Built From Scratch (Clean) [Clean]

X-Ecutioners | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 26, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Clean
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000060P2O
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #495,045 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars X-ecuting the X-traordinary, February 28, 2002

By 

"tristanfrank" (iowa city, iowa USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Built From Scratch (Audio CD)

It isn't easy being a team of battle DJ's. Working all day to perfect sophisticated scratch routines, travelling to competitions, then winning a bunch of slipmatts for all of your trouble. The X-ecutioners have paid their dues, with DMC battle titles and one independeant album under their belts, this major label debut is thier attempt at taking over the rap game. No easy task fo 4 guys that just scratch records.

DJ albums have never been succesfull. While underground heads easily recognize deck skills, an average hip-hop fan will not enjoy listening to just scratching for an hour. Here, the X-ecutioners enlist a small army of collaborators, big and small. The results are varied.

The M.O.P. and Linkin Park collaborations are both heavy metal and rap hybrids that work well. Thug-rap favorites Big Pun and Kool G Rap bring the noise on "Dramacide". The best track is the possie cut "Y'all Know the Name", with Xzibit and others giving the guys behind the wheels some credit. Other songs fall flat. Biz Markie nearly ruins the remake of Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love",the remake of "Marley Marl Scratch" has a lot of static, and the skits are not funny at all.

The X-ecutioners invite some other dj's along for the ride as well. The Triple Threat Dj's remix the intro from Vinroc's '99 mixtape "Reconstruction",(the first reunion of Rob Swift and Shortkut since that Gap commercial),and The Bumrush Brothers show up as well. This album lacks focus, only half of the track can be listened to repeatedly. The production, from the X-ecutioners, Dj Premier, and Large Proffessor, is quality. Its a good rap album put out by dj's, don't expect everyone to get it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The wheels of steel never sounded better, March 2, 2002

By 

Rex Campos (Fremont, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Built From Scratch (Audio CD)

This album is great! It is definitely a CD worth listening to if you love hip-hop and great hip hop DJs like Mix Master Mike or the DJ Shadow. Now, I am not much into the hip hop DJ scene at all, but this CD certainly made my head turn. The rap/rock songs on here(the most obvious example being 'It's Going Down' with Mr. Hahn and Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park) work really well...This cd does have a mostly hip hop/rap vibe to it though, with heavy break beats, song cuts and scratches. Even a strange little ditty with Biz Markie works quite well.(With Biz Markie's trademark comedic style of rapping).
So if you want something to listen to while working the weights, grinding the skate park, or any kind of high energy work, pop this CD in and it will get you hyped up...because these workers of the wheels of steel deliver a solid, high energy cd...

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good CD! The best DJ CD out there!, October 26, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Built From Scratch (Audio CD)

to tell you the truth, the only reason why I bought this CD was because I'm a big Linkin Park fan and I loved the "It's Goin Down" track and I wasn't expecting this to be that good of a CD, but boy was I wrong! I'm not really into hip-hop and rap (I like rock, but some rap is okay) but this CD really was very very good. The only other DJ CD I have is Freestylers "We Rock Hard" which I don't know if its even a DJ CD but it sure sounded like it, and I really loved that CD! anyway, I really recommend this CD to everyone who likes underground hip-hop/rap, and to anyone who actually enjoyed Linkin Park's my opinion kick [behind] "Reanimation" because "Built From Scratch" kind of sounds like some of the rap remixes! Get this album only if you like underground rap!