------------The second of the three Brown Area cds, for the most part this cd features all Darkroom artists except for two tracks. This one of the first cds Darkroom released after parting ways from Dogday records and there are a few mentions of the ex-label. Another thing is almost all the songs are solo’s, expect for the J-Loc/Sapo and Dyno/Oso track. This is sort of a surprise but I guess this cd is more to showcase the talents of the individual Drf artists. If that’s the case, then maybe the should have chosen some better songs.
___The first and best track is Duke’s “Shady Weasels”, which shows Duke in classic form. This is your Fuck you -insert name here- track that is expected to come from Duke, and I love it. This time we see Duke goes after Frost and tells about his encounter with him in Utah. Next is the last track done by Low for the Darkroom (as far as I know) called “Nuthin But A Bitch”. This is my second favorite track on the cd as Low comes really tight on this one with some clever lyrics and makes you wish he had only stayed with Darkroom. Crooked follows up with a decent solo track, but compared to his other solo material, this is more of a letdown, but compared to the other songs on this cd, its tight. Nothing that really jumps on this song, but Crooked has some good lyrics and a decent beat. “Criminal Ties” is the one of only track that isn’t a solo on the cd and is performed by J-Loc and Sapo. Another decent track, as J-Loc comes pretty tight and being this is his first appearance, Sapo handles himself nicely. If you have heard Oso’s solo cd then you are familiar with “Barcardi”. I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now. “Az Tha World Burnz” is somewhat different song compared to your average Darkroom track, probably due to the fact that it is done by Mr.Sinatra. Its an ok track, but the boring chorus that has been done a million times before sure doesn’t help. By the time we reach the end of this short cd (12 tracks) we see the complete opposite of the beginning, as this is by far the worst track on the cd, and possible on any Darkroom cd ever. “Hoo Dat” by Dolla Bill will have you scratching your head wondering how the hell this song is on here. Not only does this guy have a bad voice and flow, but his lyrics are so simple and stupid, its a joke. This song belongs on something more along the lines of Lowrider Jams Part 18.
___It's almost like this cd is cut up into three equal parts. The first 4 songs are the best by far, followed by 4 average songs, and then the final 4 songs are just weak. Just compare the first and final songs on the cd and you can see how this cd only gets worse the more you listen to it. For all the good cds Darkroom released in 2000, this is not one of them. This seems more like something they just slapped together so they could just get some new material out. If you look at it, you get 2 good songs, a decent track here and there, and the rest are just no good. Coming from a Darkroom fan, I must say this one was a letdown.
Rating: 5.3/10
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bruce Wayne
