Customer Reviews

Ahmad

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

People here seem to be debating if Ahmad was hardcore-- if he was real or tough or could rap. Hmm. In all the years that I've owned this CD, I never particuarly thought about that....

This is and was the happiest rap CD I've ever heard. Even on the one track where Ahmad is talking about getting jumped and shot at (yea, there is one...) it doesn't seem to ruin his whole vibe. Which might be a sign that this was written when he was eighteen. Or it might be a sign that this CD was meant as a party CD-- something to bump to in a car or on a porch-- and not riddled with a lot of the existential garbage (i.e. reality) that was coming out of the West Coast camps when this disc was released.

I only have this disc on tape (yea, it was for the car....) and I'd advise you that if, for some reason you're in the market for this, get it before it's totally gone from stores.

It's a really tight CD.....

Ahmad came onto the seen back in 1994 with his self-named album and I remember when "Back In The Day"(Remix) was first played on the radio, I said this cat is going to have some longevity in him because he had a style that could go for years and that song was the only song that I heard on the radio until I went and bought the CD a year ago. The CD is fill with great ol' school cuts but the best song on the CD is "We Want The Funk"(w/the late Roger Troutman) in which Roger is laying down the vocoder on wax. Now the original "Back In The Day" is cool cut but it did take a while to grow on me. Some other cool tracks are "You Gotta Be...", "The Jones", "The Palladium", "Can I Party?", & "Ordinary People". Another good thing about this CD is that this CD does not have a lot of explicit lyrics in which everybody of all ages will enjoy. Great west coast classic!!!

I love all types of music. So natually I am a hip hop advocate. I love to debate agaist people who say that hip hop is not real music. This album helps me prove that even today. When most rap has only one subject of big named hundreds, rims, and bling. Old school hip hop like, Ahmad, will always hold the true form of hip hop. Smashing bass lines and other jazzy beats, like a stringy guitar or a backround wind instrument loops in many of his songs always touching on the Blues and Jazz roots that west coast rap should be about. Ahmad is and will always be one of my all time favorites.

Check out his new album when it releases, 4th Avenue Jones, No Plan B

This brings back memories of when hip-hop was legit. Excelent lyrics, mellow highs and smooth lows. a definate must have for Old School Hip-Hop fans.

This CD is like nuevo-old school hip hop or something. It's the kind of CD that you would just chill out to sitting on your front porch. I think that Ahmad was vastly underrated as an emcee. Yeah, everyone remembers "Back in the Day," but until you listen to the joints on this CD, you don't realize that he a very thoughtful, introspective person. Plus he was only 18 when he made this.

Ahmad's Self titled album Ahmad is everythang of what westcoast rap is. Ahmad is did a lot of this cd on his own he played his own instruments and did a lot of the back up vocals. In this cd you'll find a lot of samples (almost every song is a sample) which makes that much more interesting to listen to. The 1st single "Back In The Day," is all about bass and funky string gutairs, I think the single went under 20 on the charts, so it was a pretty big hit. "Freak" is also a remix, and Ahmad shows off some more story telling. The second realesed song was "You Gotta Be," where Ahmad talks about whut u gotta be and gotta do to survive and get respect from everyone else, and more story telling. The funky track "Can I Party," has got that fast G-funk feel to it. "The Jones" and "Homeboys First," are well above average songs as well and got major bass. "Back In The Day (Remix)" is in my opinion better then the original "Back In The Day" but there is also "Back In The Day (Jeep Mix)" theres really no need for this song but he made it and its on there. Ahmads debut album is a G-funk classic, and full of samples of 60's, 70's songs. This is truly a Bumpin' CD and the great production werk and ahmads nasal voice and insturment playing give it a perfect 5 star.

Great hip hop with a message. Some of the tracks sounded like fill rather than from the heart, but over all very well done.

An excellent lyricist with a smooth voice and great flow, Ahmad (who was only 18 when he made this), delivers an upbeat, laid-back street tale about making the best of growing up in a poor neighborhood, reminiscing about the joys of being a kid on his huge hit "Back In The Day," trying to keep from going under ("The Jones"), enjoying the local party atmosphere ("The Palladium"), and basically proving that it is entirely possible to overcome the troubles faced by growing inner-city kids.

When I think about my favorite west coast rap artist's, Digital Underground, Pharcyde and Ahmad come to mind. Why? Because they were (simply put) some of the best groups and had the most gifted lyricists. In a time where California rappers traded mic skills for shock value and gangsta image, few rappers could even -mildly- compare to those on the East Coast. While Ahmad raps in a voice reminiscent of Pharcyde's Fatlip, his flows are unlike any Cali rap artist at that time. He would drop internal rhymes where you wouldn't expect it "his momma this, his momma that/then he get mad and wanna scrap/ we stay mad about/ ten minutes then it's like back on the bike" and often employed smooth 70's funk/soul backdrops. While it's true that Ahmad tackled lighter topics than his contemporaries his flows were way better than most California rappers PERIOD. Think about it...Ice Cube had the backing of the Bomb Squad with some sweet backdrops but his rhyming schemes and flow were pretty simple. Snoop Dogg had a more acrobatic rapping style, but he was largely building on the ragga influence in rap that was in at the time. Snoop was an alright rapper, but not great and not anywhere as complex as those in the east (I can say this growing up in California). While it's true that some songs (regrettably) on this album were sleepers, songs like "back in the day," "You gotta be," "We want the funk," are excellent. Ahmad dosent't get the recognition he deserves. Some people have compared Ahmad to Skee-lo (who's "i wish" was a pop smash in '95). While it's true that both skee-lo and ahmad focused on light topics, ski-lo was no where near as good a lyricist and definitely more of a pop rapper. Ahmad's done ok with 4th ave Jones, but he will go down as another victim passed by pop-culture.

I had this tape a long time ago, and I loved it then. I love it now too, because it reminds me of times when my cousin and I were close. It's old school now but I still love it. This CD is tight even if it is old.