The Team - Negro League
1) "Locker Room Anthem" ft. DJ Big Von Johnson
Produced by: ShonuFF
This track gets the album started off right. Keak Da Sneak's label Moe Doe Ent. puts together these three East Oakland rappers Kaz Kyzah, Clyde Carson and Mayne Mannish. Kaz Kyzah starts it off with the first verse and spits a tight flow. Mayne Mannish comes next coming cool on the mic, although I'm feeling his style the least of the three. Clyde Carson finishes off the track with a good verse. DJ Big Von Johnson does some talking about the Team taking over the Bay rap scene. A tight ass song to start the album with, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
2) "All Out"
Produced by: ShonuFF
Another clean song right here. ShonuFF brings the heat on the production, like he did on the first song. Clyde Carson hits the mic first on this one with a coo sounding verse and he also lays it down on the hook. Mannish comes next, coming alright on the mic. Kaz finishes off the song with a tight verse. A good follow up to the opening track, I'm feeling it overall.
3) "All for Team"
Produced by: ShonuFF
Another bangin beat right here. Clyde Carson starts it off again with a coo verse, talking about how he got his start in the rap game. Mannish is next and spits a solid flow, again talking about how he got hooked up with the Team. Kaz finishes it off with a solid verse as well as laying down the vocals on the chorus. A tight ass song again, this album has really started hot with these first three tracks.
4) "It's Gettin Hot"
Produced by: ShonuFF
The single to the album that's gotten some solid radio play. The production is clean and sounds perfect for that club beat. Clyde Carson is the only one on this song for some reason. In any case he holds it down for the Team with two good verses and a solid flow on the hook. A tight club style song, I'm feeling it a lot.
5) "Keep it G.A.N.S.T.A."
Produced by: ShonuFF
Carson on the opening verse once again. He spits a clean flow as the beat bangs in the background. Kaz hits up the mic for the second verse. Clyde and Kaz trade off verses to finish off the track, both spitting some good rhymes. No Mannish on this track once again. More solid work on the mic and with the production.
6) "Rather Get More Doe" ft. Keak Da Sneak
Produced by: E-A-Ski
I was expecting a little more from this song. Carson begins it with an alright verse. Kyzah spits verse two with a little better flow than Carson, but still not all that tight to me. Keak has the third verse, spitting a coo verse, but hit spit on the hook is terrible. He sounds horrible and really turns me off from this track. The beat by E-A-Ski isn't all that great either. I was expecting a little something from this track. A little bit of a dissapointment to me, not really feeling it much.
7) "Love to Love U" ft. Selan
Produced by: D Dre
Taking it down with a slow song right here. Carson talks first about loving a girl and giving her whatever she wants. Mannish spits the second verse and sounds bad. I'm not feeling him at all. Kyzah saves the track with the best verse to finish it off. Selan handles the hook with a little bit of singing, which is alright, not the best voice I've heard, but she holds her own. More of an R&B style song, not really my flavor, but I can tell they were trying to appeal to a different type of audience on this song.
8) "The Hype"
Produced by: Left
Back to another tight ass beat, this time by Left. They handle the verses a little differently on this song, with each member only spitting a bar or two before passing the mic. A little different than the other songs, but it works well here. The beat is tight and the flows are solid, talking about getting high and rolling around the town. A coo song overall.
9) "I'm on One"
Produced by: ShonuFF
This is my favorite track on the album. The beat by ShonuFF is flat out sicc! The chorus done by Kyzah is my favorite part of the song, but the beat holds it all together. All three members come tight on this track. I can't really say much about it, except that it's a tight, tight ass song. Bump this one all day long.
10) "Purple in My Hands"
Produced by: ShonuFF
Back to another slower type of song. I'm not really feeling it much at all though. They talk about getting smoked out off that purple. I'm not really feeling the beat by ShonuFF on this one, one of the few from him that I didn't like. A decent song overall, nothing really special.
11) "I Got a Call"
Produced by: ShonuFF
This song is more annoying than anything. They went with the Alvin and Chipmonks sound on the chorus, which I think is already a bit played out. I don't think the song would be all that bad, except for the damn chipmonk voice. Not really feeling this one at all.
12) "Everybody in the Club"
Produced by: ShonuFF
More of that club sound, although the beat isn't nearly as good as the single. Carson begins it with a verse about being in the club. Kaz has the second verse and spits an ok verse. No Mannish on this one either. A decent song at best, not really into this one much.
13) "The Cycle" ft. Ise Lyfe
Produced by: The Network (Knocademus & P.O.)
One of those soft sentimental songs to finish off the album. I like the beat and background instruments a lot. They tell stories on this one about how no matter what each generation growing up in the ghetto seems to end up at the same fate. Ise Lyfe has the final verse and does more of a poem than a flow. A very good song with a story to finish the album with, I'm feeling it a lot.
Overall this was a very good debut album from the Team. The only thing I didn't like about it was that the songs I liked, I really liked a lot, but the ones I didn't probably shouldn't even have been on CD. There was only 13 tracks too. However, the production, mostly done by ShonuFF came out tight on almost every song. Clyde Carson and Kaz Kyzah really impressed me and Mayne Mannish contributed on a few tracks. The features were a bit dissapointing to me, but the Team more than made up for it. A good Bay Area release from a new group with heat. I hope to hear more of this, hopefully on an album with a couple more tracks on it. Pick this one up if you're a Bay Area rap fan, it's a good album.
Overall Rating = 4/5
1) "Locker Room Anthem" ft. DJ Big Von Johnson
Produced by: ShonuFF
This track gets the album started off right. Keak Da Sneak's label Moe Doe Ent. puts together these three East Oakland rappers Kaz Kyzah, Clyde Carson and Mayne Mannish. Kaz Kyzah starts it off with the first verse and spits a tight flow. Mayne Mannish comes next coming cool on the mic, although I'm feeling his style the least of the three. Clyde Carson finishes off the track with a good verse. DJ Big Von Johnson does some talking about the Team taking over the Bay rap scene. A tight ass song to start the album with, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
2) "All Out"
Produced by: ShonuFF
Another clean song right here. ShonuFF brings the heat on the production, like he did on the first song. Clyde Carson hits the mic first on this one with a coo sounding verse and he also lays it down on the hook. Mannish comes next, coming alright on the mic. Kaz finishes off the song with a tight verse. A good follow up to the opening track, I'm feeling it overall.
3) "All for Team"
Produced by: ShonuFF
Another bangin beat right here. Clyde Carson starts it off again with a coo verse, talking about how he got his start in the rap game. Mannish is next and spits a solid flow, again talking about how he got hooked up with the Team. Kaz finishes it off with a solid verse as well as laying down the vocals on the chorus. A tight ass song again, this album has really started hot with these first three tracks.
4) "It's Gettin Hot"
Produced by: ShonuFF
The single to the album that's gotten some solid radio play. The production is clean and sounds perfect for that club beat. Clyde Carson is the only one on this song for some reason. In any case he holds it down for the Team with two good verses and a solid flow on the hook. A tight club style song, I'm feeling it a lot.
5) "Keep it G.A.N.S.T.A."
Produced by: ShonuFF
Carson on the opening verse once again. He spits a clean flow as the beat bangs in the background. Kaz hits up the mic for the second verse. Clyde and Kaz trade off verses to finish off the track, both spitting some good rhymes. No Mannish on this track once again. More solid work on the mic and with the production.
6) "Rather Get More Doe" ft. Keak Da Sneak
Produced by: E-A-Ski
I was expecting a little more from this song. Carson begins it with an alright verse. Kyzah spits verse two with a little better flow than Carson, but still not all that tight to me. Keak has the third verse, spitting a coo verse, but hit spit on the hook is terrible. He sounds horrible and really turns me off from this track. The beat by E-A-Ski isn't all that great either. I was expecting a little something from this track. A little bit of a dissapointment to me, not really feeling it much.
7) "Love to Love U" ft. Selan
Produced by: D Dre
Taking it down with a slow song right here. Carson talks first about loving a girl and giving her whatever she wants. Mannish spits the second verse and sounds bad. I'm not feeling him at all. Kyzah saves the track with the best verse to finish it off. Selan handles the hook with a little bit of singing, which is alright, not the best voice I've heard, but she holds her own. More of an R&B style song, not really my flavor, but I can tell they were trying to appeal to a different type of audience on this song.
8) "The Hype"
Produced by: Left
Back to another tight ass beat, this time by Left. They handle the verses a little differently on this song, with each member only spitting a bar or two before passing the mic. A little different than the other songs, but it works well here. The beat is tight and the flows are solid, talking about getting high and rolling around the town. A coo song overall.
9) "I'm on One"
Produced by: ShonuFF
This is my favorite track on the album. The beat by ShonuFF is flat out sicc! The chorus done by Kyzah is my favorite part of the song, but the beat holds it all together. All three members come tight on this track. I can't really say much about it, except that it's a tight, tight ass song. Bump this one all day long.
10) "Purple in My Hands"
Produced by: ShonuFF
Back to another slower type of song. I'm not really feeling it much at all though. They talk about getting smoked out off that purple. I'm not really feeling the beat by ShonuFF on this one, one of the few from him that I didn't like. A decent song overall, nothing really special.
11) "I Got a Call"
Produced by: ShonuFF
This song is more annoying than anything. They went with the Alvin and Chipmonks sound on the chorus, which I think is already a bit played out. I don't think the song would be all that bad, except for the damn chipmonk voice. Not really feeling this one at all.
12) "Everybody in the Club"
Produced by: ShonuFF
More of that club sound, although the beat isn't nearly as good as the single. Carson begins it with a verse about being in the club. Kaz has the second verse and spits an ok verse. No Mannish on this one either. A decent song at best, not really into this one much.
13) "The Cycle" ft. Ise Lyfe
Produced by: The Network (Knocademus & P.O.)
One of those soft sentimental songs to finish off the album. I like the beat and background instruments a lot. They tell stories on this one about how no matter what each generation growing up in the ghetto seems to end up at the same fate. Ise Lyfe has the final verse and does more of a poem than a flow. A very good song with a story to finish the album with, I'm feeling it a lot.
Overall this was a very good debut album from the Team. The only thing I didn't like about it was that the songs I liked, I really liked a lot, but the ones I didn't probably shouldn't even have been on CD. There was only 13 tracks too. However, the production, mostly done by ShonuFF came out tight on almost every song. Clyde Carson and Kaz Kyzah really impressed me and Mayne Mannish contributed on a few tracks. The features were a bit dissapointing to me, but the Team more than made up for it. A good Bay Area release from a new group with heat. I hope to hear more of this, hopefully on an album with a couple more tracks on it. Pick this one up if you're a Bay Area rap fan, it's a good album.
Overall Rating = 4/5
