Customer Reviews

He Think He Raw

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

 

 

As I sit here and listen to this album, I can't help but wonder, "What happened?"
With the exception of one song ('Gotta Get Down', produced by Mr. 'I-just-sold-two-rappers-the-same-beat-ha-ha' A.K.A. the Alchemist), everything that I liked about Casual's FEAR ITSELF album is absent in HE THINK HE RAW. I know that he "came from Oakland/grew up under Too Short" (a line from FEAR's "I Didn't Mean To"), but his attempts at Too Short style playa music is painful. In fact, a lot of people got into the Hieroglyphics as an alternative to the Left coast playa music. In my opinion, this album (as well as Souls of Mischief's TRILOGY) is a slap in the face to them. This synthesized playa route didn't work for your rival Saafir, and it ain't working for you, either!
Let's all hope that like the title of the upcoming Hiero family album implies, the Hiero crew will indeed come FULL CIRCLE.

I'll be honest--at first, I truly hated this album. And I mean hard. I'm shocked that I even had the energy to give it a second chance. You have to understand--I ran into Hieroglyphics by way of Gorillaz, and I bought all of Del's stuff and found out that I liked it. For a long time, that was all I had from them (along with Third Eye Vision), until a few months ago, when I decided that I was going to order ALL of the albums. The day before this CD got to my apartment, I received Fear Itself in the mail.

I was understandably distressed when I heard this album, as you could well understand. Fear Itself is arguably one of the best produced hip hop records EVER, with the beat and the lyrics intertwined in truly musical fashion (unlike most of what hip hop has become--people talking over relatively symplistic rhythm). I'll be honest with you--this disc ain't that good. There is no intertwining of flow and beat. You probably won't respond as positively to this album as you would to Fear Itself (at least not right away), so if you're just getting started with Casual or Hieroglyphics (which I just assume you're not, since I have no idea how you would have heard of this record otherwise), this is not the place to go.

For those who are a little more familiar with the crew, however, this can prove to be a pretty decent CD if you give it a chance. I won't say that I agree with a lot of the production decisions that were made, but the beats themselves are certainly worth giving a listen to. While Casual's flow isn't quite up to the standards that he's set in his other work, he's still fairly solid, and the whole album comes together about a step above average. That might be below the standards that some people set for Hieroglyphics albums, but evaluating the record objectively, I still find that I only grow more interested with the music on here with time, while I simply get more and more bored with that from other acts in the business.

Long story short, if you like the beat from Catch a Bad One, you'll probably find something to like here, because Casual apparently decided as a result of that production that irregular strings are the voice of God. It's solid, but if you're just looking to buy one CD, you can do better with Casual on Fear Itself.

O.K. I'm a huge Hieroglyphics fan, and I want to know what happened to Casual? I've been looking forward to this album for years and I'm really disapointed. Almost every song is about "going to the club, lookin' for a woman to rub". Not your typical Hiero sound at all. Just listen to the sound clips and see for yourself. What happened to the song "Turkey and Dressing"? This song alone could have saved the album. I also believe that leaving the production on the whole album to Domino could have saved it as well. Hopefully on his future collaboration album with Del, called "The Smash Brothers", he will sound different.

I'm sure some people will still like this album, but your average Hiero fan will be shaking his/her head in disbelief.

If you want really good Hieroglyphics, pick up Pep Love, Souls of Mischief, Del the funky homosapien, or the family album titled 3rd Eye Vision.

Casual gets 2 stars from me. Sorry Casual, but your not "The Same O.G."

Track 1: Same O.G.- The beat is nice and Cas is basically letting the world know that he is the same brotha.

Track 2: Love Dat- This one is average to me, like an album filler or something.

Track 3: Studio D- This one right here is for all the heads that love lyrical content, the beat is bumping and Casual represents on some straight busting type of stuff. Domino cam tight on the production.

Track 4: Turf Dirt- A song about dirty girls in the Town(Oakland), classic!! The beat is alright but the lyrics are funny and cool.

Track 5: We Don't Get Down- This one right here is one of the best songs on the album, the reggae chants the background give that extra feel to this one. Toure is one of the most underrated producers from Hiero, this one should put him on the map again.

Track 6: He Think He Raw- The chorus on this song goes well with the beat. The beat is a little different than what most Hiero fans will expect, but we must all remember that Casual has always been the "playa" of the crew so this song wins.

Track 7: Mine In A Bad Way- This song is alright to me, the production is lacking though.

Track 8: New Wave Freak- This song is excellent for riding in a car and trying to find something to get into, Casual came tight with this hypnotic beat and chorus. The girl/guy chorus wins on this one because it was put together good.

Track 9 :Windows- This one is alright, too redundant for me though. The concept of this one deals with sexing a girl in a car and smoking some of that good green, haven't we heard this done before??? Nice try Cas, but this one is not tight sorry!!

Track 10: I Gotta (Get Down)- Alchemist came tight on this battle type song! For all those who feel Casual lost his battle/lyrical edge, "I Gotta(Get Down)" will quiet all that bull real quick. The lyrics are on point and so is the beat, definitely one of the best songs on the whole album.

Track 11: Snaggle Puss- Another album filler, not all that tight, the beat drags and gets boring.

Track 12: Talk Boss- Well, Toure does it again on this song! The Cappadonna sampled chorus is put together well along with Casual's on point lyrics. Without a doubt, this is another one of the better songs on the lp.

Track 13: Blind Date- This song is cool, nothing too special but the tale is familiar to a lot of the homies from the Town(Oakland), so I can feel it.

Track 14: The Shakedown- When I read that Evidence produced this track I was expecting a classic, instead I heard an average song, don't you hate when good thought out collabarations turn out to be average??? This one is cool, but it could have been musch better.

Track 15: It'll Come Around- The most personal track on the whole album. Casual builds on everything from the birth of his daughters to losing a load of money due to gambling. The beat, chorus, and lyrical content all work together well on this song.

Track 16: We Dem- Decent song, but again nothing too specail about this one.

Overall, I feel Casual was able to put out an average album this time around. Maybe next time he will be able to get a few tracks from Toure, Del(vintage Del beats with samples), and his own production(vintage Casual beats similiar to "Catch a Bad One"). There is a song circulating around Oakland called "Wordz From Solomon" by this cat named Solomon. Casual did the production on this song, and this is a prime example of a vintage Casual beat, not to mention the cool flows of Solomon. [....]

cas, along with every other member of the hiero crew, has had to reinvent himself. His flows are sick, and he commmands the mic with authority. Pretty much a polar opposite to fellow crew member Pep Love's recently released album, but nonetheless good. Production is once again different than any hiero album. Cas is the Same O.G. with a new twist

If you respect a true lyracist and sometimes can ignore average production then you'd dig this album. I thought it was pretty good. This one gets rotated in the system. Despite some of the weak reviews this album received. I honestly think it was a great output from Casual since he's been on a 7 year hiatus. A lot of people might say that Del is the best wordsmith out of the hiero camp, but hands down I think Casual is the best well rounded lyracist out of Hieroglyphics. The whole album is filled with bass heavy joints to just ride to. But Casual dosen't forget his underground roots with joints like "Same OG" "Studio D" and "I Gotta Get Down". Casual is one of the few that can take over a beat with his delivery and witty word play. Its sad that not a lot of hip hop heads are familure with him.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet (or unsweet in this case). After toiling through the intolerable entirety of this album (and believe me, I struggled and suffered dearly) I could not help but to toss it out of my window in a sudden impulse of utter disgust. I know that I really didn't give it a chance since I only listened to it once, but I was ashamed to have claimed ownership to it for the hour that I did. The rhymes were not all that bad, but I don't know what happened with the production. It sounded as if it came straight out of an '85 casio keyboard. Unless that's your style, avoid the hell out of this album. Do not take heed to the average of 3 stars that this album has received on this site. This is highly an overrating (I don't know what in god's name provoked them to give it over a one, maybe 2). I would have given it a zero or a negative one, but it wasn't an option. Don't waste the time or money (I wish I had mine back).

One of the Bay Area's best of the year! Perhaps one of the ill side effects of Del's exploding popularity and Hiero's historic cult reputation is our desire to contain and "label the Hiero Sound." If you are a fan who turns his or her nose up at the sound of Casual's synth-driven beats and game-oriented lyrics: that's fine. You probably never even liked Casual anyway. Casual has never sounded like his crewmates: that's the beauty of Hiero's diversity. Casual is not the super-conscious Pep Love, nor does he inhabit the same zany planet as Del. Casual is a product of the Town. He made his name as a ravenous lyricist and since his acclaimed '94 debut, "Fear Itself," he has only improved his craft. Here's a closer look.
1. Same OG - !!!!! Damn! He Think He Raw explodes with this first track. A perfect blend of hard bay knocks and hip hop flavor. Best Lyric: "I hit my route like Joey Galloway, in the luff spilling Cabernet all on my Calloway/ Nowadays niggas sav for a salary/ I laugh at your staff on behalf of the faculty."
2. Love Dat - !!! Smooth Slump Music. The production gets old by the end of the song but that only makes us focus on Casual's lyricism even more. Even when Casual is saying the same ol' same ol', his delivery demonstrates mic mastery in the fullest.
3. Studio D - !!! For some, this beat will be too off the wall! But Casual's indisputable mic makes any beat sound like the perfect compliment to his lyrics.
4. Turf Dirt - !!! Production is a little boring, and as the title implies, this track epitomizes Casual's misogynistic streak. It's actually more humorous than disrespectful.
5. We Don't Get Down - !!!!! This is the new Hiero sound that we heard on Soul's Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution ("Interrogation"). Casual left the studio covered with a layer of saliva with this track. And the beat? If your car doesn't have a CD player already, get one installed just for this one.
6. He Think He Raw - !!!! Any track that ups the Raiders gets at least 3 speakers. But Casual definitely earns the fourth one with this track.
7. Mine In A Bad Way - !!!! Casual's lyrics and the driving production makes us taste the passion that has driven him and his crew to the top of the world of independent Hip Hop. Keep getting yours in the worst way, Cas. Best Lyric: The whole damn first verse.
8. New Wave Freak - !!! Casual blends the upbeat Hiero feeling with the type of thump that Todd Shaw made famous. Missing Guest Feature: Too Short.
9. Windows - !!! Definitely avoid this track if your glands pump estrogen. Otherwise tune in, bob your head and laugh your ass off.
10. I Gotta (Get Down) - !!!!! For any Hip Hop Fan. This track will have the other drivers on the road wondering what you're listening to. Best Lyric: "I'm the flyest on Papyrus/Look deep into my iris and try do deny us."
11. Snaggle Puss - !!! The beat knocks but gets boring fast. This track will have a feminist thinking that Casual is the superhero of game with an "S" on his chest.
12. Talk Boss - !!!! Space-Aged Rider Beat. Casual shows his maturity in the game.
13. Blind Date - !!!!! Another Thumper! Cas says: "Oakland made me feel this way!" Us too, Cas.
14. Shakedown - !!!! The highlight of this track is the hook: "Money missin' makes me turn to Sonny Liston."
15. It Will All Come Around - !!!!! Wow. Casual demonstrates a maturity and sensitivity to life in general. The production manages to be hard and beautiful at the same time. The third verse, dedicated to his twin daughters, is the tightest of the album.
16. We Dem - !!! Strictly ride music. A smooth finish to a complete album.

This album is Excellent!! It hasnt left my Deck!I must confess,my first time hearing "He Think He Raw" I thought Casual was someone else! This is better than Fabulous/Jadakiss.Cas is killing the rhymes like never before,DONT FRONT!!On songs like Studio D,We Dont Get Down,Snagglepuss,And Talk Boss(my favorite!) where Casual lyrically showboats on pretty much every MC! I think if Cas would have used more "Typical" Hieroglyphics Production(wheres Domino)/got a few cameos(Hiero?),...and made less "MassMarketAttempts" This would have been a 5 star Album. DEFINATELY AN ALBUM TO HAVE.

This is a nice gansta-club-lyricist blend. not the usual from hieroglyphics cru. almost the exact opisite style of hiero glyphics teamate del who takes a more abstract mind-blowing aproach to his subject matter--however tis is nice no real "bad" songs sounds like cas juss aimin to have some fun on this one. so in closing nice for juss kickin it but if you want somethin that you've never heard before and that will lieave you breathless pick up del's DELTRON 3030 on ark 75 records