DOA - Problem Child is a mixture of old school hip hop, gangsta rap, R&B/Soul, and electronic mashups. This album has a bit of Old School flava to it with that Flint Town sound. Many of the songs on this album are laced with heavy bass. Many songs on this album are sample crazy. Songs on this album incorporate samples of songs from many different genres of music such as rock, hip hop/rap, and R&B/Soul. Some songs even incorporate movie samples and samples of documentaries. All that good shit!
Problem Child is a politically conscious rap album mixed with a flavor of gangsta rap making audiences aware how living life in poverty really is. Songs such as My City’s Going Down (Part 1) shed light on the decline of Flint, Michigan. Look What It Dun To Me combats the issue of drug abuse. Songs such as Problem Child and I’m On My Feet explain the sadness and the harsh reality of living life in poverty. Many songs on this album showcase the reality of what goes on in the streets of Flint, Michigan. This album is a product of dope Flint rap from the 90s. DOA was heavily slept on back in the day.
Production on this album was handled by Darrell Malone (Malone). Sixx Feet Deep and Loc Da Smoka wrote most of the lyrics their songs.
DOA - Problem Child was released on cassette only in 1993 by the Deep Thought Enterprise brand. The album was never issued on CD. The album was manufactured by Disc Makers. A limited amount of copies for this album were ever pressed. The A side is the Dead Side and the B side is the Arrival Side. Deep Thought Enterprise was based in Mount Morris, Michigan.
DOA (Dead On Arrival) was a rap group out of Flint, Michigan (Beecher, Michigan to be exact) in the early 1990's and consisted of Sixx Feet Deep (Six Feet Deep), Darrell Malone (Malone), Earl Sisco, and Loc Da Smoka. DOA was a rap group that could rap on issues that effected American society on a political level and had messages in their music unlike most music today.
Runnin’ Scared is a Flint style Jackin’ 4 Beats which incorporates songs from many different genres of music such as rock, hip hop/rap, blues, and R&B/Soul. Runnin’ Scared is a Sixx Feet Deep solo. Runnin’ Scared is about his escapade of him running away from law enforcement while living a life of crime.
Samples used in this song are Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love, Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive, BDP - Ya Slippin’, LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out, Michael Jackson - Thriller, X-Clan - In The Ways Of The Scales, Scarface - Mr. Scarface, Kool and The Gang, and Dr. John - Right Place.
The beginning of Runnin’ Scared starts off with heavy hitting, loud, brash grand piano notes with super hard bass. It's early in the morning. Sixx’s alarm clock wakes him. He has a gun up under his pillow for personal safety. He’s got a handful of bud (marijuana) and cigar papers. This is where he rolls them up to catch the vapors. His mind strays away from reality as he is under the influence of marijuana.
Money in his hand. God damn crime pays. It is now 6 o’clock in the morning and police are on his dick. He looks out the window to see more police coming after him. They are at the corner getting ready to rush him. Now it’s time for him to leave the scene! To hell with jail. He has the yayo (cocaine) and marijuana. He won’t be caught slippin’. It's time to sell marijuana.
Sixx is suddenly hit by a bullet fired by one of the guns from police. He put the clip on his gun. A knock is heard on his door. Now it's a dope raid. Sixx goes to retrieve his 9 millimeter handgun. He has nothing to loose at this point. That is the mindset he is in right now. Duckin' and dodgin' the 5-0.
Sixx makes a clean smooth getaway from police. He jumped through the glass landing with him standing. He left the woman who he was in bed with last night and his home abandoned. Sixx starts busting off shots from his 9 millimeter handgun. He shot the sheriff and dropped 2 deputies. He caught a bullet. Now he is thinking to himself, “Damn. I’m a goner.” He quickly thinks of a plan. He ran to the corner. Sixx shot a man standing at the corner near a stop sign was shot in the face by. His heart is beating extremely fast as he runs down the street. A soul has not seen him running down the road.
He acts as if he has heard or seen nothing. Duckin' and dodgin' the 5-0. He popped another police officer. Sixx uses a broken down shack as a hideout to evade police. They’ll never find Sixx Feet Deep in this broken down shack. Sixx is not the average law abiding citizen. Death is something he does not hope to have occur. He sleeps with one finger on the trigger and one eye open. It’s on again next morning.
Next he goes to a man who gives him illegal products. He was given firearms and ammunition by this man. They kicked it for a little bit. He ended up popping him. Sixx though he had snitched on him to police and other law enforcement. There’s no telling where Sixx is headed. He is praying to stay alive during all this.
Towards the ends is where Sixx runs up into a bank to commit a robbery. He pistol whipped a baby and shot a security guard. He put away his 9 millimeter handgun and went for the AK. Killing those who get away is what he plans on doing. People moved quick. Sixx filled the bag with money. He went out the back leaving a trail of blood. All he heard was people screaming. Police firing shots and sirens are what are on his mind and what he hears. He saw his life flash before his eyes. He thinks police will never be smart enough to catch him.
Next he hops into a taxi cab. He told the driver to loose them or die. Sixx put a bullet in the cab driver’s head. He took their wallet and wedding ring. Afterwards he checks out for a hotel room at the Hampton Inn. He rolls up a blunt. He just laughs. Sixx is now on every news station on television across the country. Sixx is on Crime Stoppers and America’s Most Wanted.
Sixx left the Hampton Inn at the very end of the song. He is now headed for the US-Mexico border. He won’t stop until he is dead because he is running scared.
My City's Going Down (Part 1) is about the decline of Flint, Michigan and the problems the city had faced in the early 1990s. At that time, Flint was gaining notoriety for being a major violent crime center due to heavy deindustrialization the Midwestern part of the United States was facing. It all started with the downsizing and outsourcing of GM in 1987. Ever since General Motors (GM) closed down their automobile manufacturing plants in Flint, Flint has gotten worse year by year. Nearly more than half of the city of Flint was on welfare and food stamps. Money Magazine had rated Flint one of the worst places to live in America.
My City's Going Down (Part 1) was a valid description of Flint in the early 1990s. However the song is more poignant now due to the ongoing Flint Water Crisis. My City's Going Down (Part 1) is a timeless classic amongst fans of Flint rap. If people would have taken more action and paid attention to what was happening with Flint, things would have been a lot different then they are now! Crime in Flint continues to grow! Nothing in Flint is getting better.
DOA was trying to tell the powers that be (politicians) in Flint that they needed to fix the city before it went into decline and de-industrialized urbanization. The city needed to fix the poverty, homelessness, recidivism, and education systems, but the politicians were too corrupt to actually give a fuck about the rest of the citizens of Flint. Flint does have homelessness problems and housing issues as well. That's the reason shit is the way it is right now currently. Flint's economy was going down in 1993 and has been since 1987. Here DOA talks about how rough Flint really is with all the violent crime, drugs, and political corruption. There's only 4 police officers to cover every 2 blocks.
Lyrics that Sixx Feet Deep rapped were deep on My City's Gong Down (Part 1). These lyrics showcase hopelessness for Flint to ever see an economic revival. Here is an example.:
nothing to fall on
my city is all gone
the danger’s on
but still the place that I call home
but I’m hearing gunshot sounds
echoing through my town
another body’s found
My city’s going down
Cocaine had swept the streets of Flint like an epidemic as the drug was everywhere in Flint at that time. Cops, politicians, and teachers were using crack. Parents were having crack babies.
Flint had been previously known for its capitol industry but was quickly gaining notoriety for being the murder capital of the United States at the time. Sixx Feet was the witness of a murder every other day out of the week. The crime rate was one of the highest on the continent.
The song was written in December 1992 by Sixx Feet and Malone. However the song was recorded at the beginning of 1993. Over 30% of Flint’s population was unemployed at the time this song was written and recorded. Sixx was unemployed at the time he wrote this song.
Samples from the Michael Moore documentary Roger And Me are used in this song. Other samples used in this song are Betty Wright - No Pain, No Gain, Rolls Royce - Car Wash, MC Breed - Ain’t No Frontin’ In Your Future, and Gets Boys - Mind Playing Tricks On Me.
When you listen to My City's Going Down (Part 1), it’s as if Sixx Feet Deep were telling the prophecy to a speech or story. Truly My City's Going Down (Part 1) is a timeless classic and a true classic to its own right regardless of what people may say. Sixx Feet Deep wrote My City's Going Down (Part 1) as a letter to the-then President of the United States. He addresses how the President doesn’t give a fuck how his city is rough and is going through rough times. Sixx says “Fuck the police and fuck the government.” It was a big “fuck you” to the establishment.
Look Whut It Dun Ta Me deals with drug abuse. Or in this case cocaine abuse. The bass is super sick! Elements of funk are blended into this DOA song. Here Loc da Smoka and Sixx Feet talk about how they got into doing drugs and the effects of drugs in general. This song samples BDP - Illegal Business, Cypress Hill - So High, and BDP - Love's Gonna Getcha.
The intro uses a sample from the New Jack City movie. It’s about how the crack cocaine shit has gotten to Sid. Sixx asks for a $20 dollar bill for drug support. Still he’s about $6 dollars short. He can’t fight his addiction to crack. Sixx Feet had gotten addicted to crack cocaine. He sold a lot of his possessions including jewelry to full his addiction to cocaine. His car got sold to Lil Joe. Now he is a drug fiend.
Sixx asks Malone to stop him as the crack rock has got him addicted. You can’t see it as Sixx is under pain. He knows he’ll be dead with no one to blame but himself. Fuck the crack rock. Now Sixx is homeless as a result of his addiction to cocaine.
Loc Da Smoka started off smoking bud. He couldn’t say no to drugs. He knows he’s in trouble. Now he started smoking yayo daily. He is pissed off he cannot find the dopeman for more cocaine. Oh Lord, somebody save Loc Da Smoka. He can’t sleep as he is having pipe dreams. Of course, Loc Da Smoka will have to result to robbing and theft as he can’t fight that feeling. All alone he stands. Now all the dope dealers go to him as he buys lots of cocaine.
The end of this song turns into a dedication with a bunch of shout outs. Sixx showed love to all of Flint.
Problem Child is the title track which mainly deals with living in poverty. Here Sixx Feet talks about how the ghetto is a living nightmare. Problem Child samples Yarborough & Peebles - Don’t Stop The Music.
Born in the ghetto and raised in da gutter. Life's a mothafucka. It’s like stayin' alive in hell as Sixx Feet Deep put it. This shit is getting' ugly. It's not fair being broke for Sixx Feet Deep. He wishes he was gone as home is hell to him. The shit is getting ugly. Sixx feels as he is not receiving the parental love he needs. Praying won’t help. The ghetto is a living nightmare.
He knew in his heart he had to do something big. He got Lil Joe to front him some dope. The end of the verse where Sixx sticks up a person for a kilogram of dope. Sixx makes a lot of references to his revolver gun.
Loc Da Smoka was looking at the past thinking about the sad stuff. Hewas just a poor kid who never had much. Running wild through neighborhood and selling drugs as a problem child. Loc Da Smoka was raised to be a ruthless cold hearted individual while being in the ghetto. The streets taught him how to get by.
Sixx is hanging on the rope of despair. It’s not fair. Fuck that beat down gang of his. He hasn’t even got a real place to lay his head. He daydreams of being a drug kingpin of Flint. Staring out of a revolver. He made up his mind by using his 9 to solve his problems. There is no other choice but to do or die. Sixx grew up with no chance or choice.
His mind paints a portrait of a suicide. A blast sends him back to reality. He’s criminal minded all right. Crime is his life. Sixx grew up with no chance. Tired being a poor man. He turned to drugs as they sell quick.
I'm On My Feet is a song where Sixx Feet Deep talked about selling drugs to make his living situation better. I'm On My Feet samples Curtis Mayfield - Wild Child, Scarface - Another Head Put To Rest, Steady B - Bring That Beat Back, and Prince - If I Was Your Girlfriend.
At the very beginning of the song, Sixx Feet talks about the effects of poverty on children in the ghetto and what children will do to keep a roof over their heads. They will do whatever is necessary to survive. Such as selling dope, gambling, buying uzis, and using food stamps for other things besides food. These children have no money, no love, and no future. There is no hope.
Back in the days, Sixx didn’t have shit. Times were getting hard. He told his parents nothing as he did not want to trouble them. He started up building his clientele. Fuck being broke. Let him die in hell if that happens. Sixx saved every dime using his mind. Of course he had his stuff planned out. There’s also the fact he had to watch his back for Vice cops. He learned the game from OGs with goatees. Sixx could see his parents couldn’t take the hardships of the ghetto.
Sixx Feet bought himself a house in the Flint Park neighborhood. He talks about sniping niggaz at Flint Park in the dark. He kept things strictly hush, hush. Sixx has even got the preachers selling cocaine. Using money to buy sacks of cocaine is what he plans to do. Clearly he is rising to the top. However he wasn’t worry-free. His girl kept pushing him to sell more crack. However he has quite a ways to go.
As Sixx was getting bigger as a drug seller, enemies called him a goner. He had to build a crew and claim another corner. Malone brought the heat (ammunition) for the hustles. J Stone was the muscle. Erin Jones will be the supplier. Earl Sisco was the spokesperson who spread the word to bring out the customers.
However his girl got suspicious. She dropped a plea. The beef was on. Sixx and Malone copped a kilo. Niggaz was getting jealous. Sixx’s crew was similar to Goodfellaz. Sixx began going after Mexican customers and Arabs. Police began to hate Sixx as he was pushing weight like a Colombian kingpin.
Sixx’s crew was taking over. People were still laughing about that. Sixx was the kingpin of Flint. He was stacking dollars by the hour. The past is something he does not worry about. His crew is ruthless and evil. Sixx goes for his heater if there’s any kind of beef or a confrontation. The success is sweet.
Cruzn is the song which calms down the mood for this album being that it is the last song on this album. It’s about with da homeboys and puffin' dat ganjah. It’s something to sit back and relax to. Cruzn samples Juicy - Sugar Free, Eazy-E - Boyz In The Hood, Smokey Robinson - Crusin', and Zapp - More Bounce To The Ounce. Cruzn was their first single which actually got air play on the radio from a DJ named Tony Lamptee from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
I rate this album/EP, 5/5*****!!
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