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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
2 1/2 stars - Actually, I'm not that surprised, October 14, 2006
Tha Dogg Pound - Cali Iz Active (KOCH, 2006)
And another entry in the long list of this year's disappointing albums from veterans is Tha Dogg Pound's Cali Iz Active. Kurupt and Daz still got that chemistry together, though; it's too bad that they're rapping like it's still 1992.
It's really a shame because in the 90's, Kurupt used to be really dope with his and Daz used to rhyme tight and produce tight jams. But on this album, Daz doesn't produce anything (which is already a one-star deduction) and his and Kurupt's rhymes are both uninspired. Overseer Snoop Dogg shows up a few times on here and though I can say the same about his deteriorated rhyme prowess, he steals the show from the Doggs. You can even look at the song titles and tell that this album would be unoriginal ("Sittin on 23z", "Keepin it Gangsta", etc.).
The saving graces on this album are productions by Battlecat (who is still severely underrated) and Soopafly (him too). Also, the Ice Cube-assisted "It's All Hood" adds some life to the party. "Fakina** H**s" featuring and produced by David Banner would also be good if the beat didn't sound like a rip-off of Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder".
If Cali is active, this album should not be proof. How did 2Pac say it? "All you old rappers tryin' to advance/It's all over now, take it like a man." -EJR
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
6th Pound album is decent, July 4, 2006
Just 8 months since thier last group album and on the same day as a Kurupt solo album, Daz & Kurupt (with Snoop) are bacc. Probably tied for their worst group album (with their last 2 -- all barely 4 stars). Between Daz & Kurupt I have around 24 albums they're associated with, and this is definitely in the bottom 33%. With 16 songs, Daz & Kurupt are on every song, Snoop is on 7, 2 are almost a classic, 7 or 8 are good, 2 I Skip and the rest are average. Guests are on 6 songs, and as a few reviewers stated, they need to do that early/mid 90's west coast upbeat music that made all us all love 'em and quit trying to do southern music (it sucks for the most part, and you aren't doing it any better). Production has it's high spots and lows, not enough west coast sound and Daz did NO SONGS! Battlecat does 4 songs, Soopafly does 3 (2 very nicely as usual), LT Moe, Swizz Beatz, David Banner, 1500, Jazze Pha, J-Dubs, Ryan Leslie, Rick Rock, Mr. Bangledesh all do 1. I'd have liked to hear some rapping from Bad Azz, Crooked I, Tray Deee, Nate Dogg, Warren G, or Roscoe - but maybe next time. A good album for their fans but they've done much better.
#1 - 9 (kurupt, daz, snoop, battlecat -- nice beat)
#2 - 9.5 (kurupt & daz -- tight beat)
#3 - 7.5 (kurupt & daz)
#4 - 6.5 (daz & kurupt)
#5 - 8 (daz, Kurupt, snoop, puff daddy)
#6 - 9.5 (daz & kurupt -- tight beat)
#7 - 7 (daz, snoop, kurupt)
#8 - 8 (kurupt, daz, lady of rage)
#9 - 5 (snoop, daz, rbx, kurupt)
#10 - 8.5 (daz, snoop, kurupt)
#11 - 8 (kurupt, daz, david banner)
#12 - 6 (daz, snoop, rbx, kurupt)
#13 - 5 (daz, paul wall, kurupt -- dirty song)
#14 - 9 (daz, kurupt -- tight beat)
#15 - 8 (kurupt, snoop, daz, oliver brown)
#16 - 7 (daz & kurupt -- dirty song)
KURUPT -- Ricardo Jones -- b. 11/23/72 -- b. Philadelphia, PA moved to Hawthorne, CA
DAZ DILLINGER -- Delmar Arnaud -- b. 5/25/73 -- b. Mississippi moved to Long Beach, CA, moved to Atlanta, GA
SNOOP DOGG -- Calvin Broadus -- b. 10/20/72 -- Long Beach, CA
DPGC!!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A very mediocre record, September 21, 2006
I was expecting a lot from the new Dogg Pound album... I knew that they would never be able to go back to the greatness they showed on the classics "Dogg Food" or "Dillinger and Young Gotti", but I was hoping for a good album. With Snoop supervising and the group being on Koch I still had high hopes for Cali iz Active, especially after hearing the banging single "Calli Iz Active" and seing the video (the video is one for the books, a true classic)...
However after getting the album, I was very disspointed. First of all, again - no Daz production. Supafly produced 3 songs, and his beats were all very good. The Swizz Beats song ("Sittin' on 23z") is boring, useless and the beat sounds like at least 5 former Swizz Beatz' songs... Even Battlecat's beats (other than the title song) were nothing special. Two of the best beats were made by Down-South producers (David Banner on one of the best songs - "Stank A__ H__s" and Jazze Pha on "She likes that") and they do not really fit Dogg Pound's trademark West Coast style (although the group does a good job on both songs...
Anyway, the production is not horrible, it's not wack... But overall it's just not something you'll feel. The other problem is the rapping itself. I am sorry, but on most songs, Daz and Kurupt spit the same old uninspired lyrics. Oh - and another thing: this whole album is laid-back stuff. There isn't even one hard-sounding beat (other than the banging David Banners song, which is about sex anyway), no hard hitting gangsta lyrics... nothing like what we got on "dilliner and Young Gotti".
However, I still decided that I'd give the album a "good" rating. Since it's not wack. You can still listen to it and enjoy some of the song. But if this album shows that Cali Iz Active, then Cali, we have a problem. I really really hope Daz did better on his solo album (I think he will, because he worked on it for a long time and he did all the producing, along with JD).
If you are a Dogg Pound fan, you should get this album. But if you're just a fan of West Coast music, there are much better albums to get this year. Look through my former reviews and you'll see a few titles (the new albums by Celly Cel, Suga Free, MC Eiht...)
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