Born & Raised

Cormega | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 20, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: TRAFFIC ENT.
• ASIN: B002NVBSRS
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,531 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Born and Raised is Cormega's highly anticipated follow up to The True
Meaning which won the Source Magazine s prestigious Underground
album of the Year award in 2002 and his critically acclaimed 2001 debut
The Realness.
Cormega, real name Cory McKay, grew up in the Queensbridge Housing
Projects, forming childhood friendships with future rappers such as Nas,
Mobb Deep, Nature and Capone-N-Noreaga. Noted for his vivid and
poignant narratives about inner-city life, Mega gained notoriety in the 90s,
despite still being incarcerated, following a shout-out from Nas on his
song One Love on the classic Illmatic album.
After his release from prison in 1995, Cormega became determined to
pursue rapping. Nas featured Mega as a guest on Affirmative Action
from his second album It Was Written. From there Cormega started his
own record company, Legal Hustle Records and dropped the two
aforementioned releases.
Born and Raised features an all star cast of legendary producers including
DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock, LES, Buckwild, Havoc, Nottz,
Easy Mo Bee, Ayatollah, Fizzy Womack, and DR Period as well as
appearances from EMPD s Parish Smith, Brand Nubian s Grand Puba,
KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Tragedy Khadafi, Mobb Deep s Havoc and
Fame of MOP. This album is a must for any true Hip Hop fan.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cormega "Born & Raised"- 4.5 Stars, November 3, 2009

By 

Shaun Borowski (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Born & Raised (Audio CD)

Cormega has been one of my favorite artists since I started listening to hip hop a few years back. When I heard that his album was scheduled to drop in the 4th quarter this year, I was estatic. The production credits surfaced a couple months before the album dropped, and I deemed it album of the year before it came out. While not quite being there, the CD is still in my top 5 as of right now. Cormega brings the usual street tale rhymes that he's known for, while throwing in dope metaphors and harcore lyrics. Lyrically, this may be his best showing. Usually, his emotion really brings out his lyrical displays (as it does on more than a few tracks here), but it seems he fine tuned his writing so that wouldn't be necessary. Perhaps the best showing of this is on the Large Professor produced track, "Journey". He starts the track off by saying: "Life is a journey before I went the rap route/ I served bunnies off the bench like Stackhouse/ goin' in with no intention to back down/ my cocaine flow solidified I spit crack now." The production (as stated earlier) is handled by the best in the business. The lineup included such legends as Marley Marl, LES, Havoc, Easy Mo Bee, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Large Professor, Ayatolla, and Buckwild. Although the producers didn't throw their best tracks ever on this album, the production fits 'Mega perfectly. Journey (Large Professor), Dirty Game (DJ Premier), and Rapture (Ayatollah) all show this. The production seems much less dark than the rest of his albums; obviously showing Cormega trying to go a different direction with his music. The album has more guest spots than any 'Mega album before this, including Havoc, Lil Fame, Tragedy, PMD, Grand Puba, KRS-One, and Big Daddy Kane. Havoc (on two tracks) drops good verses, nothing incredible; the same goes for Tragedy. Lil Fame does the same, all the while having a hilarious line on Get It In: "My flow tighter than Kanye's clothes". In fact, everybody who shows up on the album gets outshined by 'Mega. KRS-One is really the only guest who seemed to bring the heat. Get It In is weaker than the rest of the album, and doesn't quite fit, IMO. Overall, the album is a great effort by Cormega, and should be recieved positively by fans, and non-fans alike. If you like that gritty NYC sound, Cormega's past albums, or great hip hop in general, I would reccommend checking this out, immediately.

PS: PMD sounds EXACTLY like Prodigy on Mega Fresh X. I literally thought it was P Double when I first played the track.

Standouts include- Love Your Family, Live And Learn, Make It Clear, Journey (personal favorite), Define Yourself, What Did I Do (third in line), Dirty Game (second favorite), Rapture (honorable mention), and Mega Fresh X.


Lyrics- 9.5/10
Production- 9/10
Guest Appearances- 8/10
Overall Sound- 9.5/10

4.5

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mega hasn't lost a step........., October 27, 2009

By 

Gordon "PS360 G4m3r!" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Born & Raised (Audio CD)

The poetic MC is back and has not lost it yet. He drops a great album even if it's not yet classic. I was surprised by this and wasn't exactly waiting for this. I saw this up to be released and pre-ordered it on the spot cause Mega never fails to impress IMO.

LEMME BREAK IT DOWN

- The beats are lackluster yet listenable. Its a rare combination that has no standouts, but just compliment Mega's amazing lyrics.

-Mega kept his lyrics street-poetic, so if you have The Realness and True Meaning, this is a VERY WELCOME addition

-NO BAD TRAX including the intro.

THE FINAL VERDICT...

When I write only a lil bit, it usually means there's not a lot to be said. Its just great hip hop. BUY IT, you will not be disappionted. Top notch lyrics with good beats, isn't that what hip hop music supposed to contain?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars real hip hop is back in the building, October 22, 2009

By 

Ronny Martin Kurt "rnz" (switzerland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Born & Raised (Audio CD)

another absolutely solid album by mega! ...none of the tracks is bad! boom bap beats at it's finest and the flow/rhymes still on point!