This is Michael Mixerr. Today I will write an album review on Lil Hawk - Red Pagez (digital edition).
Lil Hawk finally released an album after all these years! And no, this is not the Lil Hawk Red Riding Hood album that circulated via CD-r in the hoods of Inglewood, California and Los Angeles, California (LA) back in 1997. This Lil Hawk album is a new album!
The album was released digitally online in October 2016 by Denver, Colorado based label Upset Records and Red Pagez Ent. And of course on CD distributed from rapbay.com. The Red Pagez album is a collection of tracks that were recorded from 1994-2016 during his time as a solo artist and during his time signed onto Dangerous Records which was 1994-1999. Some of those tracks were recorded from 1994-1999 before Lil Hawk caught his murder case which landed him in jail on April of 1999. Most of these tracks were recorded from 1994-2014.
Physical copies of this album exist, but the Red Pagez album was intended to be a digital album available online only. Physical copies of this album can be purchased on rapbay.com however. Denver, Colorado based label Upset Records oversaw the responsibilities of marketing this Lil Hawk album towards the digital market online.
Some of the sound and production is not up top notch thrifty state-of-the-art recording standards. Lil Hawk did record some tracks on a 4-track cassette recorder connected to a mono speaker which is why the vocals are lower than the music on some tracks. The tracks recorded on a 4-track cassette recorder were recorded in the 1990s from 1994 to 1999.
These tracks were from his albums Lil Hawk Red Riding Hood and the Lil Hawk self-titled solo album which was supposed be to all solo tracks by Lil Hawk only. Some tracks are older tracks recorded over new beats with a fresh updated sound. Some older tracks are recorded with new musical styles with a fresh updated production sound. However some of these tracks are newer tracks such as Blood Life, Murda Flo, Broke Bitchez, and M-Gang.
Ironically Tweedy Bird Loc and Dangerous Records had nothing to do with this release nor was the album released by Dangerous Records. Despite Tweedy Bird Loc, J Stank, Leroy Dukes, QLuso, and Ronnie Ron producing some of the tracks, neither parties or producers involved had any say in the matter of whether or not the Red Pagez album would be released or not.
Red Rida is a self-explanatory track about Lil Hawk Red Riding Hood himself. Lil Hawk gets self-explanatory and autobiographical on Red Rida. Red Rida was most likely recorded in 2002-2003 since it has that new school rap sound. Imagine if real G’s like Lil Hawk were out on the streets right now bringing the real shit. These fake gangsters and wack rappers couldn't stand up!
Red Rida was a track recorded for the 1997 album Lil Hawk Red Riding Hood. The track was not recorded at the Dangerous Records studios Ronnie Ron once owned. Lil Hawk recorded the vocals for Red Rida at his house. The music was later added professionally at a state of the art studio.
Westside Moment is a hood classic to some. However you can’t help but feel something is off when you listen to Westside Moment. Lil Hawk’s flow does not match up the tempo on Westside Moment. He raps way too fast in such a rapid pace that his lyrics do not match up with the mid tempo beats. However don’t let that deter you away from listening to the track. Lil Hawk is still hard with it.
Westside Moment was probably recorded sometime during 1994-1999 seeing as how the track samples Luniz - I Got 5 On It. Westside Moment was a track recorded for the 1997 album Lil Hawk Red Riding Hood. Vocals Westside Moment were recorded on a 4-track cassette recorder connected to a mono speaker.
Murda Flo pays tribute to fallen late rapper B Brazy of Damu Ridas. Sound clips of B Brazy from the documentary War Stories, which was released on DVD in the 1990s, are included on the intro to Murda Flo. (LIP B Brazy).
Representn was a track recorded in 1996 for the 1997 album Lil Hawk Red Riding Hood. B Brazy takes lead of the chorus by hollering “Woop Woop”. Representn is a Lil Hawk/B Brazy duo cut. Their vocals were recorded at Lil Hawk’s house on a 2-track cassette recorder. Representn is quite similar to Blood Life, My Shit Bang, and Inglewood Barz in terms of gangsta rap.
Inglewood Barz is a Lil Hawk freestyle rap track that has that classic Dangerous Records sound with hard heavy hitting bass that will surely rattle your speakers! Level for bass is quite heavy. The treble inside his vocals are quite noticeable as Inglewood Barz was recorded in 1997 on a 4-track cassette recorder connected to a mono speaker which is why the vocals are lower than the music.
The electronic synths and new school rap sound on My Shit Bang do not suit Lil Hawk at all. My Shit Bang is more of a “hit or miss” type of track. The treble inside his vocals are quite as his vocals could have been mastered better. Treble stands as a highlight out the most here. Lil Hawk’s lyrical skills shine and flourish throughout the track. Overall the song bangs hard from a lyrical perspective.
Blood Life was was recorded in 2014 and released as a music video digitally online to the internet. Blood Life was the Blood Anthem of Inglewood, California from 2014 to 2016. The track Blood Life was dedicated to the Blood gang which Lil Hawk was a part of in the 90s.
Red Pagez is a 4/5**** album! Lil Hawk the Inglewood legend returns with the real gangsta shit on this album. The album has that classic Dangerous Records sound on top of that new school rap school. However most of the tracks retain a new school rap sound rather than the classic Dangerous Records sound Lil Hawk fans among others would expect to hear. The weak tracks on this album are Broke Bitchez, Tha Weed, N Tha Hood, and Tha Niggaz I Kno. Trap beats do not suite Lil Hawk at all. Period. The old school rap sound suites Lil Hawk best.
Other than that, Lil Hawk should do a sequel album to this album called Red Pagez 2 which would be appropriate for a follow-up album to this album. That would be brehsive! A sequel album called Red Pagez 2 from Lil Hawk should be released.
I rate this album, Red Pagez (digital edition), 4/5****!
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