Happy Holidays everyone!
Red


Ying Yang Twins: Chemically Imbalanced “Too Much Of A Bad Thing” An Album
Review by Nfared
The Strip Club is an interesting place. The dancing, the money, the poles;
it’s the story o America that America would rather not share. What is public
about these places though, is the music, and the Ying Yang Twins have
represented that avenue well for the bulk of their career. Their current album
“Chemically Imbalanced” is true to that tradition without wavering. Whether
that’s good or bad remains the million-dollar question.

Perhaps the brothers think they have some kind of skill, a fact they claim
with “Keep It Coming”. As suggested by the chorus, some may feel threatened by
them; “They keep wishing we’d stop, but we keep on coming.” The threat level is
low enough to not even register though, with lines that couldn’t scare a deer in
headlights; “niggas hate to see us come in/we in it to win/takin over the whole
area…” The pole songs are plentiful with “Jack It Up” weighing in on the first
half album. The visual is put into words in perfect fashion for the subject
matter, “Naked skin is what they wear/how they do/everything is bare.” From
stripping to smoking, “Collard Greens” is an ode to getting high, a state in
which listening to the track would be helpful for enjoyment as the brothers
growl over a somber sounding beat. The madness gets even madder (well worse or--
whatever) when Wyclef Jean, former (FUGEES member (yes FUGEES!!) joins in on
“Dangerous”, an appropriate title for the song.
It’s hard to determine which is worse, the twins with their clearly unskillful
writing, “she fie/she fine/she his/she mine/black Barbie/I’m Ken/she got honey
melon-do skin…”, or Wyclef screaming, “She’s so dangerousssssss”, in a fake
Jamaican accent with overly strong ‘someone is choking him’ vibrato.

Needle Meter Whether stripping is right or not remains in the hands of the
moral Gods, but in all honesty, it is a way of life for many women all over the
world. In that sense, music to complete that career choice is a natural and
expected result. However, there is only so much one can take. While this music
is fit for the environment it was meant, listening to it in any other forum is,
for lack of a better term, painful. Mental breakdown is sure to ensue after the
first couple of tracks. Making it to the 18th track (yes 18) with senses still
intact is an award-winning task. To add insult to injury, Wyclef Jean
practically tarnishes the beauty of the group he was once a part of (and he does
it worse than Laur—excuse, Ms. Hill) by appearing on a track and producing
several songs on the album. Sure everyone can have more than one side, but a
member of the Fugees working with Ying Yang Twins? Who saw it coming and why did
they not post a warning? They’ve said this is their
last album with their long time producer Mr. Collipark. Perhaps retirement for
the Ying Yang twins should be their next announcement.
1 Needle

Blak Jak: Place Your Bets “Full House” An Album Review By Nfared
Atlanta. Home of Outkast, one of Hip-Hop’s undisputed best rap duos; home of
the self appointed King Of The South, T.I.; home of the fan approved, Pepsi
rejected Ludacris; and home to a name that is not so well known, but one that
has definitely put in work. While Blak Jak may not set off mental bells and
whistles, he has done the mixtape circuit and has rubbed shoulders and worked
with the likes of Project Pat and Three Six Mafia. His debut album “Place Your
Bets” is long awaited not only by his fans, but more than likely by himself.

Blak Jak is cool. Proof? The smooth “Bobbin My Head”. Over a yes, head bobbin
inducing track, he describes his demeanor with the chorus, “You can find me in
the club/posted in the back/rollin up the purp/and I’m sippin on the yak/and I’m
just/bobbin my head.” “Ride & Swerve” is the underground single that helped Blak
Jak create buzz for this album. The infectious Shawty Red produced uptempo beat
is one of those, ‘they don’t play this kind of music on the radio’ type of
tracks. The strip club-esque “Ball Out” ($500) features an irritating yet
likeable (funny how he is just both) T-Pain who experiments with what may be a
new anthem; “When I’m in the strip club I get love for bout $500/yes indeed
anything you need for bout $500”. Blak visits the downside of dealing with women
while being a man with money on “Showbiz”. Though the story may be generalized,
he depicts his encounter; “She want her hair did/feet did/nails did/showbiz.”
Blak is adamant in his stance though,
saying, “…bet he could but I can’t man.” He moves on from this type of woman to
the kind he appreciates with “Luv U Blak”. The Don Cannon produced track is, as
Blak says “breezy”. Again descriptive, he talks about a different kind of woman,
“This one for my spade playin, micro-braid wearin.chicks who love to stay down…”
He’s more than a ladies man though, opening up on his personal life with “Pain I
Feel”. He writes from his heart in describing his mom’s death, “…she said had to
go/the drugs were eatin her apart/she couldn’t take no more.” He is equally open
with his father’s abandonment, “…I wonder if pops gone stop that drankin/well he
did/thanks to God/but he left me for a wife and a kid/said he loved her more
than me…” Though clearly his life has been complicated, his writing is
effortless and pulling, like listening to a good friend.

Needle Meter Bling bling, women, drugs, its all here on this album, described
in detail. What makes Blak stand out though is the he talks about it all without
making it seem like he’s bragging. He is in no way the boy next door, but his
stories of life, pain and struggling and success, are all written in a way that
makes him seem familiar. Add to that a flow that is charismatic yet relaxed and
the end result is a rapper that is like family, even if he is something of a
stranger. Four Needles













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