Young Droop - "Killa Valley: Moment of Impakt"

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Date: 9/21/01

Young Droop - "Killa Valley: Moment of Impakt"


------------"Killa Valley: Moment of Impakt" is the second cd from one of the most sought-after artists on the West Coast, Young Droop. After "1990-Hate", Droop appeared in a variety of compilations and other projects. Eventually, KVE got some more of their productions together and Droop started working on MOI. Released in 2001, this is sure to be one of the most slept on cds, since it is only independently and limitedly distributed. This is YGD's second cd (discounting his "Bootlegz & Collections"), and it is a straight-up demo of his abilities. There are 14 tracks comprimising almost 53 minutes.
___Having had phenomenal acclaim from "1990-Hate", Droop and KVE figured they should change the format from that first recording. On this cd, they employ the verses of people like Brotha Lynch Hung, First Degree the D.E., Hollow Tip, Spice 1, Hurrikaine J, Never, Droop's brother Stone Kold, and KVE labelmate Kaoz the Assassin. One of the great comparisons that came up just as Droop was coming up on the spot was between YGD and the legendary Tech N9ne, which makes na appearance on one of the tracks. Also, in contrast with "1990-Hate", the production is spread around several people such as the mastermind behind the beats of the first cd, Wayy Deep, but also Crazy-8, Black-C, Larry K, and Chris Lee.
___The content of the cd itself is not really comparable to any other cd out there, with the obvious exception. Droop's lyrical style is in its own right unique and untouchable. The first song, "Under Pressure", shows this perfectly, espcially in the chorus. The verses also show off the tongue-twisting abilities of Droop, where all words are understood, but they are in such a spit-fire way that it is damn near impossible to repeat them. On the second track, ironically named "My oWn Thang", Droop takes a page from, of all people, Eminem, with the music and the style of rapping like one of Eminem's song, I'm not sure which one. As can be imagined, Droop's take on this style exceeds because the beat is modified by Wayy Deep to match YGD's faster-paced and smoother flow. Moving on to track 3, "Moment of Impakt", Droop comes back at you in his classic style, fast beat and even faster lyrics. Black C is also on this song and he only adds to it, since his style matches up with Droop's in a good way. A catchy hook and a great beat make this one of the best songs on the cd. The same style is apparent in the song after this, "Final Konflikt", with a certain instrument in a part of the that stays with you long after the song is over. The beat is a bit slower, but the change in tempo is greatly welcomed, since fast lyrics over a slower beat make for an interesting juxtaposition of styles.
___A few songs later, "Real Shit", the flood gates open up for the guest spots. 11 rappers, not including Droop, come together on 4 minutes and 10 seconds of raw verses. The beat could have been somewhat better, had some of the intruments used been left out, but the track concludes rather abruptly with the up and coming Stone Kold, which will create some heat with his style on future projects. Others on here include Woodie, A$$ Dame, P-Dise, Never, Bukshot, and Dubble J, Spice 1, Kaoz, Hurrikaine J, and Ballin. One downside of so many people on one track is that some of the transitions from one style to the other are not very smooth and leave more to be demanded of some of the artists. One guest appearance that caused some excitement is that of BLH on the remake of the classic track, "Had 2 Gat Ya". The new version is appropriately called "Had 2 Gat Ya 2001". The beat is somewhat fast for the type of rapping BLH exhibits and the content is more gansta than "Season of the Sicc"-style. At any rate, its a decent track worth a second listen. Next up is "Wut They Talk", in which the beat is one of the best on the cd. The smooth, hard-kicking bass, combined with the eletronic organ,type of instrument used in the foreground sets a nice stage for YGD, Inferno, and P-Dise to rip it up. And that's exactly what they do, not so much on the hook, but definitely on their individual verses.
___A few songs after this, Droop teams up with what some people call one of the only rappers that can match up with the fire coming from YGD. That person is Tech N9ne. The two pair off in a remix of the first song on this cd, "Under Pressure". The beat stays the same, but thats about the only thing that does. The hook in this one comes courtesy of N9ne, who just sets up the field for Droop to tear it up on the first verse. The style of the rapping can be compared to the certain part of "Killa Inztinctz" off of "1990-Hate" that leaves the rest of the verses in the dust. N9ne and Droop have slightly different stykes of fast rapping, but the chemistry they have is obvious on this song. The whole thing is over before you know it, but it is a great song, definitely one of the best on the cd. "Quik Lik" follows up with Droop spittin solo over a decent beat. A song that should be familiar to a lot of people is "Haunted By A Dream" featuring First Degree, since it was on "Now Eat" soundtrack. A good song there, a good song here. The cd finished off with a bonus track, "Overshadowed By Darkness". A slower beat has Droop and Inferno rapping at a slower beat, which leads to an OK song.
___Droop's style has definitely changed his first solo effort. It is still very much gangsta (Y.G.D.), but he shows some refinement from his work on Low Down's "Valley Of Death" and "1990-Hate". The subject matter is more about how he perceives the world and about his life in the 209/916. KVE, in releasing this cd, has given the world a more methodical Droop, where each song was selected for a quality that gave the cd. There is no filler material here. However, in being so slective of the songs, the raw style of "1990-Hate" was smoothed out somewhat. No longer does Droop just fall into a spit-fire of a few lines. Instead, it seems that he plans his moves in order to make the entire song flow at a constant rhythm. Most of the guest appearances added to the cd, but a too many people on "Real Shit" detracted from the overall aura of the song, since the artists undoubtedly had to cut some of their verses short, given that each rapper had an average of 21 seconds in which to say their piece. On the cd as a whole, length doesnt seem to be a problem, just that the entire cd was 52 minutes as opposed to "1990-Hate" which was 74 minutes. In addition to this, two tracks had the same beat, one of the beats was a remake of another artist's, one of the song's was a remake, and one other song had been featured on a separate cd. Still, the heat with which Droop comes with is unparalleled and it leads to the inevitable question of what will happen on YGD's 3rd cd. For the moment, this cd has created an impact (no pun intended) within the underground rap world that will surely make this one of the year's hottest cds (look for it on the 2001 Top Cds list here on Boomin' Words From Portsmouth in 2002).

Rating: 9.2/10
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Serr Dyno

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