a sense of fun to the album with their amusing samples and lyrics, Next Level and Adriana Evans bring out a jazzy, funk sound to the whole thing. One of the songs that stands out is Xzibits "Paparazzi", a melodious ode to the pitfalls of success, with an orchestral loop and beautiful female harmony. The major credits do go to the "serious" Hip-Hop names; Wu-Tang, Raekwon and Mobb Deep giving the album a strong back-bone with two songs each.
All in all though, it’s not perfect, and the album does seem to stop and start after every song, without the seamless flow which some DJ’s give to an album. But then what can you expect from a rap compilation album? (7) Ramzi Itani
