This is Michael Mixerr. Today I will review Hank - Life of a Criminal. For those who don't know, Hank is André Weems from Saginaw, Michigan. Hank grew up in Saginaw and Bloomfield Road is his stomping grounds. This debut album was released on cassette only in 1993 on Laraza. Hank sounds very similar to Big Wy of Young Soldierz.
This album has that Saginaw blues and Saginaw rap sound. You would've thought an album like this ghetto and raw would have been produced at U Be U Studios with that Sagnasty rap sound sound.
Life of a Criminal is about why Hank is a criminal and how he chose to live the life of a criminal. It shouldn't be happening that's what's happening on this song. Hank makes a desperate plea for changes to happen at the very beginning of the song. You see Hank grew up on ghetto blues, bad news, and wearing sporting beater bast tennis shoes. Beat up too.
Hank ran around wild as a child. Hank started acting buck wild at age 14 due to the lack of guidance in the right direction. They got to the point where Hank wanted to commit suicide. So so he started riding rooms in his bedroom while listening to dark Scarface tunes.
Life of a Criminal is very overlooked. The sample used is Average White Band - Love of Your Own. I love the garage beat boxing drum sample used in the background of the song. I think of this particular song has a ghetto rap song. It came out at right time. Right during the rise of gangster rap.
Bloomfield Blues has that Saginaw Blues sound to it and rap too. Hank grew up in Saginaw and Bloomfield Road is his stomping grounds. This song is mostly about bad news. The piano has that Leroy Dukes production sound to it similar to Dangerous Records. Dreamin' is a very heartfelt song dedicated toward his pops. It's all based on lessons in life. Live and learn.
Stick Up Kid is about stick up robberies. Planting jack moves in the ghetto. Stick Up Kid has early 90s R&B sound to it along with that fast paced police chase music to after the drama that Hank has caused. Hank ain't 2Pac but he still got juice while giving niggaz two to the head and shooting them up point-blank range. This is basically a violent gangster rap track but offers no solutions to the problem.
Life of a Criminal along with the radio and instrumental all should've been grouped together on side one of the cassette. That's what I think. All the other songs on side two.
I rate this album, Life of a Criminal, 5/5*****!
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