First Degree The DE - Look Me in the Face, Though!
1) "Look Me in the Face, Though!
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
Some slow dark music playing in the background. First Degree does some talking about humans and the Fahrenheit Shlangz. Typical weird, but tight DE sound to it. Makes for a nice intro.
2) "The Shlang Cometh"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
A tight jam to get this album started with. The beat has a quick pace to it as DE comes hard on the mic, talking more about the Shlangz. DE sticks to his guns right here, the beat sounds like music from DAMN THAT DE! or Big Black Bat, while DE stays with tight lyrics on the mic. A clean sounding song to get this album started with, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
3) "Gangsta Shlida" ft. Brotha Lynch Hung
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
Two songs mashed together here, with First Degree and Brotha Lynch's parts sounding distinctive to each rappers verses. Two rappers who have been making tight cuts with each other since Loaded. Lynch spits one of the best verses I've heard from him in a long while, more of the classical Lynch you're used to hearing. First Degree puts it down on his verses. A tight ass song overall, probably my favorite song on the album.
4) "Champion!"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E. & Phonk Beta
Mixing it up here, The DE makes a song talking about John Madden Football. He talks about some games against other rappers in the beginning and then the song begins. The rest of the song he talks about being a champion in a few different aspects of life. A solid song, the beat isn't quite as good as the previous two songs, but it has a good feel to it.
5) "Mr. Pops"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
A tight beat right here, more of that slower, darker feel to it. Some street lyrics on this song, talking about some driveby's and some Sacramento gangsta record labels who put Sac on the map. A solid song overall.
6) "You Picked the Wrong Day to Piss Me Off"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
Definately a little something different for this track. A more uptempo sound with more musical instruments in the background. He talks about people living their life for material possessions, gangs and political issues. The only thing I'm not feeling about it is the way he sings the song. He goes for a high pitch sound, I look past it though and focus on the strong lyrics. It's a very good song overall, you have to listen closely and hear what DE is talking about, a good song besides the way he sings it.
7) "I am Eddie D."
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
This song is a shout out to DE's uncle Eddie D. Colen. It's an instrumental track with DE saying Eddie's name in the background. The beat is solid and there is some nice background instruments playing. A DE tradition to include an instrumental track.
8) "Neba Far Away"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
A little bit of Latin flare to this track with the acoustical guitar. It's a bit of a love ballad in a sense. Not many lyrics by DE, but the strength of the song comes from the guitar work. A decent song, not really in my taste much, but I can appreciate the music.
9) "You Want Me?" ft. Be Gee
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
Be Gee starts it off on the mic with a coo verse. The beat is coo. First Degree comes much tighter on the mic than Be Gee. The tracks just fits his style better and the beat is tailored to his flow more than Be Gee. A solid song overall, I'm feeling it.
10) "Entrepreneur's Nightmare"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
A coo beat to get things started, the piano is a little awkward though. I can't really get a handle on this song, exactly what he's talking about, it's a dream he explains at the end of the song, but during the dream it seems very weird. A unique song, not really into this one as much, a little too weird for me.
11) "Showtime"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
This is another one of my favorite tracks on the album. The beat is tight and gets your head moving. DE is backstage before a show he's going to perform in. He talks with a girl. I like the hook to the song a lot, the girl who sings it has a nice voice and the clip of the fans shouting damn that DE! is tight. A clean sounding song overall, I'm feeling it.
12) "Lone Stranger"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E. & Phonk Beta
A coo laid back beat for this song. More of that classic weird DE music on this track. He talks about being a lone stranger coming up in the world. A coo song overall, more typical DE weirdness.
13) "White Girls on Drugs" (interlude)
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
A very weird intro into the next song. Some girls talking in the background, that's about it.
14) "White Girls on Drugs"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
A tight sounding beat to get this track started with. Another weird topic from DE. He talks about white girls on drugs coming to his shows. The lyrics are clean and the beat is tight with a good chorus. A good song overall, I'm feeling it, definately a little something different.
15) "Fahrenheit Shnippits" Be Gee, Lilla D'Mone, M Sane, Fahrenheit Instrumania! Level B
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
These are some snippits from upcoming or recently released albums. The first is from Be Gee - "The Postcard," it sounds like tight jam, a coo sounding beat as Be Gee comes tight on the mic. The second is from Lilla D'Mone - "Music Trance" it's a mix of R&B, pop and jazz. The third is from M Sane's - "Pimping 'N Panderin'" as DE clears up some beef rumors. The beat is tight on this clip, but I'm not a big fan of M Sane's voice. The final snippit is from DE's next project, the sequel to his first instrumental album. A coo cut with some guitar work and some solid background sounds and instruments.
16) "Dead Man Walking" (Fahrenheit remix)
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
DE does a remix of "Dead Man Walking" from Brotha Lynch's album Season of Da Siccness. There is a little bit of a remix to the beat, but the lyrics are the same. I think Lynch has got him, but DE holds it down and makes this version just as tight as the original. A tight way to end the album, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
Overall this was definately a good album from First Degree. Once again I find it hard to sit down and do a track by track review of this man because he comes with such a unique and hard to figure out what the hell he's saying style. But after about 50 listens I sat down came up with this. The production is good throughout the album with plenty of good background music to complement the beats. There were only a couple features, but Brotha Lynch's verse on the third track was tight, back to his old style on the mic. First Degree once again proves he can mix up tight production with solid lyrics on the micraphone. He throws in gangsta, political rap, a love song and plain weird all together. It's a good album, but I think if you're a first DE listener you might have the wrong impression about this album. This is definately an album that needs to be run through your player at least 10 times to understand what's going on and even that might now be enough. In any case I enjoyed it, not quite as good as DAMN THAT DE! or Planet Zero, but I liked it more than Big Black Bat.
Overall Rating = 5/5
1) "Look Me in the Face, Though!
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
Some slow dark music playing in the background. First Degree does some talking about humans and the Fahrenheit Shlangz. Typical weird, but tight DE sound to it. Makes for a nice intro.
2) "The Shlang Cometh"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
A tight jam to get this album started with. The beat has a quick pace to it as DE comes hard on the mic, talking more about the Shlangz. DE sticks to his guns right here, the beat sounds like music from DAMN THAT DE! or Big Black Bat, while DE stays with tight lyrics on the mic. A clean sounding song to get this album started with, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
3) "Gangsta Shlida" ft. Brotha Lynch Hung
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
Two songs mashed together here, with First Degree and Brotha Lynch's parts sounding distinctive to each rappers verses. Two rappers who have been making tight cuts with each other since Loaded. Lynch spits one of the best verses I've heard from him in a long while, more of the classical Lynch you're used to hearing. First Degree puts it down on his verses. A tight ass song overall, probably my favorite song on the album.
4) "Champion!"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E. & Phonk Beta
Mixing it up here, The DE makes a song talking about John Madden Football. He talks about some games against other rappers in the beginning and then the song begins. The rest of the song he talks about being a champion in a few different aspects of life. A solid song, the beat isn't quite as good as the previous two songs, but it has a good feel to it.
5) "Mr. Pops"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
A tight beat right here, more of that slower, darker feel to it. Some street lyrics on this song, talking about some driveby's and some Sacramento gangsta record labels who put Sac on the map. A solid song overall.
6) "You Picked the Wrong Day to Piss Me Off"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
Definately a little something different for this track. A more uptempo sound with more musical instruments in the background. He talks about people living their life for material possessions, gangs and political issues. The only thing I'm not feeling about it is the way he sings the song. He goes for a high pitch sound, I look past it though and focus on the strong lyrics. It's a very good song overall, you have to listen closely and hear what DE is talking about, a good song besides the way he sings it.
7) "I am Eddie D."
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
This song is a shout out to DE's uncle Eddie D. Colen. It's an instrumental track with DE saying Eddie's name in the background. The beat is solid and there is some nice background instruments playing. A DE tradition to include an instrumental track.
8) "Neba Far Away"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
A little bit of Latin flare to this track with the acoustical guitar. It's a bit of a love ballad in a sense. Not many lyrics by DE, but the strength of the song comes from the guitar work. A decent song, not really in my taste much, but I can appreciate the music.
9) "You Want Me?" ft. Be Gee
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
Be Gee starts it off on the mic with a coo verse. The beat is coo. First Degree comes much tighter on the mic than Be Gee. The tracks just fits his style better and the beat is tailored to his flow more than Be Gee. A solid song overall, I'm feeling it.
10) "Entrepreneur's Nightmare"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
A coo beat to get things started, the piano is a little awkward though. I can't really get a handle on this song, exactly what he's talking about, it's a dream he explains at the end of the song, but during the dream it seems very weird. A unique song, not really into this one as much, a little too weird for me.
11) "Showtime"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
This is another one of my favorite tracks on the album. The beat is tight and gets your head moving. DE is backstage before a show he's going to perform in. He talks with a girl. I like the hook to the song a lot, the girl who sings it has a nice voice and the clip of the fans shouting damn that DE! is tight. A clean sounding song overall, I'm feeling it.
12) "Lone Stranger"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E. & Phonk Beta
A coo laid back beat for this song. More of that classic weird DE music on this track. He talks about being a lone stranger coming up in the world. A coo song overall, more typical DE weirdness.
13) "White Girls on Drugs" (interlude)
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
A very weird intro into the next song. Some girls talking in the background, that's about it.
14) "White Girls on Drugs"
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
A tight sounding beat to get this track started with. Another weird topic from DE. He talks about white girls on drugs coming to his shows. The lyrics are clean and the beat is tight with a good chorus. A good song overall, I'm feeling it, definately a little something different.
15) "Fahrenheit Shnippits" Be Gee, Lilla D'Mone, M Sane, Fahrenheit Instrumania! Level B
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
These are some snippits from upcoming or recently released albums. The first is from Be Gee - "The Postcard," it sounds like tight jam, a coo sounding beat as Be Gee comes tight on the mic. The second is from Lilla D'Mone - "Music Trance" it's a mix of R&B, pop and jazz. The third is from M Sane's - "Pimping 'N Panderin'" as DE clears up some beef rumors. The beat is tight on this clip, but I'm not a big fan of M Sane's voice. The final snippit is from DE's next project, the sequel to his first instrumental album. A coo cut with some guitar work and some solid background sounds and instruments.
16) "Dead Man Walking" (Fahrenheit remix)
Produced by: First Degree The D.E.
DE does a remix of "Dead Man Walking" from Brotha Lynch's album Season of Da Siccness. There is a little bit of a remix to the beat, but the lyrics are the same. I think Lynch has got him, but DE holds it down and makes this version just as tight as the original. A tight way to end the album, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
Overall this was definately a good album from First Degree. Once again I find it hard to sit down and do a track by track review of this man because he comes with such a unique and hard to figure out what the hell he's saying style. But after about 50 listens I sat down came up with this. The production is good throughout the album with plenty of good background music to complement the beats. There were only a couple features, but Brotha Lynch's verse on the third track was tight, back to his old style on the mic. First Degree once again proves he can mix up tight production with solid lyrics on the micraphone. He throws in gangsta, political rap, a love song and plain weird all together. It's a good album, but I think if you're a first DE listener you might have the wrong impression about this album. This is definately an album that needs to be run through your player at least 10 times to understand what's going on and even that might now be enough. In any case I enjoyed it, not quite as good as DAMN THAT DE! or Planet Zero, but I liked it more than Big Black Bat.
Overall Rating = 5/5
Great review bro, suprised me when I read it cause I know you aint into that wierd shit like me, I definetly agree with you, the lyrics are the KEY here, I'm hopin the next album DE can combine that HARD BEAT with them REAL lyrics..thats the exact combonation im lookin for. Say some str8 from tha heart real shit, but on a hard ass beat, that one would normally jus wanna get gangsta on,,,,,yea, give em from the Gut on that tip DE!!! Much respect