Customer Reviews

Ode To the Ghetto

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

 

 

I'm not too familiar with this guy, I've heard him on several colabs over the past couple of years and thought he was pretty tight, especially after hearing his verse on Dabrye's last album. With that said I have to admit I was skeptical about this one when I first heard about it because cats who spend years as guest appearance artists rarely impress me when they finally get around to releasing their solos, but after hearing the 30 second clips a couple of weeks ago I was already sold and couldn't wait to grab this joint. I've listened to this all the way through 3 times already in the Jeep, and it sounds incredible. Every beat on here is superb, especially Oh No and Blackmilk's contributions. Guilty sounds really sharp on every cut here too, but even though he's pretty clever with his wordplay there's a lot of typical lyrical content as well which I expected from an album titled "Ode to the Ghetto" anyway. There's an excellent old Dilla beat on here that I'd never heard before which makes the album worthy of picking up alone, but as I said before the production all through this album is top notch. In my opinion this is one of the best examples of crossover material for rap/hip hop fans, it's definitley gritty with that underground flavor, but the production is slick and catchy, and there's no super-scientifical lyrical miracle emcees here so mainstream heads could dig this too.

Guilty is what he is...which happens to be a lighthearted-yet gritty dude with a simple flow, backed by simple beats...That said, this album grows greatly on the listener, with a handful of laugh out loud moments...All in all, I found this album entertaining and better than anything the mainstream has to offer. Peace.

I had 5-star hopes when I heard the opening track, but I think overall this is a 4-star album. It is a good listen and worth picking up if you like a slightly alt-rap sound. Even if not, expand your horizons and check it out -- the beats are very nice.

Guilty Simpson is one of my favorite new emcees to come out of the "Stones Throw" label.He sounds like a cross between both "Sean Price",of "Bootcamp Clik",and "Big Shugg",a "Gang Starr" affiliate,and talented,underground emcee.The production will definitely keep you're head nodding.I think that "Peanut Butter Wolf",and "Madlib" do the majority of the beats,and they do it well,as always.Guilty Simpson spits about life in the streets of Detroit,where's he's from,over some pretty tripped-out beats.They're aren't too many guest appearances,which is good,because it gives Guilty Simpson a chance to really showcase his skills on the mic.If you like the other albums that I've reviewed,add this one to the roster,at the top of the list.Also,I recently heard that Guilty Simpson is coming out with a collaboration album with,Sean Price,of the classic rap group,"Heltah Skeltah",and "Torae",who is an equally skilled emcee as the both of them.Lastly,if you don't already have this album in your collection,COP IT NOW!I have bought,and rebought this cd three times,it's that good!Shout out to the whole "Duck Down" and "Stones Throw" labels for all there stellar releases over the past few years.Keep putting out that heat for the streets,and cop this now,whether it's your first or third time,you won't be sorry.

I have not taken it out the deck!The Cd is crazy hott!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Dude lyrics is sick.It beats Rick Ross,Fat Joe, and the rest of the "hip hop"albums this year to date!

I think this album got too much undeserved hate. Guilty Simpson may not be the best lyricist out there, but he shines perfectly with the production on here. 5 Stars!!!

Being from Detroit I have heard of this guy Guilty Simpson for a long time. Eagerly awaiting his debut I was ready to pop the CD in. First reaction...great offering, great concepts and beats not bad. My fav. joints are Footwork, ode to the ghetto and kinda live. The J-Dilla joint is bananas, and I think Mr. Porter's tracks are tight. My only dislike is that Guilty tries to handle the helm of this project alone. I was anticipating more features by some other Detroit catz; elzhi, slum village, frank and dank, phat cat, royce 5'9, obie trice, maybe even mr. mathers himself. Detroit has talent but we have to help each other out. where is the coalition, the united front if you will of detroit brethen? I'll tell you....cats are missing in action. Good try Guilty Simpson!!!!!

The first lyrics I heard from Guilty Simpson were from J Dilla's The Shining on "Baby." They still give me goosebumps today, they go, "You can catch Guilty Simpson at a rave with babes/packin' a .38 snub and a razor blade." Ill. Also, "Choke on that, we smoke on bats/and put a hole through the horse in yo Polo hat." His baritone drawl and lazy flow gave me reason to believe he could be one of the top MCs around.

But apparently the efforts he gave to Dilla, Black Milk, Illa J (I love "Serve up these wack rappers like pizzerias"), Madlib and others doesn't consistently come through here. I didn't really feel any of the tracks come through until "Get B******," one of the first Mr. Porter-produced tracks that's a certified banger. But then Guilty follows it with a sucka for luv song "I Must Love You," and even with a Dilla beat, Guilty finds a way to make the chorus sound corny, even if what he talks about in the track itself is real. "The Future" is my favorite track, even though MED, as good a flow as he's got, still churns out some corny rhymes ("We ain't goin' nowhere like cranberry stains.").

Other highlights include "Run," "My Moment," and especially "The Real Me." The rest are just ok, which is a shame, cause I know from what I've heard from GS he's got serious potential. Hopefully he gets another shot at it.

I heard a few songs with Simpson on them, though he didn't blow me away I figured I'd give this album a shot, (I have around 950 hip-hop albums so why not??), and again I wasn't blown away in any aspect, but the album still is a decent one with its bright spots. With 16 songs, I'd say 8 are ok and the other 8 are good, a few being real good. Guests aren't heavy at all (on 3 of the 16 songs), but are on most of the better songs. production as well isn't great, has it's highs and lows. madlib does 5 songs, Kon Artis of D-12 and Black Milk each do 3 songs, Oh No does 2 and DJ Babu, Konnie Ross and J Dilla (R.I.P.) each do 1 song. If you're a fan of his you'd probably enjoy it, otherwise I might pass this one by.

#1 - 8
#2 - 6.5
#3 - 7
#4 - 8.5 (good beat)
#5 - 8
#6 - 8
#7 - 7
#8 - 8.5 (f/ Med -- nice beat)
#9 - 6
#10 - 7.5
#11 - 9 (f/ Sean Price & Black Milk -- nice beat)
#12 - 7
#13 - 8.5
#14 - 8.5 (good beat)
#15 - 9 (nice beat)
#16 - 7.5 (f/ Super MC, Krizsteel & Konnie Ross)

B. Simpson -- Detroit, MI
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