Customer Reviews

Never Say Never

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

 

 

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!

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.

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.

This is a surprise! I wasn't expecting this to be good after he left RAWKUS records but this is pretty cool. Production is handled by Xtreme (who did "Who's Next" by DMX and DJ CLUE), Memo, Tahir (of Hedrush who produced Dead Prez), Mark walsh and more. All the guests are unknowns. "We Holden" is the best track. "I Still Love Her" is a continuation of Common's "I Used to Love Her". "Straight Like That" is a severe diss toward RAWKUS records. he calls Mos Def and Talib Kweli "fake bookstore revolutionaries". The song "Tonight" is extremely fast and S Double rhymes at lightening speed. DOPE!!! "Watch Your Back(Mambo)" is a street tale. Sure, there is some filler like "Bubblin" which is the lead single. This is not very social-conscience. it's more hardcore underground backpacker stuff. If you liked him on RHYME RELATED from Polyrhythm Addicts, you'll dig this. He's hungry on this one. Too bad he didn't use the RAWKUS production team. I loved the stuff he did on RAWKUS.. This is good though. Give it a listen...

After hearing classics such as "Arabian Nights", "Every Rhyme I Write", "5 Star Generals" and other guest appearances with the likes of Pharoahe Monch and The High And Mighty, i couldn't wait for this album to drop. But then i heard that he had been dropped from Rawkus and was dissing them on a track. I thought that would be a problem since at the time a lot of my favourite artists were signed to Rawkus but at the same time i was aware that Rawkus had a tendancy to push back release dates so i respected what he was doing. After picking the cd up i eagerly tore the packaging off and put it in the box. After the first couple tracks i was appauled. Complete GARBAGE. It seems Shabaam is trying to gain some sort of mainstream audience, and it just isn't good for anyone. The two stars are awarded to this album for the rare jewel, "I Still love H.E.R." which spins off of Common's "I Used To Love H.E.R.".

I must admit that this album was a surprise to me. I expected something along the lines of a Talib Kwaeli album, but it was definitely not that. I thought S doubles parts on previous Rawkus albums showed tons of promise, but his style seems to have shifted more to a pop expensive champagne and act like a thug. And we don't need any more of that type of rap. I get the impression that SS decided he needed to make money now, and in the process he made a mainstream album. He still has talents on the mic (breath control, good delivery), but his lyrics just are unimaginative throughout the album. The production isn't as good as I would have guessed either, and I found that there were maybe 3 songs that I liked enough to play again. Better than a Jay Z or LL or Ja Rule album, but not near the level that I believe Sadeeq is capable of.

LOOK I'VE SEEN THIS BROTHER DO HIS THING WAY BACK IN NICK WIZ'S BASEMENT, AND TO SEE HIM FINALLY GET HIS JOINT OUT....YO THIS ALBUM TO ME GOT SOME GOOD S@#$T!!! KEEP DOING YOUR THING ONE LOVE YA BOY (JAZZ)