------------Ghetto E's first solo is named "Ghetto Theater". He puts on a decent show on this cd. 18 tracks consisting of 51 minutes is cut down to 14 actual songs after skits and intros. Also, there is one remix of a song. Either way, that is plenty of room for Ghetto E to unleash some tight lyrics, with help from some friends, like MC Breed and Esham, and Dayton Family members Bootleg and Shoestring. What comes out of this mix, which was mastered by Sanots of Overcore, is a blend of hard songs, soft songs, and alright guest appearances.
___With two intros on the cd, the first track is an actual song (the intros show up later). "Ball Like Dat" features Shoestring and MC Breed and has tight lyrics over solid music. The bass line is classic Flint and the flows are an impressive start to this cd. Next up is an negligable intro and then "Bitch you Makin Me Famous". It slows things down a lot, with an mediocre bassline and lyrics to suit this trend. "Still Going Through a Thang" looks like it should be an awesome song, with SHoestring and Esham hittin it up. But again, this song is too slow and doesn't let Ghetto E and the others really flex their lyrical muscles. All of their verses could have been better had the beat been faster, but this track falls short of its expectations. The second great song on this cd (which had been released as a single and, according to Overcore, had been tearing up clubs in the Detroit and Flint areas) is "Lollipops". This is straight up Ghetto E, since he goes solo on this one. The chorus might be questionable by some, but overlook this and the track is one of the best ones on the cd. The lyrics flow nicely and the beat is almost vintage Detroit, with some guitars in the background.
____Other songs worth noting are "Party is All We Know", "Family Tree", and "Trust" (with Santos from Overcore at the mixers). Arguably, the best song on the cd is "Resume of a Killa". Not only are Bootleg, Esham, and some guy called Streetlife featured on this song (to which they all contribute greatly), but the beat is fast and lets each artist do somehting different with their verse. This combination is incredibly tight and makes this a song that should appeal to many.
___Unfortunately, the cd starts to lose some of its steam after this song. With the exception of "Trust", most of the songs towards the end, and scattered throughout, are slow with the beats and weak with the lyrics and flow. The chorus of some songs, also throughout the cd at times, are a little slow, like R&B. The remix of "Lollipops", the last song on the cd, is not as good as the original. The overall theme of the cd is women, thug life, and street dealings that go on, on Dayton Ave.
___The cd as a whole has some good points and some bad points. Some of the songs just aren't good because of their soft beats and weak hooks. Other songs are tight because of the flows and lyrics displayed by the artist who perform on them. "Ghetto Theater" undoubtedly let some people down who had high expectations for it. In all, it is a decent cd with songs that could have been left out to make this cd a lot better, but as it stands, it still is worth taking a listen to. Not every cd is a ten and "Ghetto Theater" falls just a little short.
