Customer Reviews

Big Thangs

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

 

 

As Ant Banks put it "I got the sickest mothafu**as I could get my hands on". And he did- the list of performers includes superstars such as Ice Cube, Too $hort, 2Pac, Spice 1, WC and many many other great rappers. The album has Ant's great production on it and every single song on this album is tight as f***!! The only problem with is that it's got only 10 tracks and the rest is interludes by some great rappers. It would be better if rappers like Dr. Dre, Coolio, B-Legit, MC Ant and Ice T and also ANt Banks himself dropped a verse or two instead of just talking for a few seconds. Anyway, a GREAT album from the Bay Area's greatest producer Ant Banks.

Ant Banks comes up with his 4th "album." The thing is, he does not really rap, but he produces all the tracks. His beats are so awesome, they make classics alone. He takes G-Funk to another level. Another thing, Ant Banks beats fit all the rappers' styles ranging from the bay's 4-Tay, E-40, Too $hort, all the way down to the L.A. area's heavy hittas CJ Mac, Mack 10, WC, Allfrumtha I, Ice Cube. My favorite 2 tracks are "4 Tha Hustlas" (Too $hort, 2Pac, and MC Breed. The beat is so syrupy, and the twangy and rock and roll guitar riffs add seasoning; it is easily one of Banksta's best beats ever. And the other is "Hard Knox" with WC and J-Dubb. Banks laces them up with a mobb-style-yet-funky beat, and J-Dubb and WC kill the track with harsh, relentless flows. It's too bad the beat on the intro was not a beat of an actual song, because it would have made a classic fo real. It would have been nice to cut the interludes and include Ant Banks rapping, but it is undeniable, even though, he does not rap, he is the star!! Don't get me wrong, the rappers do an awesome job too.

Hail the Big Bad Ass. This guy has got the funk in his veins more than any other modern day producer. Hes grooves are thick with deep bass and hard slappin beats and with that it doesnt matter who raps over the top of them. Its a shame that 2 of the hardest beats on this album are the intro and cutaloof which dont get the deserved respect for how funky they are. The stand out full length track in my opinion is Hard Nox with hard rythmers WC and J-Dubb. Besides the annoying interludes by Ice-T and co the most disappointing track from my opinion is actually Big Thangs even though its supposedly the pick track to the critics. It lacks the same hard driving beats as the others. But one flaw and I might add its a slight floor to as the song isnt that bad doesnt stop me from giving this album top rating and being Bankstas most consistant album to date.

if the west coast rap scene had'nt died after deathrow's demise this would have blown up banks just raps on one song abd the first cut has ice cube and too short going back to basics abd other stars include the underground rap heroes e40, wc, k dee, mack 10, king t, rappin 4tay, bad n fluentz, spice 1, j dubb and others.

Ant Banks is one of the main founders of the "Yay Area Sound". He's done production for Too $hort, E-40, and Spice 1. He's laid the foundation up in here.

The fact that he pulled together all these artists to make a compilation album shows just what he can do. I liked the fact that he teamed up artists on each song that you normally wouldn't hear together. Great idea. The lyrics were kickin' and the beats were tight on this album. If you like the Bay Area sound, be sure to check this one out.

This cd is burnin up finally rap's best producer lays out a phat cd this cd has everybody including my 2 favorite rappers ever 2pac and Spice 1, he also hooks up with greats like mc breed, Ice-t and King t I just wish he would rap more in it but anywayz this cd is phat.

Anthony Banks' fourth album "Big Thangs" to me is a solid LP. Like many reviewers say, this sounds like more of a compilation than a regular album. On this here, Ant Banks just produces every track, and he does a good job for the most part. The funky production still inhabits here just many other songs here he has produced, but they are no where near as awesome as Get in Where You Fit In or The Big [...] (which were classics in my opinion), but it's still a good job. The guests on here range from garbage to great. Also most of the guests on here are from northern California, colaborating from many estabolished artists from southern California, which is also great since I'm a huge fan of west coast rap music.

The good songs here are actually on the first half of the album. An easy standout would have been the title track "Big Thangs" featuring Too Short and Ice Cube. I believe that it is the best track on this album. Another standout would be the bragging "4 Tha Hustlas" featuring Too Short, Tupac (R.I.P.), and MC Breed. Spice 1 and King T would team up for the song "West Ridin'", another dope track. A few solid tracks on here like "Can't Stop" featuring Mack 10 and E-40, which also appeared on Mack 10's Recipe album. Bad-N-Fluenz pay tribute to their deceased member Rappin' Ron (R.I.P.) on the song "Time Is Tickin'".

After that song, things go down hill, as it gets repetative. I'm not feeling "Cutaluff" with Slip Capone. "Make Money" is an average song featuring CJ Mac (who I didn't like at first, but is starting to grow on me) and K-Dee. "Fien" featuring AllFromThaI is another skippable song. Also the R&B sounding song "You Want Me Back" with Audrian just isn't working. Also Banks' looses his footing on the production towards the end of the album as well, not to mention I wouldn't have minded hearing a verse from him since he doesn't rap on this album at all. And I personally didn't like the skits as it seemed like it was filler (like the one B-Legit and MC Ant leaves messages wondering why they aren't on the album).

Overall "Big Thangs" is a solid album with some good songs. As I said before, most of the good songs are in the beginning of this album. Banks can drop some funky production, but the album overall doesn't have too much to offer. Maybe the bar was set too high because in the early 90's he made some of the best beats in the decade. But all in all, this album is worth checking out. Also this album is out of print, and you shouldn't pay no more than $15 for it, or if possible, wait until you find it in the used bin. Peace.

Lyrics: N/A
Production: B+
Guest Appearances: C+
Musical Vibes: C+

My Top 5 Tracks:
1. Big Thangs (featuring Too Short and Ice Cube)
2. West Ridin' (featuing King Tee and Spice 1)
3. 4 Tha Hustlas (featuring Too Short, Tupac, and MC Breed)
4. Hard Knox (featuring W.C. and J-Dubb)
5. Time Is Tickin' (featuring Bad-N-Fluenz)

Honorable Mention Track:
1. Can't Stop (featuring E-40 and Mack 10)

LOL, I think it's funny that Amazon wouldn't post my review (after submitting it many times) because I posted a link to an album that had a "bad" word in it. Y'all so stupid.

i found the beats on this disc to be the usual nicely produced product of ant banks', but most of the lyrics weren't anything substantial. my favorite cuts were big thangs, cant stop and 4 tha hustlas. check these out, dub 'em to a tape and throw away the rest of the cd. peace.

Ok car rolla's this ones for you! This album has a nice gathering of people from 2pac to Ice Cube. Yet sorry I picked it up to play for a club and on this note this album offered nothing. I see all the thug wanna be's running in to get this yet the majority will never pick this one up.