Natural Born Dankstas - Collector's Item
1) "Represent the Bay"
A pretty short track to get the album started off with. Rux does the production and lays down an ok beat, really nothing special about it though. Mdash starts it off with the first verse and then Tilt finishes off the song. I think Tilt has the better verse of the two. A decent short track to start the album with.
2) "Smashin'" ft. Stizon Skrilla
A much better beat for this song done by Mo Love, who does a majority of the production for the album. Three pretty good verses right here. Tilt and Mdash come with a good verse each and Stizon Skrilla makes for a good feature. I like the production more on this song and the verses fit well with it. A good song overall.
3) "Fuck Somebody" ft. PSD, Mr. Droop
A slower paced beat by Mo Love for this song. Mdash comes the hardest on this song. I think they should have left Mr. Droop off of this song. The verses are ok, but I don't like the hook at all. They just talk about getting it on with some girls. A decent song overall.
4) "Doin it Big" ft. Sir Moj, Tweedy
Another beat by Mo Love, this one is pretty good, not the best beat on the album, but it's good. I don't like Tweedy's singing on the hook, I think the need a better female singer on all the hooks that she is on. Sir Moj spits the best verse to me, I like his style on the mic and his lyrics. Mdash and Tilt come with a solid verse each, it's just the hook that I'm not feeling much. A good song, could have been a lot better with a better beat.
5) "They Didn't Know" (Mdash solo)
Tatem 1 lays down the beat for this song, nothing special, but it has a good pace to it for Mdash to flow to. Mdash gets to showcase himself solo on this song. I like the hook he spits here and the verses are pretty good too, I like him better on faster paced flows like this one. A pretty good song overall.
6) "Stay Out My Face"
This is my favorite song on the album. The beat done by Rux and Mondo Manage is tight as fuck and gets your head moving. Mdash and Tilt rip the mic on this song talking about staying the fuck out of their faces. I just wish there were more songs like this on the album, this is by far the best production and I like the mic work a lot by both rappers.
7) "Slappem Wit the Bankroll"
A pretty good beat done by Mo Love for this song. Tilt starts it off on the mic with the first verse and he also does the hook. I'm feeling Mdash's work on the mic more than Tilts. I like Mdash's style more with his rough voice. A pretty good song, I think it might have needed a better chorus though. A good song overall.
8) "Explicit Nature"
A slower paced beat done by Mo Love and I'm not feeling it much. I think Mdash sounds better with a faster paced beat, much faster than this beat. Tilt sounds better on this one because his voice style of delivery sounds better with this type of beat. A decent track at best, really I'm just feeling a verse or two and that's it.
9) "Birth Control"
I like this song a lot more than the past few. It has a faster paced beat done by Mo Love. They talk all about using birth control and what happens when you don't. I like both rappers on this song and the chorus is good too. This is one of my favorite songs on the album, a good match up of beat, flows and lyrics on this song.
10) "Gafflin'"
A harder song right here. Mo Love lays down a good beat to get things started. Mdash comes hard on this song with a hard style on the mic. Tilt comes the same way with more hard lyrics. More like a gangsta rap song than just hip-hop to me. I'm feeling this song to the fullest. A tight beat mixed with good mic work. The only problem is that the song is only like a minute and a half long. Still good what there is though.
11) "Crap Tables" ft. Rux
They talk about hitting the casinos and the crap tables on this one. Rux has a tight verse on this song, I like his delivery. The beat is done again by Mo Love and he does a good job for the most part. The verses are good and the hook has a good sound to it as well. A pretty good song overall, I'm feeling it.
12) "Accumulate Paper" ft. Tweedy
I like the actual beat, but I'm not a big fan of the background sounds by Mo Love. The flows are good though, except for the hook by Tweedy, I don't like the way she sings and when she tries to hit the high notes it doesn't sound good at all. Besides the hook this is pretty good song, just make sure to keep your ears closed during the chorus.
13) "Touchin Every Angle" ft. A-Wax, Mo Love
A slower paced beat done by Mo Love for this song, I'm feeling it too. The hook is weak as hell though. I think it's Mo Love on the hook, but whoever it is needs to stay away from the mic. A-Wax has an alright verse. Tilt and Mdash come solid on the mic, Titl has the best verse of the three though, he comes tight as fuck. It's a tight song except for the weak ass hook.
14) "Permanent Facelifts" ft. Marsh Nut
Rux handles the production for this song and lays down an ok beat. I like the hook to this song a lot. The verses are solid by all three rappers. Marsh Nut makes for a good feature. Tilt and Mdash come with a good verse each. A solid song overall, I'm feeling it.
15) "There Ain't No Match" ft. Mac & A.K.
Another beat done by Rux, this one is tight. Tilt has the first verse and comes hard, Mdash is next and spits a tight verse too. A.K. has the third verse and spits a solid rhyme. Mac finishes off the song with a tight verse. No hook to the song though, wish there was one. A tight ass song overall though, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
16) "Slidin' Thru" ft. Slim, Tweedy
A decent beat done by Mo Love, not a big fan of it. The verses aren't that great on this song, I think both Mdash and Tilt have better songs than this on the album. Once again I'm not feeling Tweedy on the hook, although this is probably her best work of the three songs she's on. Slim has a decent verse, but he doesn't make this song that much better. Not really feeling this song much.
17) "Wish You Were Here (Larry Logan)"
This is a tribute song to Larry Logan, Tilt's uncle. Mdash doesn't have a verse, but spits a few vocals on the hook. It makes for a nice tribute and a good song to finish the album with.
Overall this was a decent release from NBD. I think there are a lot of rough edges that need to worked out, but the framework for a good album is in the mix. The production needs to be stepped up a notch on their next release, I wasn't really into a majority of the beats, there were a few songs that had some hard slaps and head bobs, but for the most part I found myself not liking the production. The features were pretty good for the majority. Mdash and Tilt came with some good mic work on most of the tracks. The big problem with this album to me is the hooks. I wasn't feeling Tweedy and most of the songs needed a better chorus. However, with all that negative stuff out of the way I think Mdash and Tilt have a good mic style with some solid lyrics, they just need the other ingredients to put together a tight release. A decent release from Natural Born Dankstas.
Overall Rating = 3/5
1) "Represent the Bay"
A pretty short track to get the album started off with. Rux does the production and lays down an ok beat, really nothing special about it though. Mdash starts it off with the first verse and then Tilt finishes off the song. I think Tilt has the better verse of the two. A decent short track to start the album with.
2) "Smashin'" ft. Stizon Skrilla
A much better beat for this song done by Mo Love, who does a majority of the production for the album. Three pretty good verses right here. Tilt and Mdash come with a good verse each and Stizon Skrilla makes for a good feature. I like the production more on this song and the verses fit well with it. A good song overall.
3) "Fuck Somebody" ft. PSD, Mr. Droop
A slower paced beat by Mo Love for this song. Mdash comes the hardest on this song. I think they should have left Mr. Droop off of this song. The verses are ok, but I don't like the hook at all. They just talk about getting it on with some girls. A decent song overall.
4) "Doin it Big" ft. Sir Moj, Tweedy
Another beat by Mo Love, this one is pretty good, not the best beat on the album, but it's good. I don't like Tweedy's singing on the hook, I think the need a better female singer on all the hooks that she is on. Sir Moj spits the best verse to me, I like his style on the mic and his lyrics. Mdash and Tilt come with a solid verse each, it's just the hook that I'm not feeling much. A good song, could have been a lot better with a better beat.
5) "They Didn't Know" (Mdash solo)
Tatem 1 lays down the beat for this song, nothing special, but it has a good pace to it for Mdash to flow to. Mdash gets to showcase himself solo on this song. I like the hook he spits here and the verses are pretty good too, I like him better on faster paced flows like this one. A pretty good song overall.
6) "Stay Out My Face"
This is my favorite song on the album. The beat done by Rux and Mondo Manage is tight as fuck and gets your head moving. Mdash and Tilt rip the mic on this song talking about staying the fuck out of their faces. I just wish there were more songs like this on the album, this is by far the best production and I like the mic work a lot by both rappers.
7) "Slappem Wit the Bankroll"
A pretty good beat done by Mo Love for this song. Tilt starts it off on the mic with the first verse and he also does the hook. I'm feeling Mdash's work on the mic more than Tilts. I like Mdash's style more with his rough voice. A pretty good song, I think it might have needed a better chorus though. A good song overall.
8) "Explicit Nature"
A slower paced beat done by Mo Love and I'm not feeling it much. I think Mdash sounds better with a faster paced beat, much faster than this beat. Tilt sounds better on this one because his voice style of delivery sounds better with this type of beat. A decent track at best, really I'm just feeling a verse or two and that's it.
9) "Birth Control"
I like this song a lot more than the past few. It has a faster paced beat done by Mo Love. They talk all about using birth control and what happens when you don't. I like both rappers on this song and the chorus is good too. This is one of my favorite songs on the album, a good match up of beat, flows and lyrics on this song.
10) "Gafflin'"
A harder song right here. Mo Love lays down a good beat to get things started. Mdash comes hard on this song with a hard style on the mic. Tilt comes the same way with more hard lyrics. More like a gangsta rap song than just hip-hop to me. I'm feeling this song to the fullest. A tight beat mixed with good mic work. The only problem is that the song is only like a minute and a half long. Still good what there is though.
11) "Crap Tables" ft. Rux
They talk about hitting the casinos and the crap tables on this one. Rux has a tight verse on this song, I like his delivery. The beat is done again by Mo Love and he does a good job for the most part. The verses are good and the hook has a good sound to it as well. A pretty good song overall, I'm feeling it.
12) "Accumulate Paper" ft. Tweedy
I like the actual beat, but I'm not a big fan of the background sounds by Mo Love. The flows are good though, except for the hook by Tweedy, I don't like the way she sings and when she tries to hit the high notes it doesn't sound good at all. Besides the hook this is pretty good song, just make sure to keep your ears closed during the chorus.
13) "Touchin Every Angle" ft. A-Wax, Mo Love
A slower paced beat done by Mo Love for this song, I'm feeling it too. The hook is weak as hell though. I think it's Mo Love on the hook, but whoever it is needs to stay away from the mic. A-Wax has an alright verse. Tilt and Mdash come solid on the mic, Titl has the best verse of the three though, he comes tight as fuck. It's a tight song except for the weak ass hook.
14) "Permanent Facelifts" ft. Marsh Nut
Rux handles the production for this song and lays down an ok beat. I like the hook to this song a lot. The verses are solid by all three rappers. Marsh Nut makes for a good feature. Tilt and Mdash come with a good verse each. A solid song overall, I'm feeling it.
15) "There Ain't No Match" ft. Mac & A.K.
Another beat done by Rux, this one is tight. Tilt has the first verse and comes hard, Mdash is next and spits a tight verse too. A.K. has the third verse and spits a solid rhyme. Mac finishes off the song with a tight verse. No hook to the song though, wish there was one. A tight ass song overall though, I'm feeling it to the fullest.
16) "Slidin' Thru" ft. Slim, Tweedy
A decent beat done by Mo Love, not a big fan of it. The verses aren't that great on this song, I think both Mdash and Tilt have better songs than this on the album. Once again I'm not feeling Tweedy on the hook, although this is probably her best work of the three songs she's on. Slim has a decent verse, but he doesn't make this song that much better. Not really feeling this song much.
17) "Wish You Were Here (Larry Logan)"
This is a tribute song to Larry Logan, Tilt's uncle. Mdash doesn't have a verse, but spits a few vocals on the hook. It makes for a nice tribute and a good song to finish the album with.
Overall this was a decent release from NBD. I think there are a lot of rough edges that need to worked out, but the framework for a good album is in the mix. The production needs to be stepped up a notch on their next release, I wasn't really into a majority of the beats, there were a few songs that had some hard slaps and head bobs, but for the most part I found myself not liking the production. The features were pretty good for the majority. Mdash and Tilt came with some good mic work on most of the tracks. The big problem with this album to me is the hooks. I wasn't feeling Tweedy and most of the songs needed a better chorus. However, with all that negative stuff out of the way I think Mdash and Tilt have a good mic style with some solid lyrics, they just need the other ingredients to put together a tight release. A decent release from Natural Born Dankstas.
Overall Rating = 3/5