Un Or U Out

U.N. | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 13, 2004)
• Label: 456 Entertainment
• ASIN: B0002CHJVO
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #229,852 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Buildin (Intro)

2. Mind Blowin

3. D.O.A. (Dead on Arrival)

4. Avenue

5. What They Want

6. P. Money (Set Up)

7. Golden Grail

8. Ain't No Thang

9. Monsta

10. Get Yo XXXXX

11. Russian Hat Wear (Cold Money Remix)

12. Shake Down

13. The Art (Interlude)

14. Game of Death (GOD Version)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ambassadors of a forgotten place of hip-hop, September 7, 2004

By 

Scott D. Gribble (Baltimore MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Un Or U Out (Audio CD)

The U.N. was first heard on Pete Rock's incredible Petestrumentals cd. Most people would wonder on an album completely of instrumentals why Rock would choose some random group to put on. Well the U.N. erased all doubts and certainly picked up a following with the tracks Nothin' Lesser and Cake (which has an absolutely incredible beat with piano and crickets!!! It's crazy).

The UN has an interesting dynamic in their group. Personally I would struggle listening to a whole album by one of the members. But, the chemistry with the group is great. While none of them seem to stand out and outshine the others, their voices and flows are just different enough that they work incredibly well making each verse sound fresh. Lyrically they are somewhat held back by there lack of depth and variety in their subject matter, but on they other hand they rap about what they know best and they do it extremely well. By sticking to these things you won't find them pushing any new boundaries or anything, but you'll find they rock the mic hard at what they do.

So, finally the UN had gotten a chance to shine on their own. Fortunatly to start off Pete gives them a little help providing three beats. One thing Pete Rock should be given more credit for is his ability to fit his production to the artists rather than relying on the same formula. UN or U Out is a perfect example. Pete Rock strays away from jazzy samples to give the UN strictly street beats. Although Avenue is an average track, the UN carries an otherwise mediocre song. Game of Death is another great track. Ain't No Thang is an incredible song, the beat uses some sick classical orchestra music provided with some nice scratching. In addition UN does not dissapoint by bringing some of their best lyrics to match this song (including one of those "ahh that's sick" and yet funny at the same time lines, you'll know it when you hear it). The result is a truly incredible track all around.

So, what can the UN do without Pete Rock?? What makes Ain't No Thang an even more amazing track is the fact that this isn't even the best song on the album. At track 3, D.O.A. couldn't come sooner in the album. I'm still in disbelief that the beat is NOT produced by DJ Premier or Pete Rock. It sounds like the UN stole a track off the new long delayed M.O.P. album. Surprisingly enough it's produced by the UN's own Roc Marciano, and the group doesn't disappoint, matching the outstanding track with hard hitting rhymes. Other high points production wise come from What they Want (Large Prof.), Golden Grail, Mind Blowin' (both Roc Marciano) and Monsta. Most of the beats on this album fall in the category of street, rugged, very Reminiscent of the early Mobb Deep.

What's refreshing is that they simple do not rely on this formula for every song. Get Yo B**** is a track that literally sounds like Kool G Rap or Big Daddy Kane rocked it in 89. In fact Kane is even quoted in the first several lines. The UN steps up and adapted to this style, changing all of their normal pacing for a sped up double time rap. In addition Shakedown (which actually samples Get Yo B****) catches you off guard with what sounds like a sample from an 80's rock song from Scarface and yet the UN still makes it hard.

I could have done without the tracks Russian Hat Wear and the Art, but these are both songs I could see other people liking, its just easy for me to skip them. In addition both skits (Buildin and P Money set up) are easily skippable and pointless. What you have left is 10 solid tracks.

I'm not really blown away by this album like other reviewers. It's a really good album, and it's certainly the only one of it's kind I've herd of in the last 4 or 5 years. It's certainly enjoyable and I find myself to like it the more I listen to it, but don't get caught up in too much hype expecting that this album is more than it is. It's not a classic, it's not going to change the direction of Hip-Hop, it's not the best album of the year, and it's not even close to being one of the best debuts ever. That being said, this is a really good album and I would defiantly recommend picking it up. If you like the older Mobb Deep, or any NY street hardcore hip-hop from the mid 90's you'll love this. The UN suceeded in bringing a great street rap album to a time in hip-hop that is almost completly void of this.

The UN does something good with this album: stick to what they do best and do it well.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pure, Unadulterrated hiphop-4.5 stars!, August 12, 2004

By 

Eddie Montgomery (Santiago, Dominican Republic) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Un Or U Out (Audio CD)

Hands down this has to be one of the top three hip-hop lps to drop this year. For those of you that aren't familiar with the UN, just check out their lyrical prowness on Pete Rock's 2001 release "Petestrumentals." These four cats from Long Island are set to put the L.I. back on the hip-hop radar, which boast such prolific and legendary emcees as Rakim (the god), Chuck D and Public Enemy, E.P.M.D. and De La Soul. Not surprising, in following in their predecessors footsteps that their debut-UN or U Out would sound as if it were an instant classic. With solid production from Pete Rock (Avenue, Ain't No Thang-one of the standout joints and Game of Death) and Large Professor (What They Want) along with members from the UN boast an incredible sound of inebriated head noddin' beats and razor sharp lyrics which will undoubtly remain in steady rotation for years to come for any hiphop purest. The album kicks off with the amped up boom bap sounding Mind Blowin that reminds one of a time in which emcees didn't care about big budget videos and gimmicks, but raw lyricism. The following joint, Dead On Arrival which sounds like something from out of DJ Premiers' archive is another example of raw lyricism and what the listener will be in store for throughout the lp. Other stand out joints (along with the aforementioned joints) include Russian Hat Wear (beat is sick) and Shakedown which is as you guessed, a joint about being shook down on the strrests of NY. The lp concludes with the signature sound of Pete Rock with the erie Game of Death. The only real low point of the lp is the less than stellar Monsta which really doesn't belong, but it's only a minor flaw, which given the quality of this lp, you can definitely overlook.

The U.N. has arrived and is evident by this release this lp, these four cats from Long Island will definitely bring respectability and credibility back to the art form known as hiphop.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars UN OR U OUT..... BUY THIS EXALTED ALBUM!, April 2, 2005

By 

Ramadichi "Ramadichi" (Mumbai, India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Un Or U Out (Audio CD)

100% PURE Unadulterated Hip-Hop served fresh from Strong Island Finest... The UN.