Customer Reviews

Not 4 Sale

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

 

 

Kardinal Offishall is a cat that is kind of sporadic with the releases but, once he drops, he usually comes with some pretty solid material. That was before he linked up with the over-hyped, over-saturated, pop sensation (?)/cheesy tune machine known as Akon. I'm a fan of Kardi's, but the first thing that jumped in my head when I saw he was rolling with Akon was "lower your expectations, he's associating with a wack producer." That being said, Not 4 Sale isn't necessarily a bad album. Sure, there's a ton of filler and some really cheesy attempts at club bangers. It's obvious he set his sights on chart positions. Still, there are some solid joints on the album. The Clipse lend their assistance to "Set If Off" and bring that dope boy angle in a way that only they can (not too many can spit like these two, by the way). Kardi does have a few tracks that are in the same vein of his previous releases -- "Ill Eagle Alien", "Nina, "Bad Like We Bad", and "Burnt", for example. And, even though it could be labeled as wack by most, I liked the T-Pain assisted "Go Home With You."

The most obvious flaw -- and the one that you should've seen coming a mile away -- is the clubby tracks supplied by Akon. "Dangerous" is wack. Period. I mean, sure, it's a serviceable club joint, but Kardi dropped the ball here. There are some that are sort of clubby but manage to stay in Kardi's lane (Digital Motown) and aren't that bad, but they get overshadowed by abysmal tracks that should've never made the album (Numba 1 & Gimme Some).

Not 4 Sale isn't really that bad an album, but the lame tracks are really, really lame and that takes a way from a lot of it. Sure, he teamed up with Akon and his rep took a hit for it, but Kardi hasn't deviated very far from his original steez -- this is the guy that was collaborating with Sean Paul before they both made it big, after all. Of course, being associated with Akon, you should expect some changes, but nothing as bad as you'd expect from most Konvict artists. I grade this one on a curve since every Konvict release has been boo boo to date. The Firestarter is still here, he just has some new friends influencing him now. I recommend giving this one a listen.

Standout Tracks: Ill Eagle Alien, Burnt feat. Lindo P., Set It Off feat. The Clipse (My Favorite), Go Home With You feat. T-Pain , and Bad Like We Bad

I have always been down with Kardi. His music is interesting because it encompasses a couple different genre's as well as it is international rap. All these elements accompanied with Kardi's mad energy makes him a dope artist. With that being said, this album is much different than the underground releases. Lyrically kardinal is on point. The guest appearances, beats are very commercial and wack (The dream). DANGEROUS, GIMME SOME, and DIGITAL MOTOWN are super wack and have techno type beats with the weak guest appearances. To be honest, I am really disappointed in this album. I had much higher hopes for it. All in all this is not a terrible release, it is just weak compared to Kardinal's earlier releases. If you are new to Kardinal then you need to start with his first joint EYE AN I and his second joint QUEST FOR FIRE. Kardinal may need to reconsider working with AKON. That is where a lot of the commercialism is stemming from.

Stand out tracks

BURNT

BAD LIKE WE BAD

ILL EAGLE ALIEN (this one is dope)

after his last singles i was hoping for a album repeat like the last. I was wrong! i lost this CD and not gonna miss it at all.

Canadian Kardinal Offishall released his fourth album (second in the United States) "Not 4 Sale". Those who heard "Firestarter, Volume One: Quest For Fire" will be in for a big surprise this time around. On his new effort it's decidedly a little more commercial- as if you couldn't tell by the first single "Dangerous". Having guest appearances from Akon, T-Pain, The Dream and Rhianna makes you wonder if he's trying desperately to appeal to teenage girls, being that all of the aforementioned guests share the same audience. There are a few good songs, such as "Family Tree (Still Eyerize)", "Ill Eagle Alien", "Going Home With You", "Set It Off", and "Burn". In a nutshell, this album is too saccharine- even for someone like Kardinal. Note to Jason Harrow (Kardinal's real name): You are not Flo-Rida!!!

I never knew who this fellow was until I heard a song and saw a video from this CDS called "Numba 1." This was a great rendition of an old remake but with both a reggae feel and a rap style. The CD itself is not grammy material but it does have a few godd songs on it. Don't look for too much on this project but it is worth your money. You will notice him on a few songs on Akon albums as well in the background.

Kardinal Offishall is a cat that is kind of sporadic with the releases but, once he drops, he usually comes with some pretty solid material. That was before he linked up with the over-hyped, over-saturated, pop sensation (?)/cheesy tune machine known as Akon. I'm a fan of Kardi's, but the first thing that jumped in my head when I saw he was rolling with Akon was "lower your expectations, he's associating with a wack producer." That being said, Not 4 Sale isn't necessarily a bad album. Sure, there's a ton of filler and some really cheesy attempts at club bangers. It's obvious he set his sights on chart positions. Still, there are some solid joints on the album. The Clipse lend their assistance to "Set If Off" and bring that dope boy angle in a way that only they can (not too many can spit like these two, by the way). Kardi does have a few tracks that are in the same vein of his previous releases -- "Ill Eagle Alien", "Nina, "Bad Like We Bad", and "Burnt", for example. And, even though it could be labeled as wack by most, I liked the T-Pain assisted "Go Home With You."

The most obvious flaw -- and the one that you should've seen coming a mile away -- is the clubby tracks supplied by Akon. "Dangerous" is wack. Period. I mean, sure, it's a serviceable club joint, but Kardi dropped the ball here. There are some that are sort of clubby but manage to stay in Kardi's lane (Digital Motown) and aren't that bad, but they get overshadowed by abysmal tracks that should've never made the album (Numba 1 & Gimme Some).

Not 4 Sale isn't really that bad an album, but the lame tracks are really, really lame and that takes a way from a lot of it. Sure, he teamed up with Akon and his rep took a hit for it, but Kardi hasn't deviated very far from his original steez -- this is the guy that was collaborating with Sean Paul before they both made it big, after all. Of course, being associated with Akon, you should expect some changes, but nothing as bad as you'd expect from most Konvict artists. I grade this one on a curve since every Konvict release has been boo boo to date. The Firestarter is still here, he just has some new friends influencing him now. I recommend giving this one a listen.

Standout Tracks: Ill Eagle Alien, Burnt feat. Lindo P., Set It Off feat. The Clipse (My Favorite), Go Home With You feat. T-Pain , and Bad Like We Bad

If you heard all the mixtapes you got a glimpse of what Kardi is all about. Akon said it best in a interview with Clinton Sparks, Kardi is consistent with his music. Never watered down and never sounding exactly the same. When I first heard Fire Starter Volume 1 I was amazed, being a Reggae fan for years and Hip Hop for equally as long, I was drawn to Kardi's sound. If you have not heard all of his other work go get it, it is a breath of fresh air especially with all that cookie cutter southern sound music. Kardi is anything but that....big ups to the King of the T-dot. Canada is doing big things

Overall, I have to disagree with the other reviewer and his/her mediocre review. While I'm not the biggest fan of the track with The Dream, the rest of the album is by and large solid, with a couple standout tracks.

Kardinal, as always, is consistent. As the album title suggests he has not and will not change his style, i.e. the dancehall-hip hop mixed delivery that makes him stand out from just about everyone else, and his lyricism. Yes, Dangerous is has brought him more commercial success than any previous track, but by definition that means a lot of people like the track (it peaked at #5 on Billboards Hot 100). The next single, "Tide is High", features Rihanna and will surely be successful as well. "Burnt" and "Bad Like We Bad" are heavily dancehall-influenced, while "Nina" is a (good) nod to lovers rock reggae. Set it Off, feat. The Clipse, and Ill Eagle Alien are two great tracks which are closer to the harder hip hop angle found on some of his earlier records and mixtapes.

All in all, it's a great album which features Kardi's versatility and will surely gain him new fans. While not on the level of say Jay-Z's classics or Lil Wayne's Carter III, it's still a no brainer...buy it!

yes

I Am New 2 Kardinal Offishall but I Highly Disagree wit one of the reviewers on the track "Gimme Some" (Featuring The Dream). I Think It's A Good Track. We Wanna go Clubbin,We Don't Wanna Chill. It may not be his best work 2 everyone all i can say is it's a good album and for that music video Dangerous Damn that woman was fine.