Customer Reviews

Kinfolk

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After many months of delays, Ali and Big Gipp's collaboration album finally hit stores on Nelly's Derrty Ent. imprint. I've been a longtime fan of Big Gipp for his work with Goodie Mob, and have always found him to be one of the South's most soulful, thoughtful, and interesting rappers. He has the ability to be very thought-provoking through his clever, conscious, and often spiritual lyricism. Prior to owning this album, I probably could not have picked Ali from the rest of the St. Lunatics; they never impressed me as anything except Nelly's homeboys and still don't. Upon first listen of this album, I was dismayed to see that like his groupmate Khujo Goodie, Big Gipp has abandoned the Dungeon Family formula and instead gone the crunk route, at least on this effort. However, "Kinfolk" is nowhere near the miserable quality of Khujo's recent release Mercury. I find this brand of crunk okay for the clubs, but not for much else. The majority of the songs here are strictly club songs, with big booming beats and basically worthless lyrics. The production is inconsistent, and makes or breaks this type of song. Those with clever, catchy production are enjoyable, while those with more unimaginable beats are pure skip material. This is especially true because on these songs, Ali & Gipp never break from the Nelly/David Banner/Lil' Scrappy lyrical formula of rapping about clothing, cars, grills, jewelry, and booties.

However, there is some very worthwhile material on "Kinfolk," you just need to sit through a lot of filler to get there. A few songs that break from the club-track designation shine through with original, unique production and thoughtful lyricism. When Big Gipp performs to his potential, the music is at its best. All but three songs on "Kinfolk" feature an outside guest appearance. While the tracks with Nelly, Murphy Lee, and David Banner tend to be predictable and familiar, features by U.G.K., Three 6 Mafia, and Cee-Lo prove to be exciting collabos.

Like many great Dungeon Family albums, it opens with a spiritually philosophical spoken-word intro by Big Rube. This gives way to the Pimp C and Nelly collaboration "Hood." Although this song is lyrically very average, I like it a lot. The woozy electronic beat is cleverly produced and really appealing, and Nelly makes a surprisingly good guest. Even though they just rap about clothes, cars, cash, and women, it's a great club track thanks to the production and vibe, and I wish the other ones on "Kinfolk" were more like this. Nitti produced "N Da Paint"; his style of production never appealed to me and that holds true here. Like most of his songs, it sounds like yet another variation of "It's Goin' Down," and lyrically it's just another flossy, materialistic clunker. After another very average club track "Go Head," one of the best tracks comes, "Almost Made Ya." Ali & Gipp provide a light-hearted yet clever song about a relationship turned bad, and the production is catchy and interesting. David Banner produced and raps on "Get on the Floor," which is about as original as its title and another forgettable club song. Feel free to skip through the weak crunk of "That's Me" and "Lean'n," until the next highlight, "I Told Ya." With some good production, an excellent appearance from Cee-Lo, and even a verse from Bun B, this sounds like classic Dungeon Family material. The Lloyd and Jasper collabo "If We F..." is okay but no standout. I really like "What's the Business" with Three 6 Mafia. This has an excellent beat, and Three 6 makes this song their own with their spirited "tear-up-the-club" approach and clever production. Juvenile steals the show on the otherwise drab posse cut "All Night (Excuse Me)," which precedes a final bad club song in "Work Dat, Twerk Dat" which just oozes with mediocrity. The album ends very strongly with three of the very best songs. The nostalgic chipmunk-soul of "Forever and Ever" give it a suitable backdrop for some deep and thoughtful verses. "Get By" has my favorite beat, another very soulful, nostalgic, and clever number with a woozy and upbeat vibe. Lyrically it's also strong, speaking of the struggles of urban poverty. The final song, "No God But You," is excellent, the sole song with any spiritual accent, and it is arranged perfectly.

Those listeners who like the one-dimensional club crunk of Murphy Lee, Nelly, Lil Scrappy, or David Banner may find this album appealing, but it doesn't even match up to the best music of those artists for the most part. Goodie Mob fans will find a few tracks very much to their liking and an unsuitable amount of filler. "Kinfolk" isn't awful, but it's a disappointing album from a duo that certainly has the potential to do better.

ali never had a serious fanbase cept for being affiliated with nelly so if you';re a serious goodie mob or gipp fan pick it up ugk pops up on here troo so get it only for that too bad st. louis rappers are'nt getting much play I'd rather spend my money on murphy lee's project.

Have been a Big Gip fan for years. When he was in Goodie Mob and his solo album. I like the album a lot. Ali and Gipp put a good touch together.