Customer Reviews

A1 Yola

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Another flawless release by Esham. The man is a hard worker and deserves more recognition for his work. Haven't heard a more original artist since Esham. Even if you dont like rap you'll like this. Any of y'all with DVD players in your rides, get this, this comes with a DVD version of the album which you can bump in the car with a music video for each song. A must have album right here. Esham has never released anything less than perfect so go get this!!

Best Album I've heard in a long time. Ignore the ignorant juggalo review complaining about the FREE videos included with this CD and no guest artists. Esham paid for those videos with his own $ so you could have visuals to go along with the album. Low budget but I loved all of them with the exception of 'Turbulance.' Way better than the last two Esham releases in my oppinion.

This is ESHAM's 3 release on psychopathic and his best work since the Tongues album. It took the man 3 years to make inluding shooting the videos across america. This album has mixture of Eshams older albums mixed with the New ones like Tongues and has a life of its own. I have listened to it 5 times with no distractions and i like it more and more. Definetly one that you will like more and more with each listen. Eshams production was improved from REPENTANCE to A1 Yola even though i like REPENTANCE this A1 Yola is much BETTER. He is back to his RUTHLESS self on some of the tracks and esham even adds a ??? mark track like he used on the older albums like BruceWayne. I was really hyped up when i heard eshams brother James Smite aka DEADBOY on the track YOCA COLA. That was really tight cause any old school RLP fan can appreciate a track with DEADBOY represanting. I truly enjoyed every track on this album. The ONLY thing i skip because ive heard it before on TONGUES whould be the hidden track PILL ME on here. I love that song but i didnt think it was necessary to have it again. No guest appearances here which shows eshams artistry and solo talant as an MC and his Delivery is A1!!! This album reminds me of Tongues/Deadflowers/JudgementDay/Repentance as far as what to expect if you havent heard it yet. Overall i give it a 5 out of 5. Very addicting album which wont be out of my cd player for a while. Anyone that hasent really heard it yet i whould suggest you buy it and not download it because this was worth every penny. I paid $13.99 plus you get videos for 90% of the tracks on this album incuding in a cd/dvd package. The packaging is really nice with the slide out case. It has a nice album cover that they dont show on amazon or anywhere once you take it out the sleeve. If you are into RAW creative original rap or even a rock fan that likes rap/rock collaborations then you will appreciate this album. I recommend to listen to this album on first listen on a pair of headphones and listen to it thru with no distractions and enjoy the production and music and orginality. After a few listens on a cd player and headphones i whould put it in a car with a nice system and i can guarantee it will be on another level cause you will feel this album and every note hit!!!!! A1 Yola is out cold guys...Definetly Recommended...

Excellent Esham album. Definitely worth buying, and a real turn up for the books considering his first average album on Psychopathic, Repentance (something about Psychopathic will do that to an artist, I think). Beats are incredible. Same good old Esham verses, with a few stand-outs when he goes back to his rank, dark old self on a couple of tracks in a way I haven't seen for a few albums now.

Now, what the previous young reviewer with the clown make-up on might have wrongly led you to believe is that you've come here to buy a Steven Spielberg film, or - God forbid - an ICP album. This is neither of those things... I'm sure of it. Firstly, the DVD is completely irrelevant to the quality of the album, believe it or not, but look - I think it's good viewing if you're drinking with your mates and playing through the album, even if he is just "in one place rapping a song" (maybe the young Juggalo wants him to do a handstand or a can-can?). It's lowbrow but if you're anything like me you expected that.

And secondly, of course the lyrics get a bit repetitive, or cliched. Since when haven't Esham's lyrics been like that? There are exceptions earlier in his career, I reckon, or from around the Dead Flowerz era, but on the whole he raps a lot of cheesy lines, a lot of the time. If you don't like or know that, don't pretend you know Esham because you don't. (It's hard for me to imagine where a Juggalo gets off talking about the lyrics of other rappers, but anyway.) You buy an Esham album for the beats and the dark style, not because you're expecting lyrical breakthroughs.

If you really love Esham, you'll feel this album. But if you only hold him in regard because of the label he's on right now, you're going to have difficulty getting into it - because Esham does hardcore rap and that's not something that Psychopathic really does, or has ever done. But stick with it because Esham's been in the game for around 15 years now and any man who can still put out hot albums after all that time ought to be heard.

Esham is back with A-1 Yola, one of his best albums in years. Far better than Repentance, this is just like the old Esham we used to know. Only 1 or 2 songs i ain't really feeling at the moment, but after a few more listens I'm sure that will probably change! All hip-hop fans MUST get this. Can't get this out of the stereo lately. Support the detroit legend, underground legend, king of acid rap, ESHAM. Buy this, and enjoy the DVD which features a video for EVERY TRACK! That's right, EVERY TRACK gets a video, which comes on the DVD which comes with every cd. It's a 2CD album for the price of a single disc.

Favorite songs: Since Day One, Bird After Bird, Yoca Cola, Wicket, Fall Into The Fire, ?, One Hundred.

Really though, every track is a banger (bar 2 songs I ain't feeling but everyone else I know who has this loves those 2 songs!). Get this, you will never regret it.



Tracklist is as follows:

1. Since Day One
2. Turbulence
3. Bolivia
4. Bird After Bird
5. Justa Hustler/Pill Me
6. Yoca Cola
7. Fall into the Fire
8. Wicket
9. Enemies
10. Help Me
11. Servin'/F*-ked Up in the Head
12. Bangin' Dope
13. One Hundred
14. Gangsta Dedication
15. Unhappy/The President
16. ?
17. Smiley Faces

If I's gonna introduce someone to Esham, Psychopathic Records, or even hip hop for their first time, I'd play them this album.

About half the album just grabs you on the first listen. It's an adrenaline rush of an album. The raps are strong, dark, and sometimes sentimental in a good way.

This CD isn't just more fronting about being a gangsta--it's about a man torn between fantasies of wealth, power and violence, and morality and god. Near the end of the CD, he introduces us to the biggest gangster of them all.

Bolivia *begs* to be in the soundrtrack of a qulity gangster film--right there in the montage scene.

As for the DVD--I like it. I'm impressed what one person can do in editing. Since the camera doesn't move, Esham relies on strobe-fast cuts, and it generally works well. It's an extra, but stantds on its own. Heck, *THANKS* for it.

Cd was off the chain! into a loop splitting your wig loose twice dip it in soy sauce chewed up with rice.. man I dont know what im talking about but the album is tight work go out and get it woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I am writing this review just a few days after Esham has announced that he is leaving Psychopathic Records. Before I review this classic Esham album, I'll briefly give you my thoughts on his departure. As a business decision, this could be a smart move or a very stupid one, depending on how you look at it. My guess is that when Esham signed to Psychopathic, he was probably not making as much money as he would have liked and was also not selling as many units as he would have liked. Therefore, signing to Psychopathic was obviously a smart move... you are GUARANTEED to sell several thousand records to a pre-existing fanbase that will buy anything that is released from the label. Not to mention selling tons of merchandise, being booked on national tours, and getting your name out there to many people that otherwise would not have heard/cared about your music. It is highly likely that Esham was always planning on leaving Psychopathic once he made enough money to restart Reel Life Productions, as well as building his own personal bank account too. Think about it... when he joined Psychopathic, Reel Life was shut down, his brother was in jail, and Esham & Natas weren't selling what they used to be. Then after a few years of rolling with the Hatchet, Esham sold thousands of records, which allowed him to get some money in the bank to have a fresh start.

Some will call Esham an idiot for leaving a record label with all of these benefits, especially when he would be able to keep selling tons of records to the juggalo fanbase and making money off of other products (e.g. joint ventures like Soopa Villainz). I have no doubt that Esham will probably sell fewer records now that he if off of Psychopathic... but that doesn't necessarily make him stupid. I don't think that Esham ever had the intention of becoming a "down-for-life" Psychopathic act like everyone else. As a long-term goal, I think that he always wanted to be doing his own thing on his own label. Therefore, using Psychopathic as a way to get himself back on his feet was a smart move. As a result of his three years with the label, there are many juggalos out there that have been exposed to Esham and they will continue to buy his music and support him, even if he isn't signed to Psychopathic anymore. Plus, now that he is on his own, Esham won't have to give any royalties to Psychopathic -- all of the money will go to him and his label. As a business decision, I've gotta say that I understand what Esham did. When it comes down to it, business is all about money, and Esham is well aware of that. That's just the way it is -- Esham was never destined to be Psy forever. I liked him before he was on the label and I'll continue to support him when he is gone. Hopefully things were left on good terms, so there can still be future collaborations. I'd guess that ICP has to be slightly pissed off though, simply for the fact that Soopa Villainz was just getting started and now they'll have to cancel shows and figure out whether or not to scratch the whole project.

That being said, Esham's last release on Psychopathic Records is a masterpiece. This blows "Repentence" out of the water and it is clear that this record was made without a heavy Psychopathic influence (which is a good thing). I'll admit that I've only been down with Esham for about five years, so I'm not a day one fan. However, I've gotten to like a lot of Esham's material, old and new, and I'd say that this would be tied with "Tongues" as my favorite Esham CD. I liked the fact that there isn't one guest on the whole disc; that speaks volumes that he has the ability and talent to carry an entire album by himself. Here is my usual track-by-track breakdown:

1. Since Day One - (A) - A great opening track; Play this one in a good system -- it bumps well!!
2. Turbulence - (B-) - This is actually not one of my favorites. Not a bad song, but there are others that are much better. Plus we had already heard this on the Murder Dog compilation months before A.1. Yola dropped.
3. Bolivia - (C) - This is the first "single" off the album (which really means nothing when you are talking about an underground artist). Surprisingly, it's not very good -- similar to "Woo Woo Woo," it seems like this track was made to try to appeal to a broader audience. I may like this song more if I was lounging on the beach in the Caribbean because it has an "island" feel to it. But this isn't Esham at his best by any means.
4. Bird After Bird - (A-) - This is a great track. Catchy, in a perverse way. I love the drug references.
5. Just A Hustla - (F) - Why, oh why!! This sucks beyond belief. I won't even waste time telling you how bad it is.
5.5. Pill Me - (F) - Uhhh, this was on Tongues... wtf?! This song doesn't actually deserve an F, but I am so appalled by the fact that he put it on two different albums that I am giving it one anyway.
6. Yoca Cola - (A+) - One of my favorites on the whole album. A great song, with a speaking appearance by Esham's brother, aka. James, aka. Dead Boy, at the end.
7. Fall Into The Fire - (B) - This is another solid track. Very dark chorus, good raps too.
8. Wicket - (B) - If there were any song on the album that sounds like it has Psychopathic's influence, this would be it. It's still good though - has a Psy-sounding chorus.
9. Enemies - (A) - A great song about... well, enemies. Catchy beat, dope rhymes.
10. Help Me - (A+) - Another one of my favorites on the album. Very catchy. Cool intro.
11. Servin' - (B+) - I like this song; a lot of people seem to be complaining about the fact that this version is different than the version that was on the sampler. Well, I never listened to the sampler, so I'm not complaining.
11.5. Fxcked Up In The Head - (B) - This is a good hidden track. Has an old school feel to it.
12. Bangin' Dope - (A+) - Bangin' track. Awesome beat. Hardcore rhymes. Another favorite.
13. One Hundred - (A+) - When this was released as a B-side for the "Bolivia" single, I was shocked that this wasn't the main attraction. This is another one of the album's best tracks, WAY better than "Bolivia"!!! This should have been the first single instead.
14. Gangsta Dedication - (C) - Extremely average. The album seems to lose some steam after track 13.
15. Unhappy - (C-) - Not very good. Gives me a headache.
15.5. The President - (C+) - This song is the definition of a "filler" track. Doesn't add much to the album, but doesn't take anything away either.
16. ? - (B-) - Better than the last three tracks, but still not among the album's best.
17. Smiley Faces - (A-) - I know, I know. I should hate this track like everyone else. But I can't help it... it's a good "happy" song. Certainly not the wicked shxt, but a nice change of pace for Esham.

In conclusion, this is a classic Esham album!! I recommend it to all the suicidalists, all the juggalos, and mainstream rap fans that need a change of pace from the usual crap.

I've been following his career for quite some time now and he truly is one of the most under-appreciated rappers in the game. Esham seems to re-create himself with every album he puts out and it's truly amazing how one can stay innovative and fresh after being in the game for 15 + years. This album is no exception. The album starts strong with since day one, which has a return to roots feel. other stand out tracks on this album are Unhappy, Gangsta Dedication, Servin, Wicket, and Bird after Bird. The thing I noticed about this album is that it will appeal to a lot of different people with the variety of style he uses, it has a mix of dead flowers, mail D and tongues. If you are a hip hop fan check this out, if you haven't heard esham before i also recommend Mail D, Closed Casket, Tongues, and Dead Flowers.

Maybe.... if you hate psychopathic records and ICP like most people, because you are told they suck. If you had ACTUALLY listened to this you may like it, that is if you like horror rap. Otherwise if you dislike violence/rap/psychopathic records, DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER LOOKING AT THE TRACKLIST. and if you dislike Esham why waste your time/money buying this cd(LEVID999)? This cd in my view and many other juggalos/horrorcore fans is excellent. You wont hear average raps from esham like Dr. dre or 50 Cent, not that they arent any good. He just raps differnt, he doesnt talk about "rollin on 'dubs" or "getting crunk". He tells tales instead of throwing out slang words. He tells tales of his insanity and the murder of others. It is actually more entertaining to hear these wicked tales than to hear most of the artists today who really arent rapping about much. Each of his cds is like a story and each track sets the scene. Download some of it first, and if you like it buy it and support psychopathic records. Much clown love, dont let the haters get to you.