1) "The Interview" (with Ananda Lewis)
The album starts with the first part of an interview with Ecay (pronounced e-say) Uno and Ananda Lewis. They talk about how he produced the entire album by himself.
2) "U Turn Me"
This song gets the album started off in the right foot with a bangin beat by Ecay as he rips up the mic. Some hard gangsta shit on this song. He reps the hood, brings some street lyrics to the table and spits hard on the mic. A great start to this much anticipated debut from Ecay Uno.
3) "180 Gold" ft. Cee Wee 3
This beat doesn't come off as bangin to me, but it has a good feel to it and some nice background instruments to it. Cee Wee 3 starts it off with a coo verse. Ecay rips up the mic on his verse. I like Cee Wee 3 the most on the hook. Another good song, not my favorite, but it's cool.
4) "Can't Get Enough" ft. L.C. Janet, Lil C.S.
I don't like L.C. Janet's first verse, but her second one is cool. Ecay starts it off with a cool verse and a bangin beat with some good background instruments. Lil C.S. has a coo verse too. Could have gone without L.C. Janet, but her second verse is good. I'm feeling it overall.
5) "The Interview Pt. II"
The second part of the interview. They talk about Ecay's gang affiliations. He talks about how on the album he talks about the good and bad parts to gang banging.
6) "Ride 2night" ft. Goldie Loc, Mr. Tan
One of my favorite songs on the album. The beat is tight as fuck and slaps with a medium pace to it. Ecay starts it off with a clean verse. He talks about some of that gang life he talked about in the interview. I'm not sure who is who between Goldie Loc or Mr. Tan, but both come tight on their verses. Ecay handles the hook to the song with some cool vocals. I'm feeling this song to the fullest. Some hard gangsta shit right here.
7) "God on My Side"
A slower paced song here. More solid production from Ecay with some nice instrument work in the background. He talks about how God is on his side because without him he would have never made it this far. He also talks about how he was shot and that God must have been with him or else he wouldn't have been here. A nice change in pace from the previous songs. A good song overall, I'm feeling it.
8) "Feel the Realist" ft. Bad Azz, Crazy Cee Wee, Khaleedah Ishe
More good production for this song by Ecay, a solid beat that bangs. Khaleedah Ishe handles the hook with some nice vocals. Ecay starts the song with a good verse. Bad Azz and Crazy Cee Wee come clean on their verses. Another solid song, I'm feeling it.
9) "Break Yoself"
Back to another solid solo song. More good production with another solid beat and background instruments. Ecay talks about getting that cash. He says to get your cash and not to go broke. Not my favorite song, but the production is solid again and Ecay has a good flow on the mic.
10) "So Little Time"
One of those slow sentimental songs right here. It has that slow soft feel to it. Ecay talks about how he thought he had everything, but it really wasn't like that at all and how there is very little time to take care of so much in life. I like this slow song, it's a good switch in topic. I'm feeling it overall.
11) "The Interview Pt. III"
Part three, they talk about Ecay getting shot 13 times in 4 different ocations and how he got paralyzed and how his experience has influenced his music.
12) "Tha Comebac" ft. Mouch Massive, Mister Lowc
Another hard bangin beat from Ecay for this song. Mouch Massive starts the song off with his hard style on the mic and a good verse. Ecay handles the hook with some good lyrics, he talks about how it only takes one moment for the streets to take back all they gave you. Mister Lowc has the second verse and spits a good one. Ecay finishes off the song with a solid verse of his own. Another tight song, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
13) "My Thang" ft. Trazel
Some cool background effects to the production on this song. Another solid beat again by Ecay. Trazel starts this one off with a good verse. Ecay doesn't flow that much on this one, but Trazel holds it down on the mic and Ecay lays down another tight beat. A good song overall, I'm feeling it.
14) "Cold Twist" ft. Killa Tay
My favorite song on the whole album. The beat is so clean with the piano in the background. Ecay puts it down on the first and last verses and he splits the hook with Killa Tay. Tay has the second verse and rips up the mic. Some hard lyrics on the mic from both rappers. Just a tight ass song overall, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
15) "Still Gang Bangin" ft. Mitchy Slick, Cricet
Another tight beat for this song. Ecay starts it off with a solid verse, talking about how it's money and respect their bang for. Ecay also does the hook with some more good lyrics. Mitchy Slick has the second verse and comes hard, this is a perfect beat for his style. Cricet has a decent verse to finish the song off with. A hard song overall.
16) "Nigga Say Nigga Do"
Some more good production from Ecay for this song as he comes coo on the mic. I don't really like the hook to this song that much, but his verses are coo. Not one of my favorite songs, but I still like it. A coo song overall.
17) "Life or Death"
Some tight ass production for this song with some clean background effects going on. It has a slower pace to it, but still has that hard gangsta feel to it. Ecay holds it down on the mic with some solid mic work. This is another one of my favorite songs. Just some hard gangsta shit. I'm feeling it to the fullest.
18) "Black Heart"
A dark beat to this song. Hard verses and a tight hook on this song. Ecay just rips another beat to shreads. Can't really say enough about this song, just listen to it to really get the feel of it, I'm feeling it the fullest.
19) "The Others" ft. Chag. G, Eboni Baker
More of a laid back song on this one. More good production that gives that sentimental feel. Ecay starts it off with a solid verse. Chag. G and Eboni Baker handle the hook with some nice vocals. Ecay flows two solid verses and then the other two finish off the song with some nice singing. A cool song overall, I'm feeling it.
20) "The Interview Pt. IV"
Part 4, they talk about why Ecay named the album Mental Scars.
21) "Mental Scars"
The title track has more good production to it and a bit of that sentimental feel to it while still staying hard. Ecay talks about all those mental scars in his life and how he's fought throught them. A tight song to finish the album with. More good production and solid mic work, I'm feeling it overall.
22) "The Interview Pt. V"
Part 5, they talk about Ecay's inspiration for his music.
Bonus DVD
The bonus DVD that comes along with the CD is probably the best bonus DVD I've seen yet. It's centered around an interview with Ecay in a parking lot where he talks about his music, his life, how he became paralyzed and what he's really all about. As he goes through the interview it breaks off into clips of parties, shows and Ecay taking the camera crew around to a few places in Dago. He also talks about how his gang life has influenced his music and his life as a whole and what the good and bad parts of it were. It's only 30 minutes long, which really is a perfect length for the subject he covers. He doesn't try to do too much with it and the way he conducts his interview keeps you interested. Probably the best bonus DVD yet and a nice addition to the album.
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Overall this was a very, very, very, very tight album. It covered a good range of topics while still bringing that gangsta rap feel to the album. The bonus DVD just adds more to the album. Ecay talks about his life and what makes him who he is. The features were very good, even though I've never heard of most of the names. The production done entirely by Ecay himself is some of the best I've ever heard, none of the tracks really having that stand out sound to them, but definately bringing the gangsta heat on the production end. Ecay on the mic doesn't dissapoint either and brings a solid style that stays tight on every song. A very tight, if you don't already have it then you need to swoop it up with the quickness, an instant classic! Swoop it up!
Overall Rating = Classic
The album starts with the first part of an interview with Ecay (pronounced e-say) Uno and Ananda Lewis. They talk about how he produced the entire album by himself.
2) "U Turn Me"
This song gets the album started off in the right foot with a bangin beat by Ecay as he rips up the mic. Some hard gangsta shit on this song. He reps the hood, brings some street lyrics to the table and spits hard on the mic. A great start to this much anticipated debut from Ecay Uno.
3) "180 Gold" ft. Cee Wee 3
This beat doesn't come off as bangin to me, but it has a good feel to it and some nice background instruments to it. Cee Wee 3 starts it off with a coo verse. Ecay rips up the mic on his verse. I like Cee Wee 3 the most on the hook. Another good song, not my favorite, but it's cool.
4) "Can't Get Enough" ft. L.C. Janet, Lil C.S.
I don't like L.C. Janet's first verse, but her second one is cool. Ecay starts it off with a cool verse and a bangin beat with some good background instruments. Lil C.S. has a coo verse too. Could have gone without L.C. Janet, but her second verse is good. I'm feeling it overall.
5) "The Interview Pt. II"
The second part of the interview. They talk about Ecay's gang affiliations. He talks about how on the album he talks about the good and bad parts to gang banging.
6) "Ride 2night" ft. Goldie Loc, Mr. Tan
One of my favorite songs on the album. The beat is tight as fuck and slaps with a medium pace to it. Ecay starts it off with a clean verse. He talks about some of that gang life he talked about in the interview. I'm not sure who is who between Goldie Loc or Mr. Tan, but both come tight on their verses. Ecay handles the hook to the song with some cool vocals. I'm feeling this song to the fullest. Some hard gangsta shit right here.
7) "God on My Side"
A slower paced song here. More solid production from Ecay with some nice instrument work in the background. He talks about how God is on his side because without him he would have never made it this far. He also talks about how he was shot and that God must have been with him or else he wouldn't have been here. A nice change in pace from the previous songs. A good song overall, I'm feeling it.
8) "Feel the Realist" ft. Bad Azz, Crazy Cee Wee, Khaleedah Ishe
More good production for this song by Ecay, a solid beat that bangs. Khaleedah Ishe handles the hook with some nice vocals. Ecay starts the song with a good verse. Bad Azz and Crazy Cee Wee come clean on their verses. Another solid song, I'm feeling it.
9) "Break Yoself"
Back to another solid solo song. More good production with another solid beat and background instruments. Ecay talks about getting that cash. He says to get your cash and not to go broke. Not my favorite song, but the production is solid again and Ecay has a good flow on the mic.
10) "So Little Time"
One of those slow sentimental songs right here. It has that slow soft feel to it. Ecay talks about how he thought he had everything, but it really wasn't like that at all and how there is very little time to take care of so much in life. I like this slow song, it's a good switch in topic. I'm feeling it overall.
11) "The Interview Pt. III"
Part three, they talk about Ecay getting shot 13 times in 4 different ocations and how he got paralyzed and how his experience has influenced his music.
12) "Tha Comebac" ft. Mouch Massive, Mister Lowc
Another hard bangin beat from Ecay for this song. Mouch Massive starts the song off with his hard style on the mic and a good verse. Ecay handles the hook with some good lyrics, he talks about how it only takes one moment for the streets to take back all they gave you. Mister Lowc has the second verse and spits a good one. Ecay finishes off the song with a solid verse of his own. Another tight song, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
13) "My Thang" ft. Trazel
Some cool background effects to the production on this song. Another solid beat again by Ecay. Trazel starts this one off with a good verse. Ecay doesn't flow that much on this one, but Trazel holds it down on the mic and Ecay lays down another tight beat. A good song overall, I'm feeling it.
14) "Cold Twist" ft. Killa Tay
My favorite song on the whole album. The beat is so clean with the piano in the background. Ecay puts it down on the first and last verses and he splits the hook with Killa Tay. Tay has the second verse and rips up the mic. Some hard lyrics on the mic from both rappers. Just a tight ass song overall, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
15) "Still Gang Bangin" ft. Mitchy Slick, Cricet
Another tight beat for this song. Ecay starts it off with a solid verse, talking about how it's money and respect their bang for. Ecay also does the hook with some more good lyrics. Mitchy Slick has the second verse and comes hard, this is a perfect beat for his style. Cricet has a decent verse to finish the song off with. A hard song overall.
16) "Nigga Say Nigga Do"
Some more good production from Ecay for this song as he comes coo on the mic. I don't really like the hook to this song that much, but his verses are coo. Not one of my favorite songs, but I still like it. A coo song overall.
17) "Life or Death"
Some tight ass production for this song with some clean background effects going on. It has a slower pace to it, but still has that hard gangsta feel to it. Ecay holds it down on the mic with some solid mic work. This is another one of my favorite songs. Just some hard gangsta shit. I'm feeling it to the fullest.
18) "Black Heart"
A dark beat to this song. Hard verses and a tight hook on this song. Ecay just rips another beat to shreads. Can't really say enough about this song, just listen to it to really get the feel of it, I'm feeling it the fullest.
19) "The Others" ft. Chag. G, Eboni Baker
More of a laid back song on this one. More good production that gives that sentimental feel. Ecay starts it off with a solid verse. Chag. G and Eboni Baker handle the hook with some nice vocals. Ecay flows two solid verses and then the other two finish off the song with some nice singing. A cool song overall, I'm feeling it.
20) "The Interview Pt. IV"
Part 4, they talk about why Ecay named the album Mental Scars.
21) "Mental Scars"
The title track has more good production to it and a bit of that sentimental feel to it while still staying hard. Ecay talks about all those mental scars in his life and how he's fought throught them. A tight song to finish the album with. More good production and solid mic work, I'm feeling it overall.
22) "The Interview Pt. V"
Part 5, they talk about Ecay's inspiration for his music.
Bonus DVD
The bonus DVD that comes along with the CD is probably the best bonus DVD I've seen yet. It's centered around an interview with Ecay in a parking lot where he talks about his music, his life, how he became paralyzed and what he's really all about. As he goes through the interview it breaks off into clips of parties, shows and Ecay taking the camera crew around to a few places in Dago. He also talks about how his gang life has influenced his music and his life as a whole and what the good and bad parts of it were. It's only 30 minutes long, which really is a perfect length for the subject he covers. He doesn't try to do too much with it and the way he conducts his interview keeps you interested. Probably the best bonus DVD yet and a nice addition to the album.
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Overall this was a very, very, very, very tight album. It covered a good range of topics while still bringing that gangsta rap feel to the album. The bonus DVD just adds more to the album. Ecay talks about his life and what makes him who he is. The features were very good, even though I've never heard of most of the names. The production done entirely by Ecay himself is some of the best I've ever heard, none of the tracks really having that stand out sound to them, but definately bringing the gangsta heat on the production end. Ecay on the mic doesn't dissapoint either and brings a solid style that stays tight on every song. A very tight, if you don't already have it then you need to swoop it up with the quickness, an instant classic! Swoop it up!
Overall Rating = Classic