Customer Reviews

Vendetta

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are a lot of good tracks on this CD. A favorite is the one Mic dedicated to his mother, may she rest in peace.

Trufully I never heard of Mic Geronimo ever until back in '01 he appeared on a bonus track on DMX's The Great Depression. Somewhere after that album he dropped Long Road Back, in which I've never seen hit shelves, but I heard a few songs from this. Back in 1997/1998, he would follow up on his debut The Natural with his sophomore album Vendetta. I've yet to hear his previous LP, but I believed that fans turned away from this album was the lead single "Nothin' Move But The Money" that features Puff Daddy (aka Diddy) (and just for the record: thats the only song that Puffy produces). As you can see Mic was trying to keep up with the New York trend of the mid-late 90's. From upbeat songs such as his lead single, to interpolations of old songs, to rocking Tims, shiny suits as you can see on his album cover.

After the first track, "Vendetta" comes next sounding very mellow type produced by The Legendary Traxter, as Mic spits some dope verses. Mobb Deep's Havoc comes in, and drops a nice beat for the next track "Survival", which comes off great. If you like mellow fast tempo beats, then "Life 'N' Lessons" will appeal to you, produced by Irv Gotti. "For Tha Family" produced by K-Def, which is also great. The way Mic rhymes on this album sort of reminds me of Prodigy from Mobb Deep, especially by the hook. "Street Life" is an easy standout, and one of the best tracks on the album. Also the song features Monifah on the hook. "Be Like Mic" is a solid track (think the movie Space Jam when you hear that track). "Unstoppable" Mic drops somemore dope rhymes over a Pete Rock beat. "Single Life" is a song more aimed towards the radio, and it wouldn't suprise me if that was the second single. The song features Carl Thomas, and Jay-Z. "Things Ain't What They Used To Be" is another solid track, but doesn't standout much in my opinion. "How You Been" is an emotional track that Mic dedicates to his mother. The final track "Usual Suspects" comes off strong that features DMX, Ja Rule, The Lox, and Tragedy Khadafi.

Listening to this album, it's a shame that it didn't receive such praise as it should have. I don't think Mic was trying to sell out, but at the same time if he was on a more popular label (ie. Def Jam), this album would have moved a lot of units. This album is so underrated, that it's not even funny. Great lyrics and excellent production, causes Vendetta to fall short of classic status. This album is being sold for one penny. If thats not a steal, than I don't know what is. Either way, this album is excellent, and I recommend that you add this to your library, especially if you're a fan of mid-late 90's rap. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best albums you never heard. Peace!!

Lyrics: A-
Production: A
Guest Appearances: A-
Musical Vibes: A-

Top 5 Tracks:
1. Street Life (featuring Monifah)
2. Unstoppable
3. For Tha Family
4. Survival
5. Usual Suspects (featuring Lox, Tragedy, DMX, and Ja Rule)

Honorable Mention Tracks:
1. Single Life (featuring Jay-Z and Carl Thomas)
2. Nothin' Move But The Money (featuring Puff Daddy)

I remember when "Nothin Move But The Money" first came out, I was in the 10th grade and it was a hot song, now 10 years later I picked up the album again and I forgot how good it really was. A slept on and under rated MC with a smooth flow, he delivers a very tighht album. Though rather short, at only 12 songs, not one is bad, in fact I'd say 1 is ok, the rest are good, with a few being real good and 1 classic and 1 almost classic. Guests are minimal as well (rapping on 2 songs and doin the hook on 3) , and quite a few grew into some of the bigger names in rap shortly after this album dropped (Jay-Z, LOX, DMX, Ja Rule, and another great but under rated rapper, Tragedy Khadafi). Production is great on almost every song and handled by some bigger names. Irv Gotti & Lil Rob did 2 songs, Puff Daddy, Pete Rock, Buckwild, Prestige, Legendary Traxter, Havoc, K-Def, P & Time, Chrin Lange, Prince Kasan all do 1 song. A must have rap album from an era where rap was still about lyrics and not bling bling and women.

#1 - 9 (f/ Kelly Price -- tight beat)
#2 - 8
#3 - 8
#4 - 10 (CLASSIC -- great beat)
#5 - 8.5 (good beat)
#6 - 9 (f/ Monifah -- tight beat)
#7 - 8 (another good beat)
#8 - 7
#9 - 9.5 (f/ Jay-Z & Carl Thomas -- great beat)
#10 - 8
#11 - 8.5 (F/ Khadeija Bass)
#12 - 9 (f/ DMX, Ja Rule, Jadakiss, Styles, Tragedy Khadafi -- another version has Cormega & Hussein Fatal instead of Tragedy & the Lox)

Michael McDermon -- b. 9/14/73 -- Queens, NY
check all my reviews

After getting his debut album "the natural" wayback in the day when it 1st came out i was hit with 2 assumptions. 1)That album was laced with alotta hit records and 2)He wouldnt be able to recreate it cuz there were alotta fillers on the debut also so i thought he'd used up whatever he had in the tank in the 1st time round. How wrong i was+unfortunately i slept on this until very recently when i decided to cop it on the cheap. It starts off with 1 of the crossover aimed tracks "nothin move but the money" which was produced by PUFFY and genuinely wasnt as bad as i thought it wouldve been because MIC tears it down with some lovely wordplay. Next is the title track "vendetta", a MOBB DEEP sounding track were Mic flips some warnings to mc's. Then ironically comes "survival" produced by HAVOC from Mobb Deep, a jazzy rugged joint where Mic sounds in his element. Next is the IRV GOTTI produced "life n'lessons", a crossover type joint with a lovely laidback feel to it where Mic is in storytelling mode describing his life. The next joint is a K-DEF (Marly Marl's partner) produced heatrock, guaranteed to make you nod ya head. The next track "street life" is very much a radio filler and "be like mic" has a repetitive boring beat despite some of Mic's best rhyming. Then there's a track from PETE ROCK which i was not expecing at all called "unstoppable" and thats exactly what it is once you put it in your deck. A bone crunching bassline+beat driven track with a delicate piano rift with a touch of jazz mixed with Mic's stellar flow. Then there's 3 reletively forgettable tracks in "single life" (cr*p), "things aint what they used to be" and "how you been?". All 3 have a more r+b influenced vibe rather than a harder rugged edge Mic sonds better on. Finally we're giving "usual suspects" a posse cut with DMX, the LOX and Carl Thomas with a badboy feel. After hearing 2 of his 3 albums i get the impression that this cat makes albums with a handful of excellent str8 up real hiphop tracks mixed with a handful of more laidback radio/r'n'b tracks that kind of take abit away from it. Well worth coping for the variety of the tracks.

In other words, I didn't felt the other half of the album. It was okay, but I think that starting here is where Mic Geronimo starts to fall off the league. He's real good, without a doubt. But, I'm starting to fall into thought since he lately got with Puff Daddy and Jay-Z and all them... he's losing the feel.

A solid album if you a real hip-hop fan, but it's not as good as The Natural.

mic geronimo delivered a solid relaese with vendetta that was sadly slept on...

it's only drawbacks are that the sound is often more or less the same on all the tracks, but on the other hand this makes for hot background music, or something just to put on when you are in a relaxed mood or want to chill...

some tracks do stand out:
2. Vendetta-shows his skills if you listen

9. Single Life-hot beat! and jay-z's part is fun, funny, and a nice break from mic's less noticable vocal style

11. How You Been?-track about his passed on mother..the only (or at least the most) r&b flavored track. calm, soothing, sensitive.. mic shares some of hisself-very different from the rest of the album

12. Usual Suspects-easily, THE HOTTEST track on the album. different tone than the rest of the album. DMX is funny, and put out the best verse. also features a young ja rule and LOX. hot hot hot!

cop the cd-a solid hip hop album put out before bling bling took over(w/ exception on jay's verse of coure;) )

enjoy

Geronimo hit us off back in 1994 with his debut cd called "The Natural" giving the world 4 singles and a hella tight album. It got some radio play and was recieved well as an underground hit. Tracks from his first album released to single are: "It's Real," "Where Ever You're At," "Masta I.C." and the title track "The Natural" backed by a dark and shady video. He collaborated with many currently successful talents like DMX, Ja Rule, Jay-Z and Royal Flush. He returned on his sophomore effort with "Vendetta" which featured a few tight tracks. Some of them are: "Single Life" which features rapper Jay-Z and R&B Bad Boy Records talent Carl Thomas, the Puff Daddy produced song entitled"Nothin' Move But The Money" which featured R&B diva Kelly Price and finally, the last track on the lp, Mic's posse cut which features guest shots by DMX, The Lox, Khadafi and Ja Rule entitled "The Usual Suspects." Mic Geronimo also released a remix single of "Nothin' Move But The Money" which features DMX and is really good. To all you true hip-hop heads out there, I would recommend picking up most of his stuff and I guarantee you'll like what you hear. Until next time, this is THE RAP REVIEWER singing off. If you want a review that's true and informative, just look for the signature name atop the rap, R&B and hip-hop reviews and you can be sure that you're gettin' the right stuff. ~Peace.

I bought this in a Pawn shop and when I lisened 2 it I was like why was this in a pawn shop? This is a good album, but I 4got some people dont know what true hiphop is, like I said true hiphop has feeling and Vendetta does have that feeling! so get this if u r a fan of true hiphop!

Two years after his well-received debut The Natural, Queens' Mic Geronimo returned in 1997 with "Vendetta," another LP full of such distinctly borough music enough to make any New Yorker sport his Bombers cap proudly. Although it doesn't stack up with the debut, it's worth a listen. Where The Natural employed a grimy New York underground sound, Mic teams up with Puff Daddy and numerous other big names on "Vendetta" for a slick sound and more crossover appeal. The most frequent knock on "Vendetta" is that it's a sellout attempt, and while I don't necessarily agree, I do see where those critics are coming from. My problem with "Vendetta" is just that it's a rather bland listen. Although the list of producers here is nothing short of amazing (in addition to Puff Daddy, the Legendary Traxster, Havoc, Irv Gotti, K-Def and Marley Marl, Pete Rock, Buckwild, Chris Large, Royal Flush, and Prince Kaysaan lend beats), the beats are surprisingly plain. Add the fact that Mic's not exactly New York's most energetic rapper (read: the most monotone MC this side of Guru) and the result is something like the musical equivalent to NyQuil. It all sounds okay, but Mic's rhymes are fairly insubstantial as well. "Vendetta" lacks the spirit and underground fervor of its predecessor, but it's not a bad album by any means--it still hits hard, and especially on the latter half, the collaborations are enjoyable.

The tracklist starts slow but picks up with the first highlight "Street Life," a breezy, smooth take on project living with a strong appearance by singer Monifah and beat by Chris Large. "Single Life" features a young Carl Thomas for another nice collabo, and Jay-Z shows up for a guest verse as well. The most essential track, however, is saved for last: "Usual Suspects," an absolute monster of a posse cut featuring murderous verses from Mic, DMX, Ja Rule, Jadakiss, Styles P, and Tragedy Khadafi.

Although few give him credit, Mic Geronimo is an essential New York rapper in that he bridged the gap between the dusty, rugged sound of the early and mid-90s to the furious, heavy streets sound of Ruff Ryders, Murder Inc., and Roc-a-Fella in the late-90s. However, "Vendetta" proved the end of the line for Mic--although he would release two more albums, they received no promotion or attention, and besides a hidden track on the periodic DMX album, he has stayed out of the spotlight. "Vendetta" is a decent album that doesn't fulfill the promise of his debut. It's definitely worth a listen, but I would steer potential buyers toward his buddy Royal Flush's 1997 album Ghetto Millionaire, a more complete and stronger album with a similar approach.

After dropping an street level classic in 1995 (The Natural), Mic Geronimo drops Vendetta in late 1997. There is a significant difference here than in The Natural. The beats and rhymes seem more tailored towards the mainstream audience. The beats are pretty dope and are more relaxed for the most part. Some beats still have that phat boom-bap flava like on the first album, yet many have more of a funky vibe (similar to G-Funk on a few). Production goes to many names, so a few include Irv Gotti, Puff Daddy, Buckwild, Pete Rock (yes!); even Twista's homie, the Legendary Traxster does a beat. One thing to note is that there are more playa, girl flirtin' joints here, which may be good or bad depending on the listener. The beats on those are cool and smooth with RnB hook vocals; joints like that include: "Single Life" f/ Jay-Z, and Buckwild's surprisingly almost G-Funk like "How You Been?." Pete Rock creates fire on the old-school boom-bap inflected "Unstoppable." Mic battle raps and kicks some reality with his trademark flow. "Nothin' Move But The Money" is the most commercial song here produced by Puffy and "Prestige." The lyrics deal with hustlin' and Puffy adds in some hook vocals. The beat is funky and upbeat. Legendary Traxster produces a maniacal keyboard and violin laced g-funk beat on "Vendetta," and his beat brings out a sick, fast flow and menacing lyrics by Mic. "Life In Lessons" has a serious tone to it and deals with issues in life and karma, and the beat has a nice vibe to it. "For Tha Family" has a neat soulful Boom Bap beat to it and brings the magic that The Natural brought 2 years before. "Usual Suspects" is a posse joint with the LOX, Ja Rule, DMX, and Tragedy Khadafi with a twangy beat and some background horns. All kick some gangsta flows. This album is definitely tight to bump, and mainstream and underground heads will both find something here that they will like.