Customer Reviews

Lyricist Lounge 2

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Immediately, you have to notice the change in the lineup from the original L.L. 2-disc set. Not just the individual artists, but the type of artists. The Lyricist Lounge started as a haven for underground and unsigned artists. When it was compiled into album form the label that released it, Rawkus, was also a haven for the underground set. The L.L. album was a landmark release for underground hip-hop. This second volume is not that. A quick look at the lineup (Pastor Troy, J.T. Money, Beanie Siegel, etc.) will tell you that Rawkus was trying to make a more commercially viable change and the Lyricist Lounge went right along with it. While that isn't good for the underground heads, there were certain tracks you just can't front on. The lead single "Oh No" is one of the strongest songs of the year. Does Nate Dogg belong on the Lyricist Lounge? Hell no. But does he add personality and a dope hook to compliment two of the best MCs in the game (Mos Def, Pharoah Monch)? Hell yes. Similarly, Redman shouldn't be here, but "W.K.Y.A." is still a great song. The album does have lots of downpoints, though and shouldn't be recognized as a great compilation. It is an "pretty decent" compilation, that becomes a bad compilation if compared to it's predecessor. Commerical rap heads will enjoy this if they forget its supposed to be an underground release and underground heads might like it if they look past the lineup to find the small handful of songs that are just damn good.

The 2nd installment of the Lyricist Lounge volumes strays completely off track from the first. The volumes, named after a NY club for underground lyricists and emcees, choose to go commercial this time, which has it's advantages and disadvantages. It is ironic that Mos Def be all over this cd, because it is a Rawkus release; it is obvious they are trying to showcase him over all the rest. One of the best tracks, He Lives, was taken off the cd in later pressings because Rza's record company did not want him on this cd. Overall, Lyricist Lounge 2 proves to be a run of the mill, usual collaboration. Nothing on this cd can be looked down upon but the cd could have been much more creative and inspiring.

First of all i would like to point out there are two versions of this album. Nothing major, but the copy i own, has a track with big L & C-town (called Still Here) in the place of The Last emporer. Both tracks are worthy of the cd yet the big l is doper.

With that being said the album itself is bangin, some commercial heads are featured which is okay since we all got to make money, but this is dope hip hop and you should buy it, not only is it mad cheap used, the album is worth every cent of that four dollars.

I have to be honest. I found this second installment of the Lyricist Lounge series to be an absolute snoozer of an album. Sure it has some high profile verbal slingers in Mos Def, Redman, Monch, Ghostface and Kweli to name a few. But what ever happened to shining some light on the lesser knowns like the album's predecessor did? I suppose the cheesiness stems from Rawkus' apparent newfound dedication in becoming the next juggernaut of hip-hop labels ala Def Jam. Apart from a few bearable tracks like "OH NO" featuring a nice hook from Nate Dogg of all people and "WKYA" which features some hot rhyme interplay between Redman and Saukrates, the rest of the material here is rather uninspired. By taking a look at the production credits (Hi-Tek, Premier and Alchemist to name a few) you'd think there would be some scorchers on this project. So you'd THINK. It sounded more like throw away tracks in my opinion, forgettable. I suppose I'm more disappointed in the fact that Rawkus, once vanguards of indie hip-hop, have decided to become more conventional by showcasing established talent rather than introducing new up and coming talent. What happened to love? Anyway, the album is just mad bland. Straight up and down. Rawkus fails to bring the ruckus on this one.

This was the only CD off Rawkus Records that I didn't like...it was possible maybe because of my high expectations or that I don't mesh with semi-commercialized artists. There were even a whole bunch of MCS on this compilation that I'm usually feelin' normally, but even some of their tracks didn't amaze me either...the whole project was just dissapointing to me...

- Mos Def is overused on this cd and he's not very impressive on any of the 3 tracks he's appears in...

- Pharoahe Monch should've been used more on this...he was amazing on "Oh No" totally outshined Mos (even Nate outshined Mos)

- Q-tip just shows us again that he's gone commercial

- For the first time ever HiTek mixed a rubbish beat on "Get That Dough" but look who he had to work with on it...

- Talib Kweli and Dead Prez held down the mic ok on "Sharp Shooter"

- Dilated Peoples showed some underground potential on "Right & Exact"

and the Lyricist Lounge veterans: Wordworth and Master Fuol got stuck working with bad artists (Q-tip, JT Money, Pastor Troy) ... remember Consequence (he was on a couple TRIBE CALLED QUEST tracks back in 96) makes a decent appearance in "Cypha" which happens to be one of the best and underground sounding tracks accompanied with 5 other dope lyricists....

so overall -- if your a mad underground hiphop head you might be disappointed and this would be the cd to buy on clearance or borrow off a friend...

This is basically adding on to what Adrian said earlier. I have had this CD for years and never noticed this. The back of the CD is not named right. I do understand that there is that He Lives song by RZA and that is track 15, but on the back of the CD it says 15 is Dilated Peoples. The version I have has Still Here and He Lives, but does not have Right and Exact on it.

Much like Violators two compilations, LL2 has its good and bad moments. I think it has more good songs than bad, but overall it is an average album. I thought the best tracks were Get Up, Sharp Shooters, Legendary Street Team, Grimy Way, Battle, and He Lives. Oh No, Get That Dough, Let's Grow, Ms. Fat Booty 2, WKYA, Da Cipha Interlude, and Still Here all fall in the decent category. The biggest disappointment was Makin it Blend, featuring Q-Tip. Q-Tip is one of the best MCs around to me, but the production was awful. Watcha wasn't good either and I'm not a big fan of Macy Gray so I didn't like I've Committed Murder either. Production is done by some top names like Rockwilder, Hi Tek, Jay Dee, Ayatollah, Erick Sermon, The Alchemist, Madlib, Prince Paul, Scott Storch, and DJ Premier and most of the production is good. Two interesting sidenotes are that track 15 could be Last Emperor & RZA on He Lives or Right and Exact by Dilated Peoples. And track 38 is a very good remix of MOP and Kool G Rap's Legendary Street Team.

All around, I loved this album. Some great performances from Pharoahe, Dilated Peoples, and M.O.P. made the album sound like an album highlight reel. Mos Def was not great, but much better than rappers like J.T. Money, Beanie Siegel and Pastor Troy who didn't seem really in place on this album. This album did give respect to rappers who should be at the forefront of hip-hop, like Dead Prez, and up-and-comings like Poyce Da 5-9. Q-Tip offers a very dissapointing track that is a piece of crap in the midst of a lot of great cuts. This would be a 5 star rating without Beanie Siegel, Q-tip and J.T. Money.

With bangin' tracks like Mos Def/Nate Dog "Oh No", Redman "W.K.Y.A" and even Macy Gray in "I've committed Murder", there's barely a stale track on the entire album. I'm really liking this compiliation. Definitely one of the best in recent memory..

Yeah, I have to admit that I was skeptical of this LP when I first saw the lineup, but NOW I have to admit that it has turned into the surprise banger of the year for me. A lot of backpackers are complaining that this one is not as underground as Vol. 1, and it definitely isn't, but regardless, it is a tight album. The Biggie freestyle is a nice surprise, and I am feelin' 95% of the joints on the album. People can say "What is Macy Gray doing on a 'Lyricist Lounge'?", but I feel the song. "I've Committed Murder" came out a while ago, and is ridiculously hard to find on wax. Therefore, I will take it anyway I can get it. The song is hot, and I am glad I have it at my disposal whenever I want to rock it. If people will give this album a serious chance, and stop riding the title so much, they will see that this is one of the hottest joints of the year. COP IT, no doubt. Peace....