Fade
The Beat Strangler
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illest o.g.
Kool G Rap has been around for a long time in the rap game, dating all the way back to the early days where he was part of the famous Juice Crew featuring other members such as Marley Marl, Big Daddy Kane, Craig G, and Biz Markie. He eventually branched off with DJ Polo and released their own material, releasing some of the best hip hop tracks ever, like "It's a Demo".
G Rap later went solo in 1995 by releasing "4,5,6" which was a solid album that had most of the production done by Buckwild, and featured some of the best street/mafioso lyrics in the business. After releasing a few more albums in the late 1990's and early 2000's, he has kept a low profile as usual but has always been around doing his thing.
Now we come to his latest offering, "Riches, Royalty, Respect", his new album in 2011. As you would expect, this album stays true to the G Rap style with thick tracks that rely heavily on soul samples, where he drops his trademark lyrics.
The album opens up with "Pimptro", a bassline that comes in with a creepy vibe to it then the drums dropping in on top. It's a great intro to the album since it's nothing in-your-face and isn't simply typical filler.
"In Too Deep" features a great soul vocal to open up and is completely solid with just enough of everything. The horns panned hard right sit perfectly within the track, and coupled with the melody it's a great joint.
Things get changed up a bit on "The Meaning To Your Love" where he delivers a more laid-back style, but still keeps it somewhat rough. Probably the piano and vocal snippet looping is what does that, which works very well.
"Sad" is a solid track that keeps a simple loop in the background but it works. I can see this song being popular in a live performance.
One of the best songs on the album is "$ Ova Bitches" where he flips an old school joint and gives it a 2011 style. His flow is solid and I can easily see this being his first single.
On "American Nightmare", G Rap teams up with Havoc for probably the best song on the album. It fits both artists very well and gives them both enough room to work, especially with the bassline! Oh, that bassline has a nice twist to it. That's what keeps me listening to this song alone, it has a sick yet laid-back feel to it.
Conclusion
Kool G Rap delivers a dope album here. He did a great job of using beats that fit with his style and delivery. There's a few tracks that could have been better, and "Goin In" is not for him. I could see he was trying something different and updated but he should drop that one and stick to what works. Some of the songs tend to sound similar to others and only a good few really stand out, but overall it's a good G Rap album to throw on and kick back to.
Score: 3.5 / 5
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