Mixerr Album Reviews #2,275

Mr. Joshay - Playas Life (2016 Edition) is a beautiful hidden mellow gangsta rap treasure produced by Texas music genius and producer Ricé. Fans of rap will surely enjoy this album. Mr. Joshay - Playas Life was an album filled with songs from the vault that have never been heard before which Mr. Joshay recorded from 1994 to 2000. These were songs he recorded when he signed to Youngsta Records, BLVD Records, and Commerce Street Records. Ricé put the album together with the very first songs that Mr. Joshay ever recorded. Ricé was the one responsible for getting his album released. He was behind the album all along.

Not many people know this but this album was Ricé’s project and not necessarily Mr. Joshay’s. Mr. Joshay did not care too much if his second album was released or not. He says these songs were just songs from the vault. He is glad that the album was released anyway. Mr. Joshay was still developing his sound when he recorded these songs. Nino of PKO helped produce a couple of these songs. He even rapped in a couple of the songs.

The album was produced at Ricé’s Music Box Studios when it was located in his trailer at Westhill Mobile Home & RV Park on Pinn Road in Southwest San Antonio. Ricé’s production style is double bass and double guitars on top of high quality sound. Ricé is known for his smooth production. That is what you can hear all over this album.

Now this album was supposed to be released on BLVD Records (Boulevard Records) in 2000 but wasn’t because BLVD Records got shut down by the IRS for tax evasion.

The album was released on CD in 2006 on Commerce Street Records and re-released in 2016 on the Japan-based label II TIGHT LLC. That label was responsible for releasing Mr. Joshay’s albums. Mr. Joshay represented Commerce Street to the fullest back the 90s and 00s. He was their up and coming artist of the century for that time.

Now this album has been traded for thousands of yen 円 in Japan due to II TIGHT LLC repressing this album twice in 2016.

Not too many people know this but Commerce St. Records was located inside of the old Windsor Park Mall in San Antonio, Texas. The address for Commerce St. Records was 7900 North IH-35, Suite L-5, San Antonio, TX 78218.


Funk meets rap on the funky rap song Diggy Down. Ricé and Mr. Joshay make it funky with the sound that is provided. The sound is similar to Mtume. Diggy Down is a song about Mr. Joshay’s neighborhood.

Mr. Joshay is from this hood which people call Diggy Down. Mr. Joshay was coming up funky from the start. He came up funky from the start as his neighborhood was funky. Now he’s got the fever for the flava. His rhymes are deep like a creek.

Mr. Joshay is staying down but keeping his composure. Mr. Joshay is staying down for his neighborhood. He gets around from the underground. He’s got the juice if you’re thirsty. So don’t be dissuaded by anything else that gets negative in life. This is the flava of drink that you are surely gonna enjoy. Now he’s got the fever for the flava. Nothing can save ya.


Throw Dem Thangz is a song about his Cadillac and fighting.

Mr. Joshay is burning rubber on his loced out Cadillac. That is his gangsta ride. Laying low like a mack. He has the sunroof down so the air blows. He also has the window on the driver side down. Riding off into the sunset is what he does best. Mr. Joshay is in his Cadillac burning rubber through the jungle.

Also don’t be scared to throw dem thangz if you can fight. Don’t scared to throw a couple of blows. You can expect a couple of blows when fighting. So throw dem thangz.

The song has that funk soul sound. Ricé and Mr. Joshay were inspired by the funky soulful sounds of Mtume which is why Throw Dem Thangz samples Mtume - Hip Dip Skippedabeat.


Inside Looking Out takes us through the viewpoints and perspectives of an inmate in jail. The song features Nino of PKO. Sometimes you don’t know what to do when you’re on the inside looking out especially when you’re in jail or prison. That is when things are hard. There’s no more caddy or freedom when you’re in jail or prison.

Inside Looking Out was recorded in 1995 when Mr. Joshay was signed to Youngsta Records. Ricé was another in-house producer along with DJ Snake at that time.

You can tell by listening to words from these lyrics that this song was definitely written in the 90s. “I been handling my business/I never fake the funk because I’m real”,

Here Mr. Joshay goes again. Handcuffs and shackles are on his feet and he is in an ugly ass jumpsuit. Mr. Joshay is on the inside looking out and doesn’t know what to do. No more Cadillac, chronic, or bourbon.

It’s kind of hard coming up in the jungle. Mr. Joshay is handling his business. He never fakes the funk. When he was coming up, he couldn’t slang like Shaquille. He set his own goals. He has been in trouble with the law since the day he was born. His momma took on having a son in 1974 even though she could not afford to have one. His momma was strong. That’s why Mr. Joshay is coming at you strong. His momma taught him right from wrong. But she did not teach him how to stay alive. She didn’t tell him how he would have to struggle and strive. That’s why he’s mixed up in this ghetto life. He is on the corner slanging cocaine and shooting dice. A lot brothas out there feel him though.

He’s got the money, the power, and a ragtop Cadillac. He is stacked for the jack. And he’s breaking hoes off something major. A booty call from his bitch on his pager is what he got. He went to pick her up and police gaffled him up. He got locked up and was doing time at Bexar County Jail. But now he’s on the inside looking out.

12 o’clock is when Nino went to pick up his party Joshay from Bexar County Jail in his Cadillac. Frames knocked out and it’s sitting on D’s (Dayton rims). His pockets are swole because he just got his serve on. Got 1/5 of bourbon and a sack of weed. Packing a tech for you playa hating hoes. Flossing down the strip like the playas do. The game is not the same like it was in 1992. 5-0 is always trying to catch a nigga.

Nino also uses his lyrics from a song called Walk The Walk which came from the 1995 compilation Poets & Gangstas.

Nino serves them up with some of that dope shit. Police want to throw him in Bexar County Jail for that. A high ass bounty is placed over his head. It’s kind of fucked up that your boy is seeing all these county blues. All that fucked up food. He is gambling in jail. He can’t wait to hit the streets. 13 weeks is how long he had been in jail.


No Moe Caddy takes us through the viewpoints and perspectives of an inmate in jail similar to how Inside Looking Out did. The song features Nino of PKO. No more Cadillac, chronic, or bourbon as deals with the jailhouse blues. He’s on the inside looking out and doesn’t know what to do.

No Moe Caddy was recorded in 1995 when Mr. Joshay was signed to Youngsta Records. Ricé was another in-house producer along with DJ Snake at that time.

There are similarities between No Moe Caddy and Inside Looking Out. Both songs use the same guitar loops, Nino uses the same lyrics in his verses, Mr. Joshay uses some of same lyrics in his verses, and that high pitched eerie sine is used. Both songs seem to have been recorded in the same timeframe.

Both songs have similarity in the lyrics. Read these lyrics and compare them to each other. “I been handling my business/I never fake the funk because I’m real”, “Been in trouble with the law since the day I was born”, and “I’m on the inside looking out and I don’t know what to do”. Nino also uses his lyrics from a song called Walk The Walk which came from the 1995 compilation Poets & Gangstas.

Now compare the chorus to both songs as both songs use these same lyrics during the chorus.

[Chorus: Mr. Joshay & Nino]
I’m on the inside looking out
No more Cadillac, no more chronic, no more bourbon
And I don’t know what to do

Mr. Joshay is a brotha from the south. He’s been handling his business. He never fakes the funk because he’s real. It’s kind of hard coming up in the jungle. Mr. Joshay is handling his business. He never fakes the funk. When he was coming up, he couldn’t slang like Shaquille. He set his own goals and got his hustle on.

He has been in trouble with the law since the day he was born. His momma took on having a son in 1974 even though she could not afford to have one. His momma was strong. That’s why Mr. Joshay is coming at you strong. A warrant was out for his arrest because he was slanging drugs. Mess with him and you might get shot.

12 o’clock is when Nino went to pick up his party Joshay from Bexar County Jail in his Cadillac. Frames knocked out and it’s sitting on D’s (Dayton rims). His pockets are swole because he just got his serve on. Got 1/5 of bourbon and a sack of weed. Packing a tech for you playa hating hoes. Flossing down the strip like the playas do. The game is not the same like it was in 1992. 5-0 is always trying to catch a nigga.

Nino also uses his lyrics from a song called Walk The Walk which came from the 1995 compilation Poets & Gangstas.

Nino serves them up with some of that dope shit. Police want to throw him in Bexar County Jail for that. A high ass bounty is placed over his head. It’s kind of fucked up that your boy is seeing all these county blues. All that fucked up food. He is gambling in jail. He can’t wait to hit the streets. 13 weeks is how long he had been in jail.

Now Mr. Joshay is locked up and he is paying his dues to society by serving time. 6 people in a 10 man cell. The jail is packed of course.

Joshay and Nino made bond in just 2 days. However Nino’s jewelry got pawned. His D’s (Dayton rims), leather seats, and his surround sound speakers. Nearly everything he owned got pawned. Nino switched to drinking Cognac from Bourbon.

Joshay filled this cat up with lead as he emptied the clip from his gun. Then he rolled up a spliff and passed it to Nino. Now they take a hit.


Eternity is one of his more darker songs that gets deep. The song seeks for a change in how things are in life. The subject matter is similar to Wicked Crazy World as this song represents the wickedness and craziness that goes on in this world. Lyrics to the song represent the insanity of life on the streets. It’s enough to make you lose your mind and worry.

Mr. Joshay calls out government officials won’t address the issues of inner city issues. Children are dying of starvation which places them in situations that can lead to incarceration. Unlawful infiltration is another issued government officials won’t address.

Mr. Joshay is from a generation who still recovering from segregation. His neighborhood is filled with subduction, mysterious abductions, premeditated murder, and corruption. He can’t even function with suicidal thoughts on his mind. He is smoking and drinking wine. All of this is not divine.


Wicked Crazy World represents the wickedness and craziness that goes on in this world. The theme is almost similar to the song Gang Story. Lyrics to the song represent the insanity of life on the streets. It’s enough to make you lose your mind and worry.

I rate this album 5/5*****!!

*[This is Mr. Joshay’s second album.]
*[Commerce St Records is also known as Commerce Street Records.]