Customer Reviews

Last Shall Be First

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

 

 

the dwellas return from a five year hiatus after the slept on 'realmz n realities.' phantasm and u.g. have definately stepped up on the lyrical scale since that album, coming with a fresh blend of underground culture and street slang which will probably be overlooked once again by both mainstream and backpack circles. the beats are on the whole provided by nick wiz who, apart from a couple of weak efforts like the bezerck 'leakage' and 'on the run' (which was too recently heard on the ditc/oc joint 'champagne thoughts') that are too obviously aimed for the clubs, usually comes through with the goods. phann and ug are at their best ripping over subdued backdrops like 'i'm telling you,' but still blaze on live tracks like 'you've been warned.' one of the best aspects of this record is surprisingly the use of guests. in an age where collaborative efforts mean a guest rapper laying down some lazy accapella, the dwellas really combine with the guest lyricist's. check 'verbal slaughter' featuring a rejuvinated inspektah deck and 'ill collabo' with organized konfusion (over the best rockwilder beat in years.) pharoah monch drops some ill special-effect flavoured raps. heads that used to like that new york style rap era of 94-96 should check this album, one of the best of two thou.

The Cella Dwellas second LP is a far cry from the classic Realms 'n Reality. They've changed their style somewhat, straying a bit from the spooky yet hilarious beats and lyrics they previously employed. Not that the beats are wack, they just lack definition. Only two tracks really stand out for me. "Stand Up" is just blazin', while "Verbal Slaughter" featuring Inspectah Deck just cranks. All in all this is a good effort, but it isn't spectacular.

The general opinion seems to be that this album is stronger +better than their 1st, i would have to agree. This is a huge step up for them. Where the production let them down before sometimes, i think, they've addressed that and improved on it. Nick Wiz blesses them with some of his finest beats and their lyrics dont let him down. There's no doubt that these 2 mc's are skilled lyricists with good strong deliveries with catchy punchlines+metaphors. They also bounce off each other+compliment each other's style beautifully. But i found the album a little repetitive. Their are 6 stand out cuts ("dwellas", "frontline", "the last shall be 1st", "ready to rock", "leakage" and "ill colabo" w/ organised konfusion) but the rest are either too similar or just very average. Overall its a head nodding album with 6 bangers and 1 or 2 other suprises on it. Nice to have in your collection, particularly for the 6 bangers!!!

Still a really good undeground album with good lyrics !!!! Classic !

you want flow rhymes beats , this is for u
ug and phantasm did their thing and great production from nick wiz and large pro. this lp is more than dope.
by the way U G is one if the best lyricist ever.

i think this cd is great it has so many great things I could list such as the lyrics and they also have really good beats on pretty much every of their tracks. I also like how their tone of voice and style of it is so different, it's about time for a change. The both know how to use the definition of the word "WORD PLAY"... I say in my vote they get a 5*

The Dwellas formerly known as Cella Dwellas delivers a solid effort with this project. Verbal Slaughter is no doubt the best track in the album which includes Inspectah Deck spitting ryhmes as if he was freestyling. Another outstanding track is Im Tellin U which offers nice beats and pure verbal skills. This is a nice album to add to anyones hip-hop collection, not a classic but definitely satisfying....

This was a bit better than the first cd. The majority of the tracks have nice beats to them. Overall, the second album is worth buying and has matured a bit from the first one