Never Say Never

Shabaam Sahdeeq | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 30, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Raptivism
• ASIN: B00005R5MD
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,140 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. It's Nothing

2. Bubblin' Sky

3. Bubblin'

4. We R

5. Bring The Ruckus Skit

6. Straight Like That

7. Big Vinnie Skit

8. That's How We Do

9. Can't Be Together

10. We Holdin'

11. Who's At My Door?

12. Party Skit

13. Tonight

14. I Still Love Her

15. You Need 2 Give It Up

16. Watch Ya Back! (Mambo)

17. Fed Up With The Bull

18. Keep Keepin' On

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars He left Rawkus... but didn't leave his hiphop roots, January 6, 2002

By 

T. Walsh "mc-skittlez" (New Jeru) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Never Say Never (Audio CD)

S Double aka Shabaam Sahdeeq finally got his debut LP out after what seemed to take 5 years, but he came still hungry for props. I really got my first taste of Shabaam on the Soundbombing compilations and Lyricist Lounge Volume 1 CD and I was pleased with the man's lyrical ability. I decided to explore into him more and peeped his vinyl singles: "5 Star Generals", "Pendulum", "3-D", "Concrete", "We Gonna Eat This Year", etc... and I just digested it all up and loved it. Now sure it would have been nice if Scandalous had a chance to drop because his old Rawkus material is much better than this, but Never Say Never does have its head nodders...

Take for instance the opening track "It's Nothing" S Double shot out some decent lyrics and he had a nice James Bond type of beat to rhyme over -reminiscent of his old Rawkus work-. "Strait Like That" was a harsh diss to Rawkus which came out well and SS left some scars on them. "Can't Be Together" was a smooth love track that I was feeling to death. Some other very good tracks to take a listen at are: "We R", "We Holdin", "Fed Up With The Bull", and "I Still Love Her."

Sure there's some elements on this CD for real hiphopers to spit upon. SS raps about girls and hot tubs every now and then, some beats were real trash, and some of the hooks on a couple tracks were painful: especially "Who's At My Door?", "You Need To Give It Up", and "That's How We Do"... but Shabaam's flow really really helped make these tracks tolerable...

I hope the man has a rewarding career and I really hope that his bottled up anger doesn't force him to go the wrong direction in rap because talent like SS is tough to find...

I'm Out...Mind Power!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars At last..., November 19, 2003

By 

David Jackson (Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Never Say Never (Audio CD)

an album from S double.
The first time I heard Shabaam was back on the first Soundbombing mixtape. That was '97. S double's contribution consisted of only one song, "Arabian Nights" yey this typical Rawkus joint was the real gem of the compilation that sparked the Rawkus reign of underground rap.
Althoug Shabaam failed to release anything to measure up with this early hit, alot of people, me including have been waiting to hear from him. Rawkus ended up screwing him though, and no album was released for years, until finally he signed with Raptivism and released this 2001 album.
Overall this is a good album. Had it been released four years earlier it would have killed. In the 21st century however, the sound that Shabaam brings is old and tired. It's been done. The beats are all well produced and Shabaam's rap is still quite alright (althoug the voice sometimes gets quite monotonous). Yet it lacks that something that would have made it a classic. Songs like Bubblin', Watch Ya' Back (Mambo) and I Still Love Her are all great songs but i can't help feeling that something is missing.
That's why this album, although very good, falls short of its fifth star. Still, if one wants to get into the alternative contemporary hip hop scene it's still a must.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A great emcee falling victim to some lackluster production, November 29, 2001

By 

Pana "donpaisa" (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Never Say Never (Audio CD)

I've been waiting for Shabaam to drop his debut for what seems like forever now. Ever since I heard him on Soundbombing 2 when he was about to be Rawkus Records' next hit emcee. So after switching labels and a short hiatus in limbo, finally here it is. And i am sad to report that some of the tracks were a major disappointment turning an otherwise solid release into an average one. Hence the three stars. Now let me elaborate on why. The man can rap and has a great delivery but he doesn't really break any new ground as far as lyrical content. And some of the production that plagues this album is nothing short of atrocious.

Take track 11 (Who's At My Door?) as an example. He has a great concept and the lyrics are on point, but the way the song was executed is terrible. As if the beat isn't bad enough, the song has what is in my opinion, one of the most excruciatingly annoying hooks of the year. "Whooo's that at my doooor, Whooo???" Enough already!

But on the brighter side of things, there are some tracks that are just blazing hot. Songs 3-6 are perfect examples of this. And the nice thing about CD's is that you can skip the bad songs with the touch of a button. So I would still say that Never Say Never is still a worthwhile buy because production quality is always open for debate, what I dislike others might love, and this boy CAN flow no matter what. Therefore, I recommend you take the plunge and judge for yourself.