Customer Reviews

The Hard Way

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Being born and raised in California, the West Coast has always been my favorite area for hip-hop. Snoop Dogg and Warren G are definitely a couple of classic west side MC's, with Nate Dogg singing hundres of excellent hooks over the years. Naturally I was excited about these 3 getting together and doing an album. And now that it's it out I can say it was worth the wait.

This album is definitely a banger. Great production and a feel good vibe to it the release date was timed perfectly with summer. Because thats really what this is a Summer Anthem. It's got a very chilled laid back vibe and I love it. Kind of reminds me of the classic album "Regulate..G Funk Era" from Warren G. The beats do a great job of fusing old-school west side G-Funk sounds and current hip-hop sounds. Snoop and Warren are also at the top of their game through out the album spitting some of the best verses i've heard from them in awhile. Nate of course sounds perfect singing the hooks.

Now this album isn't perfect. There are, to me, a few generic mainstream sounding songs such as "213 Tha Gangsta Clicc" but still, most of the songs are top-notch. I'm going to give this cd 5 stars but its probably more like 4.5. It's near perfect and a great West Coast release.

I am not usually a fan of rap music but this album is so chill and laid back. It is a break from the Lil John "Crunk" music that floods the airways. This is an album you could clean ya house or ya car to and most of all light up to. They did a good job with this one.

213 provide an entertaining album with "The Hard Way" (2004). The trio of Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg and Warren G have all individually been known for delivering some memorable collabrations over the years, so I have been looking forward to seeing what they would be like collectively on their debut full length album. Overall this is a strong album with a lot of standout tracks. The early tracks don't grab my attention that much, including the lead single. The first real standout for me is "Wait A Minute", all of 213 come through nicely backed by a unique and addictive beat. The next track is my favourite on this album the Kayne West produced "Another Summer", this really captures the feeling of this season, an excellent feel good track, I agree with Snoop this is a summertime anthem. 213 then talk about the "Ups & Downs" of the Rap game, and staying true. I think we can all relate with the standout "Gotta Find a Way", we all need to get paid. "Joystick" has an old school feel to it like the earlier "Sassy Ways", it has got an 80's sounding feel to it with a humorous sex concept. After a Rick James (R.I.P.) skit, 213 drop the laidback "Mary Jane". Another memorable track is the outstanding "MLK", love the way this one flows. 213 talk to and about some ladies on "Give It Up" while giving thanks and showing love to family and friends on the mellow "Appreciation". I first heard the beat to "So Fly" on a track from 50 Cent's EP "Power of the Dolla" and Monica used it later with her hit single. Usually I don't like it when beats get reused, primarily because artists dont always improve the track. 213 create the exception, delivering a premium track, Snoop and Warren G rhyme well and Nate Dogg shines on this closer. I like the chemistry that these three have and its nice to see a West Coast album getting some attention in a time where Rap seems to be focused everywhere else. I recommend checking this one out. 213 have succeeded in creating a nice late summertime with "The Hard Way".

As a group originally brought to most people's attention in 1992, and one that was supposed to be putting an album out in the mid to late 90's, we finally got to hear an album from the Long Beach natives, 213, with 17 songs. As a few others have said, it doesn't really have a G-Funk sound (which made them famous and rich) and not many well known producers they worked with in the past that made their songs great (Warren G doesn't even produce one on here) but it still is a good album. All 3 are on every song except one doesn't have Snoop. Guests are on 2 songs and only do the hooks. It has no classic, 4 ok songs, 2 I skip and th others are good. Prodcution is handled by Quaze, B Sharp, Tha Chill, & J Hen (they all do 2 songs), and Missy Elliot, Hi Tek, DJ Pooh, Nottz, Josef Leimberg, Lil half Dead, Fly 2K, Michael Angelo, all doing 1 song. Lyrics are what you'd expect, a few dirty songs, a few gangsta songs and a few smoking/relaxing type songs. A good album to have for their fans.

#2 - 8 (f/ Dion)
#3 - 8
#4 - 8
#5 - 9
#6 - 8 (about groupies)
#7 - 8.5 (about a lonely girl -- nice beat)
#8 - 6.5 (f/ Latoiya Williams)
#9 - 5 (horrible beat)
#10 - 8.5
#11 - 7
#12 - 9 (upbeat dirty song -- no Snoop)
#14 - 9 (about smokin w33d)
#15 - 5.5
#16 - 8
#17 - 7 (dirty song)
#18 - 7
#19 - 8.5 (nice relaxing beat)

SNOOP DOGG -- Calvin Broadus -- b. 10/20/72 --- Long Beach, CA
NATE DOGG -- Nathaniel Dwayne Hale -- b. around 1972 -- Long Beach, CA
WARREN G -- Warren Griffin III -- b. 11/10/70 -------- Long Beach, CA

213 -- LBC!!!
check all my reviews

This album offers something unheard for a long time; west coast rap. Could have been better with Warren G producing rather than rapping as he is clearly overshadowed by Snoop Dogg's abilities but Nate Dogg steals the limelight. The 'Ghetto Crooner' is on top form for the entire album his hooks are sublime and his rap contribution is of good standard too! Although some tracks stand high above others it is almost impossible to skip a single track.
Highlights include: 'So Fly', 'Mary Jane', 'MLK', 'Another Summer', 'Lonely Girl', 'Gotta Find A Way' and 'Appreciation'.

213, Nate Dogg, Snoop and Warren G, release their first full length album with The Hard Way. The long awaited and highly anticipated album from this group is not the classic it was expected it to be, however that does not mean that the album is garbage. It's a banging tight album but not as banging as it could've been.

Lyrically, Snoop is the man as he's somewhat returned to his silky smooth flow, Warren G has improved over the years as well but his flow sounds kind of outdated and Nate's soulful singing on the album is a pleasure to hear (we need another solo joint Nate!) The first big thing to notice is that Warren G doesn't produce any songs, not one, nada. This is almost unacceptable for this group. He could have produced one track, at least one...I don't know what happened. Instead lesser producers such as Hi Tek, Nottz, DJ Pooh, Lil Half Dead, Josef, and Michael Angelo among others provide beats. Heck Soopafly didn't even get on this joint...unacceptable. But it's not that these beats don't bang or that these producers aren't good ( they do trust me), it's just that they aren't Warren G beats!!! ( need another Warren G solo too!).

Now that that's outta the way...on to the album. The album still flows along smoothly ( what can you expect it's Snoop baby ) and Warren G provides some comedy in his raps even with a more aggressive flow. Nate Dogg is straight destroying the choruses...on point every single time quotable til the last day. Snoop spits playalistic rhymes and flows. The beats are definitely on point. Keep It Gangsta is something real lovely on a beat provided by B Sharp, they tell how they kept they lives real. Run On Up, previously on one of their Welcome 2 Da Chuuch Mixtapes, is about as Hard as you can get. With a readily great chorus
"If you got beef then gon and run on up! we ain't worried about nothing, half of yall doing nothing but bluffin!"
and a tight beat and gangsta flows, this is probably the best song on the album. Wait til you hear Nate Dogg go low with the beat on the bridge...classic. Groupie Luv is a nice head nodder, a nice choice for the first single. Other tight songs include Another Summer, a kayne beat, Joysticc, MLK, and So Fly (another mixtape cut that made the album). My three favorite songs though ( other than Run On Up) would be the BANGIN Lonely Girl, the funk of Ups & Downs--what a groove!, and Appreciation where they shout out their family and friends.

Overall this album is worthy of your collection if you like any of the three artists in the group. Sometimes I have trouble figuring out what some of these people listen to when they give an album one star (or two for that matter) which means the cd is unlistenable in my opinion. 213 The Hard Way is FAR FAR from being unlistenable and more than half of the songs are rewind worthy and none are fast forward worthy. Anything less than three stars is insane! The album flows along smoothly as 213 do what they are good at; and that's make summer anthems and riding tunes and that's what they do here. 4 stars.


***for some reason my review was posted under a kids review...probably forgot to click the box! Sorry for inconvenience or confusion***

This album was not at all what I expected from 213. The album is called "The Hard Way" but none of the songs are hard at all. However, there is definitley something to be proud of here. With 3 huge names, all the songs are at minimum average, and there are times when snoop and nate really shine. Some songs, like Lil Girl, 213 Gangsta Clicc, Groupie Luv, and Twist Yo Body, snoop really shines on. But nates hooks make all the songs better, his voice is just so crisp. Warren G was kind of a disappointment on this album. He decided not to produce any songs so he could "focus on his raps" which turn out to be pretty meager. His voice is not the high pitched, free flowing melody it was on Regulate, and despite some better lyrics here, he just does not seem to get the job done in the rap sense. One highlight is Another Summer, which is definitly a good slow song with a chill feeling. I also was surprised by Appreciation, a song about each rappers family thanking them for all they've done for them. Nate really steals the show. Overall this is a good CD worthy of 4 stars and a listen. If you are looking for combination of Regulate and Doggystyle, you will be sadly let down. However it is something different than the other kind of rap that is out there and seems to fit together nicely. Good work

213 takes a trip back a decade to re-visit that G-Funk sound that was popular in the 90's, and they do it well! They do this in opposition of most rappers' tendencies to go bubblegum pop style in 2004. Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg,and Warren G have great chemistry and still use that same reminiscent lyrical style that made them popular way back then. The beats are G-Funk, reminiscent of the old-school, yet updated enough for the 21st century. One track really stands out: "Appreciation" it has a nice, bass heavy beat with faint use of the whiny, whistly keyboard synthesizer in the hooks reminiscing of 1990's hip-hop. The lyrics are superior; they give love to those that have helped them grow as people and artists. Nate Dogg's R&Bish hooks sound tight on each song. Don't sleep on this one!!!!!!!

Well, what can I say. Warren G. Snoop Dogg. And Nate Dogg. The three most significant names not only in G-Funk or the West Coast, but in hip-hop altogether. After all, odds are you won't find an industry rap star who DIDN'T have a Nate Dogg hook. Snoop Dogg is still killing the pop charts with his endless cameos and Neptunes collaborations. And Warren G.......well, he's still holding it down over at LBC. Look, I'm not hatin'; just being real. So it seems that the three legends were meant to be together. AND NOT LIKE THAT, YOU MORONS!! Anyway, this could possibly be the comeback of West Coast-born G-Funk. And a muthaf***in' good one at that. The ultracatchy production is outstanding, perfectly capturing the laid-back, charismatic feel of the MCs, from the G'd up "Tha Gangsta Clicc" to the blunted "Mary Jane", with a hilarious interlude by Dave Chappelle. Everyone, from Hi-Tek ("Twist Yo Body") to Kanye West ("Another Summer", a nice departure from the hardcore subject matter) to a whole bunch of rookie beatmakers, give some slick contributions. However, I was kinda surprised that neither Dr. Dre nor (even) Warren G. produced any of the tracks. Some will probably argue whether or not someone like Snoop is getting lyrically stale. But the truth is that whether that's the deal or not, you can't help noticing that he's back in his element with enough rewindable material to share. And with all the East Coast cameos, Nate finally sounds at home here, when he actually gets some verses in, instead of being confined to hooks. Others may say all this talk about bustin' gus, pimpin' hoes, and gettin' high is wearing thin on hip-hop heads. And let's face it: these type of mindsets can make a normal album repetitive. But the fact is that 213 has been doing it for years. And they've never compromised their style.....too much anyway. I mean, what did people think the G in G-Funk stood for? Plus, there is some redemption in the reflective "Keep It Gangsta" and "Appreciation". The aforementioned "Another Summer" even has Snoop Dogg saying to "put down the guns (it's too hot for that)" at the end of the song. Like all rappers, 213 are just capitalizing their experiences and the mindsets during the time. And with Westside Rap in such short supply nowadays, this feels more like a throwback to the good ol' days that made us remember how this type of rap became so popular in the first place; so who better to do it than its founding fathers.

Bottom Line: Another quintessential West Coast album, in the same vein as Doggystyle or The Chronic. I know that might be putting the mark a bit high, but if you don't like it, then hey f*** you (Oops, wrong record).
------------------------10 out of 10----------------------------
Best Songs:
-"Another Summer"
-"Absolutely"
-"Mary Jane"
-"Run On Up"
-"Gotta Find A Way"

Well I do find it hard to believe myself but Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Nate Dogg team up a few years later, regardless of doubters and personal drama, to release a classic G-Funk album.
The album "The Hard Way" covers so many issues that are old and new. Moreover, the material is subject to be classified as mature for the three G's- who we see now are all grown up and have experience in the rap game and occupied with families now. Loaded with many tracks, The album takes you back to the days of cavi G-funk and supplies that nice crisp production, followed with solid hooks and humorous lyrics. All the factors that helped support an early 90's album are here.
However, this seems to be the problem. While haters aren't allowing this album to fly just because it wasn't released back then or didn't update the tempo to current, mainstream tempo... this LP still holds strong because it had all the ingredients that an early days Snoop or Warren G CD had.
If an album gets released at a later time, then their time has passed. Wrong. Snoop Dogg has been around awhile- R&B reached #1 on its debut. Warren G has been releasing albums still with platinum status and Nate is STILL supplying the hooks that a dominate number of artists are after. So 213 release an album together with all of the G's together. No time lost.
Oh you mean too late for their sound and style. Well as mentioned, the project covered the same ingrediants that the other albums did. If you're hatin' it now... then one has to ask "why did you like it back in the day if it's so bad" because they're the same material. Well if timing is important for an album then bandwagon music is the other direction. Music is not a fad.
Snoop and friends are no Beatles or Led Zepplin. But if they amazingly got back together to do a new album next year? They'd try really hard to make it sound like the old days. Sure uptempo it slightly like 213 did but it's the same senerio.
Regardless of all the obsticals, "The Hard Way" is solid music and has hit the true fans like it needs to. Hatin' won't stop Snoop Dogg's next platinum potential album, or a new Warren G-funked out album and not even stopping a Nate Dogg session due out soon. Learn about it...