Equipto & Mike Marshall - K.I.M.
1) "The Set Off"
Produced by: Equipto & Brucey L.
One of the best songs on the album. The beat by Equipto with Brucey L. doing the background instruments is perfect, a medium paced soft sound to it. Equipto handles the verses with is clean hip-hop style and Mike Marshall lays down those R&B vocals down on the hook. A solid start to this album, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
2) "Purple Stuff"
Produced by: Sweet Geez
A solid beat by Sweet Geez for this track. Equipto and Mike Marshall talking about smoking up some of that purple stuff. Equipto spits solid flows on the verses and Mike does the chorus nicely. A good sound to this song, nothing outstanding, but a good listen, I'm feeling it.
3) "Threw 4 Love"
Produced by: Equipto & Brucey L.
A perfect beat by Equipto with Brucey L. lacing up some more good background instruments. The singing by Mike Marshall on the hook is perfect for this track. Equipto talks about getting hurt in love and getting stressed out about it, so he's threw with it. A solid song, the singing is my favorite part of the song.
4) "The Finer Things"
Produced by: JustLuv
A slower piano beat for this track. JustLuv lays down a slow simple beat that works well with the piano and Mike Marshall's singing. Mike sings for the first part and then Equipto spits a short verse to finish off the song. Not to take anything away from Quipto, but I think they should have left this as a Mike Marshall solo, his voice goes perfectly with this slow beat.
5) "Mottavation (K.I.M.)"
Produced by: Nick Peace
Another slower paced song right here. More Equipto on this track than Mike Marshall. Nick Peace lays down an ok beat, probably one of my least favorite on the album though. There is some good background instruments used, but I'm not into this one as much as other songs. Equipto comes coo on the mic. A decent song at best, I'm not big on this one.
6) "The Takeover" ft. Shag Nasty, Big Tone, DJ Pause
Produced by: DJ Pause
They used a sample from the Maroon 5 song "This Love." Sounds weird right? Well it works perfectly, this track is tight! DJ Pause adds some bass to it and the flows start properly. Equipto has the first verse spitting some tight rhymes. Shag Nasty spits the second verse and comes tight. Big Tone comes solid on the mic too, not feeling him as much as Shag or Quipto though. Mike Marshall does the hook perfectly too. I'm feeling this track to the fullest, one of the best songs on the album, no doubt.
7) "The Beauty (Family)"
Produced by: Equipto & Brucey L.
Another slow paced song right here. Equipto lays down a solid beat and Brucey L. plays some solid background instruments. They sing about the beauty of their families. Equipto comes clean on the verses and Mike Marshall ties it together well with his R&B sound. A good song overall, I'm feeling it.
8) "Somethin' Special"
Produced by: Nick Peace
I like this Nick Peace beat much more than his first one. The music gets your head moving as Mike Marshall sings the chorus to start the song. Equipto spits a tight flow too, although I'm diggin Mike Marshall a little more than him. Another solid song, I'm feeling it overall.
9) "41Fieve" ft. RudeBoy, DJ Pause
Produced by: Nick Peace
Another solid Nick Peace beat. They rep the 4-1-5 on this track. RudeBoy starts it off on the mic with an ok verse, his not nearly as good on the mic as Equipto is. I don't know where DJ Pause makes his appearance on this song. It's a decent song overall, I think it would have been better as an Equipto solo. Mike Marshall also doesn't appear on this track.
10) "Keep Rising"
Produced by: JustLuv
Equipto starts this one off with some very good mic work. He talks about keep coming up in the world no matter how hard it can get you down sometimes. Mike Marshall sings the chorus to perfection as always. JustLuv ties is all together with another good slower paced beat. A well put together song, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
11) "Watch What You Do" ft. Mic on the M.I.C. (Bop City), Savage C
Produced by: Mike Marshall & Nick Peace
A decent beat by Mike Marshall and Nick Peace for this song, probably my least favorite beat on the album actually. There is just a lot of talking for the most part of this song. Mike Marshall does a little singing. I'm not feeling M.I.C. on the M.I.C. at all. Savage C spits a tight flow though. Equipto doesn't even have a verse though. They should of just moved the tight Savage C verse to another song cause it's wasted on the beat and talking.
12) "We Can do That" ft. Shag Nasty, DJ Pause
This starts the mixtape portion of the album. This contains a sample from "New York, New York." Equipto starts it off with a tight flow to get things started. Shag Nasty spits the best verse in my opinion to finish off the song. A tight, but short song.
13) "In the Place to Be" ft. Mike 2xs, Great Scott, Shag Nasty, DJ Pause
A sample of "Nothin' But a G Thang." The verses are short, but everyone on here has a tight flow, but the best thing is the chorus by Mike Marshall. A little adaptation of the classic converted to rep the Bay Area. I'm feeling this one to the fullest, can't go wrong with a legendary beat and a legendary background vocalist.
14) "Da Truth"
Follow up the last song with another tight one. The sample is from "Don't Look Any Further" by Dennis Edwards. Mike Marshall sings the whole song, talking about a little beef between him and a couple folks. A short song, but tight.
15) "K.I.M. Man"
Produced by: Tone Capone
Tone Capone lays down a tight beat and the later part of the song has a sample from "T-Shirt, Blue Jeans and Nike's." Equipto flows hard on the mic with a tight flow as Mike Marshall sings in the background.
16) "Hot Lava" ft. Andre Nickatina
Produced by: Tone Capone
This has the sample from "Hard Way" off of San Quinn's newest album "I Give You My Word." Nicky rips off a short but tight verse. Wish it was a little longer.
17) "I Love the Dough" ft. Spank Pops, DJ Pause
Produced by: A-Plus
The sample here is from "93 to Infinity." Equipto spits a solid verse to start it off. Mike Marshall provides the background vocals on the hook. Spank Pops comes solid on the mic too. A solid mixtape song.
18) "We Got the Yay (Bakin' Soda 2)" ft. San Quinn, Casual
Produced by: Nick Peace & Andre Nickatina
The classic Nick Peace produced "Bakin' Soda" beat right here. San Quinn doesn't dissapoint either, ripping the beat apart. Can't go wrong with this beat, it gets you juiced as Quinn flips the mic over. Mike Marshall does the hook to the song. Casual is alright on the mic, but they should have left as a San Quinn solo. A tight song nonetheless though.
19) "After the Dance"
Produced by: Equipto & Ducey L.
Some shout outs on this track. Another solid song with some nice piano work. Just a creative way to give the shout outs for the album.
Overall this was a very good album. It was both an LP and a mixtape combined together. Equipto shows once again that he has that perfect mix of hard rap and smooth hip-hop. Mike Marshall is still the king of the chorus and he proves it song after song on this album. The production on the non mixtape tracks was very good. More of a slower pace to a majority of tracks, but with Mike Marshall's voice it sounds perfect. The features were very good for the most part. Shag Nasty came the best of all the features, although San Quinn and Nickatina held it down on their songs. I wish Mike Marshall would collab with more artists because he really adds a different element to all the songs on this album, something more artists should try to incorporate. Some tight Bay music right here. Go and pick up a copy of this album, if you don't enjoy it they're something wrong with you.
Overall Rating = 5/5
1) "The Set Off"
Produced by: Equipto & Brucey L.
One of the best songs on the album. The beat by Equipto with Brucey L. doing the background instruments is perfect, a medium paced soft sound to it. Equipto handles the verses with is clean hip-hop style and Mike Marshall lays down those R&B vocals down on the hook. A solid start to this album, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
2) "Purple Stuff"
Produced by: Sweet Geez
A solid beat by Sweet Geez for this track. Equipto and Mike Marshall talking about smoking up some of that purple stuff. Equipto spits solid flows on the verses and Mike does the chorus nicely. A good sound to this song, nothing outstanding, but a good listen, I'm feeling it.
3) "Threw 4 Love"
Produced by: Equipto & Brucey L.
A perfect beat by Equipto with Brucey L. lacing up some more good background instruments. The singing by Mike Marshall on the hook is perfect for this track. Equipto talks about getting hurt in love and getting stressed out about it, so he's threw with it. A solid song, the singing is my favorite part of the song.
4) "The Finer Things"
Produced by: JustLuv
A slower piano beat for this track. JustLuv lays down a slow simple beat that works well with the piano and Mike Marshall's singing. Mike sings for the first part and then Equipto spits a short verse to finish off the song. Not to take anything away from Quipto, but I think they should have left this as a Mike Marshall solo, his voice goes perfectly with this slow beat.
5) "Mottavation (K.I.M.)"
Produced by: Nick Peace
Another slower paced song right here. More Equipto on this track than Mike Marshall. Nick Peace lays down an ok beat, probably one of my least favorite on the album though. There is some good background instruments used, but I'm not into this one as much as other songs. Equipto comes coo on the mic. A decent song at best, I'm not big on this one.
6) "The Takeover" ft. Shag Nasty, Big Tone, DJ Pause
Produced by: DJ Pause
They used a sample from the Maroon 5 song "This Love." Sounds weird right? Well it works perfectly, this track is tight! DJ Pause adds some bass to it and the flows start properly. Equipto has the first verse spitting some tight rhymes. Shag Nasty spits the second verse and comes tight. Big Tone comes solid on the mic too, not feeling him as much as Shag or Quipto though. Mike Marshall does the hook perfectly too. I'm feeling this track to the fullest, one of the best songs on the album, no doubt.
7) "The Beauty (Family)"
Produced by: Equipto & Brucey L.
Another slow paced song right here. Equipto lays down a solid beat and Brucey L. plays some solid background instruments. They sing about the beauty of their families. Equipto comes clean on the verses and Mike Marshall ties it together well with his R&B sound. A good song overall, I'm feeling it.
8) "Somethin' Special"
Produced by: Nick Peace
I like this Nick Peace beat much more than his first one. The music gets your head moving as Mike Marshall sings the chorus to start the song. Equipto spits a tight flow too, although I'm diggin Mike Marshall a little more than him. Another solid song, I'm feeling it overall.
9) "41Fieve" ft. RudeBoy, DJ Pause
Produced by: Nick Peace
Another solid Nick Peace beat. They rep the 4-1-5 on this track. RudeBoy starts it off on the mic with an ok verse, his not nearly as good on the mic as Equipto is. I don't know where DJ Pause makes his appearance on this song. It's a decent song overall, I think it would have been better as an Equipto solo. Mike Marshall also doesn't appear on this track.
10) "Keep Rising"
Produced by: JustLuv
Equipto starts this one off with some very good mic work. He talks about keep coming up in the world no matter how hard it can get you down sometimes. Mike Marshall sings the chorus to perfection as always. JustLuv ties is all together with another good slower paced beat. A well put together song, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
11) "Watch What You Do" ft. Mic on the M.I.C. (Bop City), Savage C
Produced by: Mike Marshall & Nick Peace
A decent beat by Mike Marshall and Nick Peace for this song, probably my least favorite beat on the album actually. There is just a lot of talking for the most part of this song. Mike Marshall does a little singing. I'm not feeling M.I.C. on the M.I.C. at all. Savage C spits a tight flow though. Equipto doesn't even have a verse though. They should of just moved the tight Savage C verse to another song cause it's wasted on the beat and talking.
12) "We Can do That" ft. Shag Nasty, DJ Pause
This starts the mixtape portion of the album. This contains a sample from "New York, New York." Equipto starts it off with a tight flow to get things started. Shag Nasty spits the best verse in my opinion to finish off the song. A tight, but short song.
13) "In the Place to Be" ft. Mike 2xs, Great Scott, Shag Nasty, DJ Pause
A sample of "Nothin' But a G Thang." The verses are short, but everyone on here has a tight flow, but the best thing is the chorus by Mike Marshall. A little adaptation of the classic converted to rep the Bay Area. I'm feeling this one to the fullest, can't go wrong with a legendary beat and a legendary background vocalist.
14) "Da Truth"
Follow up the last song with another tight one. The sample is from "Don't Look Any Further" by Dennis Edwards. Mike Marshall sings the whole song, talking about a little beef between him and a couple folks. A short song, but tight.
15) "K.I.M. Man"
Produced by: Tone Capone
Tone Capone lays down a tight beat and the later part of the song has a sample from "T-Shirt, Blue Jeans and Nike's." Equipto flows hard on the mic with a tight flow as Mike Marshall sings in the background.
16) "Hot Lava" ft. Andre Nickatina
Produced by: Tone Capone
This has the sample from "Hard Way" off of San Quinn's newest album "I Give You My Word." Nicky rips off a short but tight verse. Wish it was a little longer.
17) "I Love the Dough" ft. Spank Pops, DJ Pause
Produced by: A-Plus
The sample here is from "93 to Infinity." Equipto spits a solid verse to start it off. Mike Marshall provides the background vocals on the hook. Spank Pops comes solid on the mic too. A solid mixtape song.
18) "We Got the Yay (Bakin' Soda 2)" ft. San Quinn, Casual
Produced by: Nick Peace & Andre Nickatina
The classic Nick Peace produced "Bakin' Soda" beat right here. San Quinn doesn't dissapoint either, ripping the beat apart. Can't go wrong with this beat, it gets you juiced as Quinn flips the mic over. Mike Marshall does the hook to the song. Casual is alright on the mic, but they should have left as a San Quinn solo. A tight song nonetheless though.
19) "After the Dance"
Produced by: Equipto & Ducey L.
Some shout outs on this track. Another solid song with some nice piano work. Just a creative way to give the shout outs for the album.
Overall this was a very good album. It was both an LP and a mixtape combined together. Equipto shows once again that he has that perfect mix of hard rap and smooth hip-hop. Mike Marshall is still the king of the chorus and he proves it song after song on this album. The production on the non mixtape tracks was very good. More of a slower pace to a majority of tracks, but with Mike Marshall's voice it sounds perfect. The features were very good for the most part. Shag Nasty came the best of all the features, although San Quinn and Nickatina held it down on their songs. I wish Mike Marshall would collab with more artists because he really adds a different element to all the songs on this album, something more artists should try to incorporate. Some tight Bay music right here. Go and pick up a copy of this album, if you don't enjoy it they're something wrong with you.
Overall Rating = 5/5