Customer Reviews

Tough Luv

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This cd is very good, but its nowhere near the level of Jay's last one or Kanye's first one. Its more on Memphis Bleeks level. Young Chris definately holds up his end, but Neef is weak. But, you don't have to like the lyrics because the beats are straight fire. The Roc right now has the best production around, and they can make anyone sound good. If Young Gunz became Young Gun, and dropped Neef, I think the CD would be closer to five stars. As it is, it gets a solid four stars. The Roc is definately taking over tho...Kanye West, Memphis Bleek, Twista, Young Gunz, Beanie Sigel, Juelz Santana, Cam'ron, Freeway, M.O.P., Just Blaze, and oh by the way Jay-Z too...Who can stop em'?

Young Chris & Neef the late teens from State Property deliver a very solid 17 song debut album. Guests are on about half the songs and each artist has a solo (Young Chirs - my favorite of the 2 has a stronger solo and a few more verses on the album). It has 1 classic, 4 near classics, 4 ok songs, 1 I skip and the rest are good. Production is very god and mostly handled by Chad Hamilton (9 songs), Just Blaze did 2 songs, and Bink One, Scott Storch, Ruggedness, Boola, EZ elpee, and Darrel Branch all did 1 song. A must have rap album for all and for State Prop or Roc fans especially.

#1 - 9.5 (good beat)
#2 - 8.5 (f/ beanie sigel)
#3 - 9 (f/ Rell -- more relxing song for the ladies -- good beat though)
#4 - 7 (old school beat)
#5 - 8 (f/ Juelz Santana -- samples Hall & Oates' "Rich Girl")
#6 - 9.5 (f/ Jay-Z -- good beat)
#7 - 10 (CLASSIC!! --- great song that is very deep about the troubles the 2 went through together -- f/ denim --great beat as well)
#8 - 8.5
#9 - 9 (Chris solo)
#10 - 9.5 (a good song that actually features Cam'ron -- good beat)
#11 - 9.5 (f/ Sparks -- good beat)
#12 - 7.5 (Neef solo)
#13 - 7.5 (f/ Freeway)
#14 - 8 (deeper song)
#15 - 8 (f/ denim)
#16 - 7.5
#17 - 4.5 (horrible song -- f/ chingy -- I hated the original version so I have no clue why they remixed it and got sorry @S$ Chingy to do a verse????)

YOUNG CHRIS -- Christopher Ries -- b. 1984 -- Philadelphia, PA
NEEF -- Haneef Muhammad -- b. 1984 --- Philadelphia, PA

check all my reviews

First off, I have to say that I was sleeping on the Young Gunz when they dropped the first single. Then I heard some stuff on mixtapes and decided to give the album a chance. Well, I was absolutely surprised. I can honestly say that the song they chose to release the video for is easily the worst song on the whole album (and that song is not even on this album, only the remix version with Chingy).
The production by Chad Hamilton (who?) is actually incredibly good. Be on the lookout for this guy. Seriously impressed. Just Blaze, Bink!, Scott Storch, and Boola (among a few others) also contribute tracks, but Hamilton does the majority. But this is NOT a bad thing. Trust me.
Like I said before, this album is way better than I thought it was going to be. It stayed in the CD player in my car for a week when I first got it. It is nice the hear Jay, Cam, Juelz, Beanie, Freeway, Sparks from the ROC and others from Roc Music on the album but Young Chris and Neef (Young Gunz) have no problem whatsoever holding down a track on their own. But why do they have a remix with Chingy? Sorry, but Chingy needs to just go away.
If you like the sound of the ROC then you will like this album. It is real street music. Not that garbage that you see on MTV all the time. I gotta give it up to the Young Gunz. They really came through with this one. I did not give the album a five because although it is really good, it is not perfect. I would have given it a five if the last track was not on the album.
With Jay no longer rapping the new generation of the ROC really needs to step up to the plate to continue the domination that Rocafella has. But with a roster that includes Beanie, Freeway, Cam, Dipset, Kanye (words cannot describe this man) and yes, the Young Gunz, the future is looking bright.
Good lookin, Dame.

As one of the first to listen to the Young Gunz debut "Tough Luv", i am tremendously impressed with the Young Gunz work on this album. Young Chris basically carried this album. He consistent rhymes hold the gunners together. Neef has vastly improved his rap game up from the first State Property album. Collaborations with Beanie Sigel, Jay-Z (the best rapper alive), Camron, Juelz Santana, and Sparks and Freeway, make the gunners seem stronger because none of these rappers out rapped the gunners. Not a single song. That impressed me the most. There is a certain song that did not make the album called "Something's Coming Up". I think this is one of the gunners hottest recordings. I recommend that if you can find this song listen to the gunners at its best. Overall, the gunners did a great job to come strong on their debut. Lets get to the review.

The first song "Future Of The ROC" the gunners hold their ground telling that the ROC is under control because they are the future. The Production is hot and the lyrics are blazing. Neef out rapped Chris, which is most of the time unusual. Either way the track is hot and i rate it 4.5 outta 5.

The second song is "ROC U" featuring Beanie Sigel. I am impressed with this track. this have to definitely have to be one of the hottest tracks on the album. I truly believe that the production have an Eminem type of touch to this. Beans killed this track. i love this song. I rate this song 4.9

The Third song "No Better Love" featuring Rell is fire. It works for the ladies as for the dudes. The song is powerful. Young Chris starts off rapping to his daughter. Neef raps about his early love. Rell does a great job on the chorus. I rate this song 4.4

The Fourth song " Friday Night" is kind of weary to me. i never really connected to this track eventhough it is not bad. This is more of a party song. If you like uptempo music then you should be a fan of this song. There are many Friday Night songs. I still rate this song 3.6

The fifth song "Rich Girl" featuring Juelz Santana is an old song just with an added rapper. Juelz holds his own on this track. Most have already heard this song. The gunners put this song together and Juelz puts good work in. The production is smooth on this track. I rate this track 3.7

The Sixth Song "Never Take Me Alive" featuring Jay-Z is a hot track. Neef starts this song off with straight fire. His lyrics are strong and convincing. Jigga then puts his experience to work. Young Chris then lays his lyrics and this is one of Chris' hottest verses. Jay finishes the song with his brilliance. I rate this song a 4.7

The seventh song "Tough Luv" is the hottest song on the album. Young Chris hollas at Neef to step his rap game up. The production on this track is fire. The chorus was well sung by denim. Neef ended the song off with a verse that shuts down the whole rap game. this is the best song on the album because of the emotions built up on the track. "Now u gotta us looking like Jaz and Jay/ T-Mac and Carter, Neef. U gotta work harder Neef." as Chris states. I rate this track, 5.

The eighth track "Grown Man" is smooth and very textured. Young Chris starts off the pimp like flow and Neef backs it up. The production is great with a nice smooth beat. i like this song. I rate this track 4.5

The ninth song is Young Chris' solo joint. "North of Death" is a very nice track. Chris lays down basic smooth lyrics on this song. He makes the emotion of the song very noticeable. The production makes this song tremendous, especially with the raw lyrics from Chris. I rate this track 4.6

The tenth track " Look In Your Eyes" featuring Camron. Young Chris does, as he did majority of the songs, starts with raw lyrics. Camron does good on the beat with his rap, and Neef finishes the song with fire. The production is smooth and is a good song. I rate this track 4.7

The eleventh track "Take It How U Want It". This features another rapper that has stepped his rap game up and that is Sparks. Young Chris carried this song. His Lyrics addresses the basics and that is good for this track since his verses were the best. Sparks and Neef did alright but Chris carried this track. The production is good with this song. I rate this song 4.8

The twelveth track "Thats Right" is Neef's solo track. This is my biggest surprise of the album. Neef Buck held his own on this track. I like that. This shows his significant improvement and growth in the rap game. The beat was eerie and hot. Neef's lyics were fire. I like this track. I rate this song 4.6

The Thirteenth track "Parade" features Freeway. This song is hot. It has no chorus and Young Chris again carries this song eventhough Freeway kills this track. Neef handles his own on this track. Midway through the track the Production seems very scratchy. Overall this song is good and i rate this song 4.2

The fourteenth track "Time" is a very emotional track. It leaves a strong love in your heart for this song. Young Chris starts off with good verses and Neef comes next with a very strong verse. Chris finishes the song the way it started and that is how it should be. The production is hot and the song is hot. I rated this song 4.7

The fifteenth track "Life We Chose" is also a very emotional track. Chris puts the foundation down with good verses. I like his flow on this song. He makes the feelings come out on this track. Neef puts together a very productive verse. The beat is good and this is a song that brings out the love in everything. I like this song and i rate it 4.3

The sixteenth song "Problemz" isn't that great. The beat is kind of off and the lyrics isn't that great. I don't understand the chorus. I don't have much to say so i rate this song 2.8

The last song is the "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" remix. This is a good song. This is the first and only song that Neef started. He did great. Chingy held the midwest swing in this remix and that set up Young Chris to finish the song. Great party song. I rated this 4.2

The gunners overall have put their stamp on hip hop since summer 2003. This is great for anyone to listen to. if u are a rap, Roc-a-fella, whateva fan then you will love this album. guaranteed!!

1. Future of the Roc The greastest intro I heard 5/5
2. Roc U (with Beanie Sigel) A real deep track and my favorite 3 5/5
3. No Better Love 2nd single ok...3.5/5
4. Friday Night 3rd single my 2nd favorite track! 5/5
5. $$$ Girlz (with Juelz Santana)It's alright 4/5
6. Never Take Me Alive "Young Chris Y.G. from the #1 ROC we got another 1" 5/5
7. Tough Luv Chris and Neef going at each other 5/5
8. Grown Man the worst cause of that singing 2.5/5
9. North of Death Chris solo track i like this one a lot 5/5
10. Look in Your Eyes (with Cam'ron) my favorite track 7/5
11. Take It How U Want It the only worst thing is Chris voice's at the end of the chorus 4/5
12. That's Right Neef's solo track not any good 2/5
13. Parade a great beat for a sample! 5/5
14. Time a sing about trying to get money 3/5
15. Life We Chose no different than "Time" 4.5/5
16. Problemz i love this beat hands down 4/5
17. Can't Stop, Won't Stop (Remix) (with Chingy) 1st single too good to be the last. 5.5/5

Overall 75/85 get this cd!

The Young Gunz were a well anticipated duo of mine well before they even spoke of dropping a CD. Their most attractive quality for myself, was the fact that they went head-up with another relatively known rap squad from North Philly: Major Figgaz. I was extremely impressed with their chosen approach to the battle, undermining Major Figgaz' insistent embarrassment punchlines with witty story/logical delivery...ultimately outlasting the on-slaught of Major Figgaz, moving on to their own business--making CDs. All the while, the Young Gunz continued to make subliminal (and at other times not so) tracks aimed at their "phoes". The most invigorating facet of the group is Young Chris's voice and delivery...it is most ear-pleasing for myself.
Which brings me to the album...
Sadly, I feel as though the album would have been better served if Neef approached it with more emotion--hunger, if you will. I do not feel the passion nor dedication from him as much as I do from Young Chris. This is apparent throughout much of the last three hundred and sixty-five days with the release of Chain Gang Vol 2 and Young C's track "94 Bars"...that fellow is truly enjoyable. I think that Neef--although he admits to providing the lighthouse for Chris as far as rapping goes--needs to step up his game and do justice with Chris. I often find myself awaiting Neef's closure so that I can hear Chris or another featuring artist, like Freeway on "Parade", perform with their passion...displaying their pride.
I hope that whatever is ailing Neef, he gets over it, because he could single-handedly bring the Young Gunz down...
Chris, I am sure, will provide a reluctantly falling foudation though.
The CD is worth buying, if for Chris alone. He is truly a young protege of Jay-Z, whom, although I prefer Nas over him, is extremely entertaining and has founded the reference of lyrical delivery and confidence.
Enjoy. The Young Gunz "Tough Luv" is more like a "Hard Luv" but it's still "Luv"...
Be sure to check out track number eleven...Chris is rhyming on beat in the beginning no matter what you think...although if anyone can help me with this I would gladly appreciate it:

What does he mean, "Your digits ain't rising fam; it's like you're lactose tolerant...?"

I've tried to get the underlying meaning of that for a small while now. Does the insertion of milk prohibit baked goods from rising?
:-)

Gen

Young Gunz (Young Chris, Neef) debut album "Tough Luv" (2004) is decent. After hearing the forgettable single "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" on the radio, my expectations for this album were fairly low. Some first class beats, well chosen guest appearances, and the Gunz hunger impressed me. First standout for me is the relaxed single "No Better Love" feat. Rell, a good Rap/R&B collabration. Next two tracks fall under skip material for me then Jay-Z drops in for the banging "Never Take Me Alive". The Gunz are developing MC's and it shows at times but I am definetly feeling the beats to cuts like "North of Death", "Look in Your Eyes" feat. Cam'Ron and "Thats Right". My favourite track on this album is "Time", feeling the lyrics, beat and chorus to this one. A number of tracks do not standout out for me, and I can see alot of people writing this duo off without even listening to them. Overall "Tough Luv" is a okay debut album from the Gunz, which I think would appeal more to a younger audience who likes Rocafella and radio friendly rap.

New faces to the Roc the Young Gunz have released their debut disc Tough Luv. The CD holds up to current Roc standards, suprisingly making a better effort than some recent hip-hop acts. The Young Gunz album shows a cocky side of Young Chris and Neef, while the lead single "No Better Love" shows exactly the opposite. Jay-Z is among the guest spots on Tough Luv, where on the track "Never Take Me Alive" the Gunnaz raise the bar on their talent. They keep up with the Scott Starch-produced "Friday Night" pretty good as well. For fans of their 2003 hit "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" a remix (featuring Chingy) serves as one of 2 bonus tracks.

This was a solid debut and this cd proved that they are definatley the future of the ROC with Jay stepping down and with Beans in legal trouble. I didn't really listen to it when I first got it but I popped it in the whip one day and I was like damn these guys are for real. Every track on that cd is at the least decent. won't take me alive featuring Jay is hot you know how Jay does he ripped it of course. Rich girls featuring Juelz was a hot track to of course he did his thing, Take it how you want it featuring Killa Cam enough said. This cd is sick and The gunnaz got now they don't care who got next

Tough Luv has a nice easy sound with a combination of jumpy, well-produced beats to slower, more soulful lyrics found in such as the first single, "No Better Love" ft. Rell. I decided to wait on writing a review after buying it about 3 months or so ago to see how the sales would do curiously. The sound in my mind was good but not right away. The songs are catchy after listening several times, but when first heard, many songs sound a bit too similar. Eventually this thought rubs off and each individual track is found as its own but it takes more than just one listen to judge which could be why some people really didn't enjoy the album when they first bought the CD and wrote their reviews. Definately an album worth buying as the future of the ROC strikes again.