Customer Reviews

We Come Strapped

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Forget just calling this one of the best gangsta rap albums of all-time.
This is one of the best hip hop albums of all-time.
MC Eiht is great and underrated tremedously.
From start to finish you get your money's worth with this one.
Recognize the real, recognize a hip-hop legend not just a west coast legend.
MC Eiht has been featured on numerous other rapper's albums and soundtracks.
Not to mention 11 albums in 12 years with more to come.
Give the man respect, where respect is due.
This album is loaded with hits and I would say this is his greatest album.
From Nigguz That Kill to Compton Cyco to Take 2 With Me to All For The Money to Nuthin' But The Gangsta to well, just about the entire album is the bomb! ( Compton Bomb )
If you don't know about MC Eiht you better check the history.

1990 CMW - It's A Compton Thang
1991 CMW - Streiht Checkn'em
1992 CMW - Music 2 Drive By
1994 MC Eiht - We Come Strapped**
1996 MC Eiht - Death Threatz
1997 MC Eiht - Last Man Standing

1999 MC Eiht - Section 8
2000 MC Eiht - N'My Neiborhood
2000 CMW - Represent ( CMW Reunion )
2001 MC Eiht - Tha8t'z Gangsta
2002 MC Eiht - Underground Hero
2003 MC Eiht - Hood Arrest

Also check out other songs MC Eiht has been featured on in the past on other albums such as:

DFC - "Caps Get Peeled"
Spice 1 - "Murda Show"
Daz Dillinger - "Ultimate Come Up"
Cypress Hill - "Throw Your Hands In The Air"
Soul Assassins volume 1 - "Heavyweights"
West Coast Bad Boyz 2 - "Paper Chasin'"
C-Style Presents Straight Outta Cali - "Get Your Girl Dogg (Super Ho)"
Mack 10 - "#1 Crew In Your Area"
Menace II Society SoundTrack - "Streiht Up Menace"
The Show SoundTrack - "Sowhatusayin"
Tales From The Hood SoundTrack - "One Less Nigga"
Rhyme & Reason SoundTrack - "Represent"

Plus many more...

MC Eiht is a true hip hop legend and when his career is over he should get that respect and reconition.
We Come Strapped is an album that displays MC Eiht at his best.
Definately pick this one up for your collection if you don't already have it.

This is one of the best WEST-COAST gangster-rap albums out there. The best MC Eiht album. This is comparable with The Chronic. You can't beat this.

This album is almost perfect with great raps tied to some great producing. If you like west coast rap this is as good as it gets.

In 1994, MC Eiht returned following a string of classic albums with Compton's Most Wanted with "We Come Strapped" as MC Eiht featuring CMW, essentially because by this point CMW had been reduced to just Eiht and DJ Slip. Like its monumental predecessor, 1992's Music to Driveby, "We Come Strapped" is 57 consistent minutes with solely in-house production and guests on only one song, but Eiht claims he's "new and improved like Madden 94," which in many senses is true. Fresh off the classic "Streiht Up Menace" from Menace II Society: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, the stage was set for his most successful album.

While perhaps not as significant as Music to Driveby, musically "We Come Strapped" is head and shoulders above it. This marked the debut of 1/2 Ounce Productions, the team of Eiht and CMW's DJ Slip, and the beats here are a joy to appreciate. They continue to develop their classic sound with complete disregard to the synth-heavy, woozy g-funk that was selling millions over in Long Beach, preferring an extremely smooth, laidback, nostalgic sound with swirling strings, sparkly piano, and heavy basslines, as well as the occasional vocal sample, that owes much to classic soul. Willie Z is invaluable as the keyboard player, and CMW's DJ Mike T contributes some of his recognizable scratches as well. This album is a beautiful piece of musical perfection from start to finish, and each song including the especially funky "Endoludes" are silky smooth, lending to a consistency that makes the LP feel like one slow, laidback ride. NWA may have established the Compton sound as most people know it, but it's Eiht's refined soulful and nostalgic style that comes to my mind when I think of the CPT.

Eiht comes correct on the mic as well. While never the West Coast's greatest lyricist, Eiht impresses with his passion and unique style. His flow is smoother than ever, and he remains the epic storyteller he was in the days of CMW. He and the beats seem perfectly catered to each other, and he continues to paint a distinct, startlingly visual picture of the world's most gang-infested neighborhood as only he can with his signature adlibs and language.

Eiht's series of DJ Quik disses continues on "Def Wish III," with some opening threats and fresh production that lives up to the high standards set by earlier installments. On "Take 2 With Me," Slip laces a breezy, menacing track with a great horn sample and Eiht does his part with hard-hitting avowals. Still, the early highlight is "All for the Money," one of Eiht's finest tracks to date. This is one of the purely smoothest rap songs I've heard, and the combination of Eiht's silky-smooth, laidback flow and the phenomenal production with gorgeous vocals and flute is magnificent. It's got a great feel and hook as well, and this is the kind of track I'd use to sell Eiht to a non-believer.

Eiht comes harder on the upbeat, rugged track "Compton Cyco," and the strong "Nz Make the Hood Go Round" and memorable title track, with its whiny, horn-laden production and cinematic feel, follow. A jazzy piano solo highlights "Can I Still Kill It," and the storyteller "Goin' Out Like Gees" is wonderful both lyrically and musically. Bay Area legend Spice 1 and New Jersey superstar Redman add bicoastal flavor to the classic collabo "Nothin' But the Gangsta," and the LP closes with two of its finest songs, the ultra-soulful "Hard Times" and my favorite, "Compton Bomb," which is beautiful musically with a wonderful piano cadence and electric guitar instrumentation.

So why is an album as quality as "We Come Strapped" so underrated? Well, not only was '94 quite possibly the best year of rap releases to date, but it was also a year when distinct rap movements emerged across the map. New York saw countless innovators, Long Beach gave birth to the g-funk explosion, and artists such as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, OutKast, and Common put cities on the hip hop map that previously had no national superstars. In all this historic activity, "We Come Strapped" never quite received its due appreciation, much like the men who made it, despite huge sales. I highly recommend that listeners give it a chance because it's an album that holds up beautifully after fifteen years and still sounds awesome, and given Eiht's massive discography, it's one of his essential listens.

Once again mc Eiht proves the world to be one of the dopest west-coast gansta-rappers!!! Eiht tells it like it is and it is (...) up!! he continues his mission against dj Quiks "happy sounds" (stay the hell down!) with Def wish 3, which is quite a cool sequel to the two earlier def wishes (though the first part can never be improved). This album is a definite must have for every eihthype thug out there and besides that for every fan of laid back westcoast gangsta rap you can smoke a joint to!!
Spice 1 and redman be kicking it on this album too!!!

We come strapped is turly one of the hardest hitting rap ablum ever. It tells the very true stories of his and others living the hardcore life in the iner-city.(Death wish 3) is a sequal to 2 others on previous released tracks. (All for the money) Track 5 is truly one for all time it tells the life of kid coming up doing whatever it takes to get what he wants the beat is slow so its great to ride to. In a nut shell you won't be disapointed with this album. It's great if you like underground hardcore rap this is no sell out to the radio.

Nice album by eiht. Chill, blunted out, west coast beats with some hardcore G lyrics

MC Eiht may not be known or have blown up like other west coast artists, but he as well as his group Compton's Most Wanted dropped some rememerable albums. One would be the 1994 album "We Come Strapped", a time when the west coast was about to blow up. As most reviewers said, this album has a laid back vibe towards it. Eiht spits some gangsta rhymes, as many fans would expect from him.

The first actual track doesn't start until track 3, "Def Wish III" when he disses DJ Quik over a laid back beat. The next track, "Take 2 With Me", I find very similar to it's previous, production wise (listen to them back to back and you'll see what I'm saying). Eiht lays down some good rhymes on that song as well as "****** Make The Hood Go Round" and the story telling "Goin' Out Like Geez". A couple of the best tracks are towards the end of the album. "Nuthin' But The Gangsta" features Redman and Spice 1 is one of the best tracks. The other best would be "Compton Bomb" with it's production by Ric Roc and DJ Slip.

As for anything bad, I would say that there are a few tracks I found forgettable. "Can I Still Kill It?" is one of them, because of it's production I wasn't feeling. Also, as Norfeest said, the album sounds like one long track. Mostly because everything sounds so similar production wise, causing lack of variety. Other than that, I recommend this album to fans of 90's rap music. With his buddy Chill locked up Mc Eiht with the help of DJ Slip help put together a quality album that is enjoyable. Peace!

Lyrics: A
Production: B+
Guest Appearances: A-
Musical Vibes: A-

Top 5 Tracks:
1. Compton Bomb
2. Nuthin' But the Gangsta with Spice 1 and Redman
3. Take 2 With Me
4. All For The Money
5. Def Wish III

Honorable Mention Track: Compton Cyco

Despite being part of one of the best groups to come out of the late 80's/early 90's, MC Eiht and CMW never seemed to get any national love. They dropped three straight classics and, despite having a nice little cult following, people still insisted upon sleeping on them. That all changed in '94. Fresh off the heels of blowing up (Eiht's "Streiht Up Menace" of the Menace II Society soundtrack was easily one of the best singles of '93), Eiht steps out on the solo tip to drop We Come Strapped. Well, not really. This album features CMW and the sound sticks pretty close to the CMW format (even though there are way more smooth joints on this album). All but one track is produced by Eiht and DJ Slip -- also known as the infamous 1/2 Oz. productions that you can hear Eiht shouting out on just about every song on the album. Ric Roc produces "Compton Bomb", but 1/2 Oz. even co produces that too.

There aren't many flaws on this album. Lyrically, Eiht isn't that strong. But you don't have to be lyrical to be a good gangsta rapper. All you need is passion and I think Eiht has plenty of that on this album. Also, though the beats are mellow, laid back, and funky, they don't really change pace that often. That makes most of the album sound like one long single. Also, "Compton Cyco", "We Come Strapped", and "Can I Still Kill It" all fell under skip material for this listener.

We Come Strapped is one of those albums that you can pop in the disc player and just let it ride. The lyrics are passionate and the production is laid back and funky. Though he would go on to drop more tight solo albums, I don't think he's topped this album yet. Despite one or two fillers, I recommend adding this album to your collection.

In response to another reviewer, CMW dropped THREE albums before this album came out.

In response to yet another reviewer, what album are you talking about? Method Man, Chill, and Yukmouth are NOWHERE to be found on this album.

Standout Tracks: Hard Times, Def Wish III, Nuttin' But High (Endolude), All For The Money, Ni***z Make The Hood Go Round, Nuttin' But The Gangsta feat. Spice 1 & Redman (My Favorite), Compton Bomb, and Take 2 With Me

This album is a classic. If your a fan of early to mid 90's West coast Rap, then this is a must have!