Best of Mixerr Album Reviews! Page 279

VA - Death Row Inside Out album review

The Death Row Inside Out compilation album was one of the most hardcore versatile compilation albums of 1998. Their production was still dope in this era. You had all in your face rap lyrics gracing the speakers. A lot of the songs have a funk and soul based sound. The Death Row Inside Out compilation album was a 27 track double-album featuring old and new material from the label’s artists including 3 unreleased songs from Tupac Shakur.

The Death Row Inside Out compilation album was supposed to be released by Death Row Records and distributed by Breakaway Entertainment on October 6, 1998. Breakaway Entertainment was going to distribute Death Row's albums after Interscope Records canceled their distribution deal. However this never happened. There are a few reasons as to why the Death Row Inside Out compilation album album was never released.

Death Row's distribution deal fell through because Breakaway Entertainment went bankrupt right before the release date. Leaving Death Row Records with no distribution, Suge decided to shelve the album and cancel the release date.

Distribution problems prevented the Death Row Inside Out compilation album from being released at that time. Death Row Inside Out was supposed to be distribute through Breakaway Entertainment but never was due to those reasons. The Death Row Inside Out compilation album is still inside the vaults of Death Row Records, Hasbro, and E1. And will never be released.

Also Suge Knight wanted to get revenge on Dr. Dre so bad that he canceled the release of Death Row Inside Out replaced it with Chronic 2000 instead. The Chronic 2000 was more demanded than the Death Row Inside Out compilation album was. There was a lot of music that was supposed to be on the Death Row Inside Out compilation album which were scrapped and redone for The Chronic 2000 album. T


From My Death Bed was a track performed by Tha Realist. The song was written from Tha Realist’s perspective going on against who wasn't down with Death Row Records. He graced the track with his vocals and his raps. The cadence, voice, lyrical content are all on point. Kurt "Kobane" Couthon murdered the track with his dope beats.

Trial & Tribulations showcased how dope VK was with her versatile sporadic lyrical ability. She was really dope on the mic. Trials & Tribulations was recorded for the Death Row Inside Out compilation album which was never released. The song is about the trial and tribulations of a female rapper trying break in and get her foot in the door in the music business. Trial & Tribulations was produced by Char Jones aka CHAR J. The only female producer on Death Row Records.

Fiend To A Pipe was a song by Young Soldierz/The Relativez which deals with the addiction of sexual intercourse. The song explores the subject of sexual intercourse.

Tha Realest took shots at Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg by dissing them on the interlude called It Aint Ova. Kurt "Kobane" Couthon murdered the track with his dope beats. This interlude is intriguing.

5/5*****!

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Jewell - s/t album review

Jewell’s self-titled album gives the music industry what it’s been definitely missing. Singing with real talent and actual lyrics along with sultry R&B sounds. This is definitely what R&B needs now. The Death Row sound needs to come back.
 
Jewell’s self-titled album contains material recorded on Death Row during the mid-90’s. Some of these songs have never been released before. Some songs are brand new despite having been leaked online to the internet years ago. Half of this album was produced by Demetrius “Meech” Shipp. She is a great vocalist regardless of who does production.

Jewell’s self-titled album album was supposed to be released in mid-1995. But of course being that the album was recorded on Death Row Records, the label dropped the ball on songstress Jewell by not releasing her album that year but instead nearly 2 decades later in 2011 on the Canadian label WIDEawake Entertainment. It’s a shame Death Row didn't do more with artists like Jewell, the former first lady of Death Row Records.

Sadly many people did not support the release of her album because WIDEawake did not properly master the album with upgraded technology. Some songs on this album were not mixed and mastered properly. Many Death Row fans viewed this WIDEawake/Death Row release as a bootleg. A lack of proper mastering, leaks, and bad timing are what led to low album sales which was unfortunate for Jewell, Death Row, and WIDEawake. Former Death Row fans viewed WIDEawake as a joke. At least we are blessed with this album and are able to purchase it.

Death Row fans called the album cover an awful album cover. She’s standing there offering a view of her left leg. The photograph used on the front album cover is an old Death Row promo photograph. A few people have said the album cover looks like it was created using MS Paint in a timespan of 5 minute. Notice how the color scheme is grayscale. Many Death Row fans viewed this WIDEawake/Death Row release as a bootleg. This is because the cover does not even say the title of the album on it.


Recognize is a slow jam which is unsurprisingly another love song by Jewell. Recognize sounds very much similar to Devante Swing’s production style. One has to wonder if Devante Swing had his hands in producing this song for Jewell. She is a great vocalist regardless of who does production.

A love as sweet as this only comes once in a lifetime. There’s so much on her mind when it comes to love. It’s superficial. She wants her man to recognize how their love is. They don’t have to play games. She is not searching for fame.

Jewell is going to make everything feel better. She is better with love. She can stop the pain so it won’t come back again. Won’t you give her a try? She doesn’t give out empty promises. No need to push away from her. There is no need to push her away. Don’t push away her love. Love has to be her destiny. Jewell can make things better with love.


Only One is another smooth Death Row Records R&B cut by Jewell that was left in the vault for years. You will love her voice especially on this track! The bass and beats will rattle your speakers. Her angelic vocals give music a breath of fresh air. This is simply beautiful.

Betcha She Don't Love You is Jewell’s cover of Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King - Betcha She Don't Love You. Jewell did a beautiful job of covering this song herself with the Death Row in-house production team.

The mixing on Wantcha With Me is very low budget as hearing her vocals is difficult. The song seems to not have been mixed and mastered properly. Static noises can be heard in some places during the song.

Black Diamond is a song which compliments black men and women all over the world. It’s about black love.  Black Diamond was supposed to be the first single off the Black Diamond album in 1995. However that single never saw light of day because Dr. Dre didn’t know how to produce her songs or fit her into the Death Row mold.

5/5*****!!

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Sean "Barney Rubble" Thomas - The Sean "Barney Rubble" Thomas Album album review

Sean "Barney Rubble" Thomas - The Sean "Barney Rubble" Thomas Album was a Death Row album that never was. Sean "Barney Rubble" Thomas recorded a whole full-length album which was approved by Dr. Dre in 1994 which unfortunately was never released. There were 17 songs recorded for his 1994 album that never came out. History was being made when he hooked up together with Dr. Dre to record and produce this album.   Sadly the big boss lost focus. This unreleased album has been kept in the Death Row Records vault for many years and will probably never be released.This album was different from the “usual” type of music released by Death Row Records since Death Row Records was known for selling gangsta rap albums.

Gotta Go Down is smooth slow jam played at a mid tempo pace. Sean "Barney Rubble" Thomas lays down the smooth G-Funk sound with his production on this song of his. G-Funk meets soul on Gotta Go Down. Smooth and funky are two words that can be used to describe the song. This song was recorded during the studio sessions for his unreleased album recorded back in 1994.

Skit On The DL is a catchy skit proved and backed with R&B tunes due to the instrumentation. Those beats definitely have that Death Row sound.

Ask Somebody is some Parliament Funkadelic type shit where funk meets R&B/soul. The song is backed by phat beats and funky guitars no doubt. This is a pretty nice unreleased song here. This song was recorded during the studio sessions for his unreleased album recorded back in 1994.

Sean "Barney Rubble" Thomas produced Da Dogg Remix using drum kits, snares, cymbals, and hi-hat patterns from an 808 drum machine. All of the instruments came from an 808 drum machine. You can tell by the drums.

5/5*****!!

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Gina Longo - Gina Longo album review

The Gina Longo album is a rap album surprisingly filled with a huge chunk of blue-eyed soul. She recorded 8 tracks for the album prior to 2Pac’s death on September 7, 1996. Out of those 8 tracks included a duet with Death Row's then-newcomer Danny Boy. One of the songs she wrote was a composition titled Caught Up. Gina had trained with a vocal coach hired by Death Row Records and recorded demo tracks at a studio rented by the company.

The Gina Longo album was another rap album and Death Row album that never was. This was another one of those albums that got archived in the Death Row Records vaults due to legal drama, business decisions, and other politics.

Some of you may remember that Gina Longo is/was the daughter of Deputy District Attorney Lawrence W. Longo handled an assault case against Suge Knight. Surprisingly the case was dropped and a probation agreement was worked out in February 1995, nearly a year before Gina Longo's contract was signed.

Lawrence W. Longo said in an interview, "Marion Knight is one of the few guys I have ever prosecuted who I actually believe can turn his life around and really change the community from where he came. I have never seen a guy transform as much as this guy has since he was first booked. It's remarkable."

It all started in June 1995 when Gina Longo’s brother, Frank Longo, gave her demo tape to Knight's chief defense lawyer, David Kenner, while talking about an unrelated music proposal. In July 1995, her brother, who is/was a lawyer, set up an audition for her with Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight. Suge Knight was impressed with her voice and look. She recorded a few test tracks before signing the deal on January 2, 1996.

She came on board to Death Row Records because of a favor her father did for Suge Knight. Gina Longo, was given a record deal by Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight. Gina Longo signed a multi-album deal with Death Row on January 2, 1996 that was worth an estimated $50,000. Under the contract with Death Row Records, Gina was to be paid a standard new artist royalty rate - 12% percent of the suggested retail record price, or about $1 per album. She also received a $25,000 advance upon signing and will receive an additional $25,000 after her first album is completed. Gina Longo told her father about the contract offer in December 1995 and received a $25,000 advance from the record company the following month.

She had never released a record or performed in concert prior to signing with Death Row Records. Gina's public performances were limited to appearances in neighborhood holiday shows, banquets and events at Malibu's Colin McEwen College Preparatory School, where she graduated as valedictorian in 1994, a year ahead of her class. Gina Longo had been trying to get into the music business for a long time and this was an opportunity that presented itself to her. She had been studying dance and music since the age of 6.

Gina Longo was a rapper who simply billed as “Gina”. Gina Longo was only white rapper signed to Death Row Records and was the only white artist on Death Row Records minus Michel’le. Her singing was similar to the style of Teena Marie and Celine Dion.



There are several reasons as to why the Gina Longo album never came out. Here are the reasons her album was never released.


Legal drama surrounding Suge Knight’s assault case was one of the reasons why Gina Longo’s album never was released.

Deputy District Attorney Lawrence W. Longo was supervising Suge Knight’s probation. That is why Gina's father, Lawrence W. Longo, was not able to manage her career. So he relied on Suge Knight to manage his daughter’s career. This meant Deputy District Attorney Lawrence W. Longo had to report to the courts that Suge Knight was not violating his parole.


Controversy was another reason why her album never came out. Gina Longo received instant notoriety when it was discovered that she had signed a record contract with Death Row Records.

According to to news article written in 1996 by Los Angeles Times writers Alan Abrahamson and Chuck Phillips for the Los Angeles Times newspaper, Gina Longo received instant notoriety when it was discovered that she had signed a record contract with Death Row Records while her father, Deputy District Attorney Lawrence W. Longo, was monitoring Suge Knight's probation stemming from a 1992 assault conviction. With her father under investigation for a potential conflict of interest and her boss in jail, the buzz in the entertainment industry is that Gina's record deal had more to do with whom she knew than how she sings a contention she vehemently rejected.

Gina Longo told The Journal Times from Racine, Wisconsin in 1996 she had been unfairly linked to a controversy involving Suge Knight and her father Lawrence W. Longo. Her father was pulled from the case and the District Attorney's Office was investigating a possible conflict of interest. It was also discovered that Knight's lawyer had leased a beachfront Malibu home owned by the Longo family and that Knight had been staying there.

She told the Hanford Sentenial, "I feel angry. But even more than that, I feel hurt. My dad is a great person. I am a talented singer. Why would the media want to take this and twist it into something that it's not?"

Los Angeles Times reported back in 1996 that Suge Knight's lawyer who was a DA had leased a beachfront Malibu home owned by the Longo family and that Suge Knight had been staying there. This created a conflict of interest with the public and private.

Los Angeles Times reported back in 1996 about a celebration dinner at an Encino restaurant was attended by Gina Longo, friends, family, Suge Knight, and several of the record executive's associates. Several people at the dinner told the Times that Knight said Longo had the voice of a black woman in a white woman’s body. However Gina Longo’s father apparently warned Suge Knight at one point during the dinner not to expect any special treatment in regards to the plea agreement that was worked out February 1995 in regards to his probation on an assault charge and not to expect any special treatment of any other kind just because his daughter was with Death Row Records, according to several people who were at the dinner.

According to an interview conducted in the Westwood office of her father's attorney firm with the Los Angeles Times from 1996, Gina Longo explained the following, "It's not like they just give you this money either. You have to pay it back. But that's the way the business works. You have to prove yourself when you first start out.Signing with the hottest rap label in the business was a dream come true." This probably implied Gina had not received any payments from Death Row Records.


Timing was one of the main reasons why the Gina Longo album was never released. That is that main reason why her album was never released.

She recorded 8 tracks for the album prior to 2Pac’s death on September 7, 1996. She had another song written down with lyrics on paper 6 days after 2 Pac’s death. However she was unable to get into their studio. This meant she was not able to complete the recording of her album. Her album was never completed and mastered. Plus her work has never been put out on a record. Now the Gina Longo album is never going to be released as Death Row Records, Hasbro, and E1 own the rights to that album.

When 2Pac died by reign of gunshots, business at Death Row came to a halt. Death Row Records stopped returning her calls after Knight was taken into police custody for violating his parole. 2Pac’s death halted the recording and release of her album also.

4/5****!

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The Lady Of Rage - Verbal Abuse album review

The Lady Of Rage branched out into other styles of rap with her new album Verbal Abuse. However she sticks to her battle style of rap for the most part. Verbal Abuse showcases the softer side of Rage also. 95% of the production is handled by DJ Premier. It’s been a while since everybody’s heard anything from her – or has even seen her. Unfuckwitable is one of the hardest Lady of Rage tracks produced by DJ Premier. One of the top 5 Primo tracks of all time. The track is really dope. Rage is one of the hardest spitters. Mel Man produced the song Worldwide in 2002 for her Verbal Abuse album. The track is the second best off the album.

5/5*****!!