Andre Nickatina Presents - Gift
1) "What's Up With U" Hardlife
Produced by: A-Team
A decent beat done by A-Team to start the album with, nothing really special about it. I don't know the difference between each member of Hardlife (Ant Thizzo, Ball, DG Slimm, Revenue). They come ok on the mic. Not outstanding styles, but four alright verses. An ok song to start the album with.
2) "King City" Andre Nickatina, Krushadelic
Produced by: Krushadelic
A coo beat by Krush for this one. He starts it off on the mic with a solid first verse. Nicky has the second verse and spits a good verse himself, more typical Andre Nickatina lyrics that you've heard on many other Nickatina albums. No hook to the song, but the verses make up for it. A coo song overall, I'm feeling it.
3) "Str-8 Pimpin" Shag Nasty
Produced by: DJ Pause
Every new song I hear Shag Nasty on I get more and more interested in hearing more of his music. He brings a solid mic presence, this time talking about the pimping game in the Bay Area. I'm not a big fan of the background singing with the little effect they put on the voice, but the production by DJ Pause is pretty good. A tight track right here. Shag spits some good flows to a solid beat. One of my favorite tracks on the album.
4) "I'm a Junkie" Andre Nickatina, Equipto
Produced by: Q-York Ent.
This is a recycled song from Nickatina's "Bullets" album. Q-York lays down a tight ass beat. I'm not feeling Nickatina's singing in the beggining, but the rest of the track is clean. Dre and Quipto spit a couple tight verses as the beat bangs. This is another one of my favorite songs, even though it's recycled.
5) "Suits N Boots" Bobby Shaw
Produced by: Q-York Ent.
Not really feeling this song much. The beat by Q-York is alright, nothing extraordinary. Bobby Shaw holds his own on the mic, talking about growing up and wearing suits and boots. It's a decent song overall.
6) "Leopard" Andre Nickatina
Produced by: Tone Capone
Tone Capone puts down a tight beat for Nickatina. Dre holds down the mic with a couple solid verses. I like the chorus, the verses and the beat. Another very good song, I'm feeling it overall.
7) "V.I.P. List" Q-York, Knowa Lazarus
Produced by: Q-York Ent.
A coo sounding beat by Q-York for this one. I like Q-York's singing on this one, but I'm not feeling Knowa Lazarus on the mic at all. Everything is good except for Knowa Lazarus on this song. I'm just not into his voice. Would have been a perfect song for someone like Equipto or Shag Nasty. Good parts to this song, but with the current verses I'm not feeling it.
8) "The Gift" Equipto
Produced by: Q-York Ent.
I'm not diggin this Equipto track much. The beat by Q-York isn't all that to me. Quipto's verses are pretty good, but his flow on the hook isn't that great. With a different beat and hook this would have been a good song. They should have mixed this song with the last one, they would have made a nice song.
9) "Bonus" Smoov-E
Produced by: Smoov-E
I'm normally not a big fan of Smoov-E, but this song is clean. He laces himself up with a tight beat. Typical Smoov-E lyrics, talking about girls, but he comes tight on the mic. Nothing really original from Smoov, but it's got a catchy sound to it. Probably my favorite song on the album.
10) "Cupcakes N Cookies" Mike 2x's
Produced by: Don Peete
A coo beat that gets your head moving by Don Peete, but that's about as far as this track goes. I'm not feeling Mike 2x's one bit. He doesn't even sound like he's rapping at all, more or less just talking through the whole song. Not feeling it besides the beat.
11) "Lost Hawks" Andre Nickatina, Equipto
Produced by: Tommy
A tight ass beat by Tommy to finish this album with. Equipto and Nickatina bring the heat on the mic as always. Not the best Nicky and Quipto song I've ever heard, but they flow well together and put it down on the mic nicely. A clean sounding track to finish the album with.
Overall this was a nice little throw in for the DVD release. The songs I liked, I liked a lot, and the songs I didn't like were very bad to me. No really decent or inbetween tracks, either really good or really bad. There are definately a few knockers on here. Only 11 tracks, but it's coo cause it's just a little bonus to the DVD. The DVD itself is a series of interviews with Nickatina, Mac Dre, Equipto, Suga Free, Mac Mall and a few other people about various topics. It's cool to see how the different rappers and people or everyday life respond to the questions. So between the DVD and the bonus album this is a pretty solid release from Nickatina and Fillmoe Coleman Records.
Overall Rating = 4/5
1) "What's Up With U" Hardlife
Produced by: A-Team
A decent beat done by A-Team to start the album with, nothing really special about it. I don't know the difference between each member of Hardlife (Ant Thizzo, Ball, DG Slimm, Revenue). They come ok on the mic. Not outstanding styles, but four alright verses. An ok song to start the album with.
2) "King City" Andre Nickatina, Krushadelic
Produced by: Krushadelic
A coo beat by Krush for this one. He starts it off on the mic with a solid first verse. Nicky has the second verse and spits a good verse himself, more typical Andre Nickatina lyrics that you've heard on many other Nickatina albums. No hook to the song, but the verses make up for it. A coo song overall, I'm feeling it.
3) "Str-8 Pimpin" Shag Nasty
Produced by: DJ Pause
Every new song I hear Shag Nasty on I get more and more interested in hearing more of his music. He brings a solid mic presence, this time talking about the pimping game in the Bay Area. I'm not a big fan of the background singing with the little effect they put on the voice, but the production by DJ Pause is pretty good. A tight track right here. Shag spits some good flows to a solid beat. One of my favorite tracks on the album.
4) "I'm a Junkie" Andre Nickatina, Equipto
Produced by: Q-York Ent.
This is a recycled song from Nickatina's "Bullets" album. Q-York lays down a tight ass beat. I'm not feeling Nickatina's singing in the beggining, but the rest of the track is clean. Dre and Quipto spit a couple tight verses as the beat bangs. This is another one of my favorite songs, even though it's recycled.
5) "Suits N Boots" Bobby Shaw
Produced by: Q-York Ent.
Not really feeling this song much. The beat by Q-York is alright, nothing extraordinary. Bobby Shaw holds his own on the mic, talking about growing up and wearing suits and boots. It's a decent song overall.
6) "Leopard" Andre Nickatina
Produced by: Tone Capone
Tone Capone puts down a tight beat for Nickatina. Dre holds down the mic with a couple solid verses. I like the chorus, the verses and the beat. Another very good song, I'm feeling it overall.
7) "V.I.P. List" Q-York, Knowa Lazarus
Produced by: Q-York Ent.
A coo sounding beat by Q-York for this one. I like Q-York's singing on this one, but I'm not feeling Knowa Lazarus on the mic at all. Everything is good except for Knowa Lazarus on this song. I'm just not into his voice. Would have been a perfect song for someone like Equipto or Shag Nasty. Good parts to this song, but with the current verses I'm not feeling it.
8) "The Gift" Equipto
Produced by: Q-York Ent.
I'm not diggin this Equipto track much. The beat by Q-York isn't all that to me. Quipto's verses are pretty good, but his flow on the hook isn't that great. With a different beat and hook this would have been a good song. They should have mixed this song with the last one, they would have made a nice song.
9) "Bonus" Smoov-E
Produced by: Smoov-E
I'm normally not a big fan of Smoov-E, but this song is clean. He laces himself up with a tight beat. Typical Smoov-E lyrics, talking about girls, but he comes tight on the mic. Nothing really original from Smoov, but it's got a catchy sound to it. Probably my favorite song on the album.
10) "Cupcakes N Cookies" Mike 2x's
Produced by: Don Peete
A coo beat that gets your head moving by Don Peete, but that's about as far as this track goes. I'm not feeling Mike 2x's one bit. He doesn't even sound like he's rapping at all, more or less just talking through the whole song. Not feeling it besides the beat.
11) "Lost Hawks" Andre Nickatina, Equipto
Produced by: Tommy
A tight ass beat by Tommy to finish this album with. Equipto and Nickatina bring the heat on the mic as always. Not the best Nicky and Quipto song I've ever heard, but they flow well together and put it down on the mic nicely. A clean sounding track to finish the album with.
Overall this was a nice little throw in for the DVD release. The songs I liked, I liked a lot, and the songs I didn't like were very bad to me. No really decent or inbetween tracks, either really good or really bad. There are definately a few knockers on here. Only 11 tracks, but it's coo cause it's just a little bonus to the DVD. The DVD itself is a series of interviews with Nickatina, Mac Dre, Equipto, Suga Free, Mac Mall and a few other people about various topics. It's cool to see how the different rappers and people or everyday life respond to the questions. So between the DVD and the bonus album this is a pretty solid release from Nickatina and Fillmoe Coleman Records.
Overall Rating = 4/5
