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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Daz Dillinger delivers another classic album., December 26, 2000
In the year of 2000, most rappers could not come with good albums. But Daz Dillinger, one of the greatest all-around rap musicians, always seems to create classic album after classic album. R.A.W. is his second effort, though it isn't quite as good as his two previous efforts, it's an easy win for best album of the year. Daz's beats show they have become even better, along with his rapping which gets stronger with each album. R.A.W. was released on Daz's label, Dogg Pound Records. He originally recorded most of this album for Death Row Records, but financial problems with them led to Daz leaving them but taking the recordings for his own label. He even disses Death Row and his cousin Snoop Dogg on this album. Plus Kurupt, Mac-Shawn, Soopafly, Tray D, Lil' C-Style, Slip Capone, and others make nice guest appearances. One thing showing Daz matured here was that he did a lot more solo tracks, showing he could hold his own.The album starts out with an interlude, but takes off with the classic Daz track "What You Talkin' Bout", which has his signature bumping bass beat, and Daz tears it up. "This Is Not Over Until We Say So" is a slower track, with a gangsta ballad feel to it. The keyboards are nice and Daz raps well as usual. "One-Nine-Nine-Nine" is a track that sounds like it was originally recorded for Death Row, it has a bumping beat perfect for the car, and Lil' C-Style joins Daz, both of them trading lines and making a great track. "Who's Knocking At My Door" is one of the album's best tracks, it has a beat reminiscent of "Let's Play House", and the Death Row feel to it, and door-knocking sound effects. Plus Daz puts in a great performance. "What It Is" is an amazing track, where Daz disses Death Row and his cousin Snoop Doggy Dogg. On this track, however, it's not a gangsta headbanger, or have any excessively violent lyrics (though Daz threatens Suge Knight a few times on the track). It's a nice, laid-back track, but a great beat, and Daz disses them nicely. "I'd Rather Lie To You" is a deep track as well, but Kurupt gets credited a guest appearance, and he only talks a little in the background. Daz takes on some extreme issues on this track, like affirmative action, gang life, and other ideas. "On The Grind" is my favorite track, it features Kurupt putting in a great appearance rapping with Daz and a nice laid-back beat, with a sort of late night feel, which is the best time to listen to it. "Your Girlfriend Part II" should've featured Kurupt, as he did the original, but the addition of Mac-Shawn and Soopafly is a lethal combination. The track is hilarious, though not as funny as the previous sex tracks from DPG, Soopafly's verse is a good laugh especially. "R.A.W." is also an amazing song, as Kurupt joins Daz. The beat has an Egyptian feel to it, and Kurupt and Daz rap together sounding great and reminding us again they are the best duo in rap. Kurupt disses DMX again on this track too. One of the lesser known tracks is "Moving Around", which has a great beat from Daz, and is bright and full of energy! Daz and Slip both rip up the mic, California Underground style! "You Ain't Knowing" is also a great West Coast track. Tray D joins Daz on an uncharacteristically dark sounding track, but it bumps, and both rap well on it. "Feels Good" is a potential single with Kurupt joining Daz again, this is actually a love song, but has great trumpets and a fast-paced beat, perfect for the radio. "My System", like the other reviewer said, has more bass than can be explained. Kurupt joins and raps with Daz for this track, and it's perfect for outside, the bass is amazing. "Backstabbers" as another nice track, featuring Tray D and English singer Marc Morrison. The beat has more soul than almost any other I've heard. They all put in a good performance and the beat has cool keyboards and the occaisional trumpet sounds. Overall, this album is a classic. Everyone should support this album, because Daz is not selling well right now and needs the support. It bothers me he won't get much support because this is a release from an independant label, and because he won't get much promotion. Though this album isn't as good as Retaliation, Revenge and Get Back, it's almost as good. So I recommend it.
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