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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe the best Gangsta rap album ever..., March 28, 2004
Say what you will about the obvious choices of "The Chronic" and "Doggystyle", my choice will always be Music to Driveby. This album exemplifies what not only great Gangsta rap should sound like but what good hip-hop should sound like as well.
First and foremost, Eiht is an emcee, not just a rapper. This performance is the pinacle of his rhyme ability before he became known to the public as "the guy who says geeyah". He battles ("Dead Men Tell No Lies", "Duck Sick II", "Def Wish II", and "Who's ****ing Who?"), he paints big lyrical hood murals ("Hood Took Me Under" & "Jack Mode"), he constantly reps his hood ("Compton 4 Life"), experiments ("N*ggaz Strugglin" & "U's a B*tch"), and destroys with rapid fire delivery ("Hit the Floor"). He may be the only artist to ever hold his own on a track with the great Brad Jordan a.k.a. Scarface ("N 2 Deep").
Production is cutting edge as well and again. After the slightly uninspired Staight Checkn'em album, this album returns to the original formula that made It's a Compton Thang so great - creative use of samples. "Hood Done Took Me Under" is the classic example. Eiht rips the Isaac Hayes sample used by Easy Mo B for Notorious BIG a few years later for "Warning", and a good decade before Ludacris used it again on his "Chicken & Beer" album. To top it all off, the loop was vastly superior to either of these uses or numerous others. Or better yet, check the clever use of scratches and snippets on "Who's ****ing Who?" where Tim Dog's voice is used to scorch himself. The complete bastardization of BDP's classic "South Bronx" was even a bold manuver with, to my surprise, absolutely no response from Krs-ONE. And to wrap it all up, you get the smooth instrumental "Music To Driveby" to round it all out.
Yeah sure, Eiht didn't get the national recognition until We Come Strapped a few years later. But that album, in my opinon, pales in comparison to the overuse of the same production used on Driveby's "Hood Rat" and waaaaaaay to many "Geeyah's". Driveby's way more diverse in both production and lyrics and does not suffer from any overused topics that Eiht would later be forced to employ from the overabundance of other Gangsta rappers and their albums.
If you're even a mild fan of gangsta rap or even hip hop in general, do yourself a favor and pick up this classic.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Serious Game Poppin' Off From The CPT, April 12, 2007
CMDubb's 3rd album, Music To Driveby is easily one of the top albums of the early 90's, thumpin beats and awesome rhymes. DJ Slip, Unknown, and DJ Mike T serve the beats in different flavas, raw, smooth, funky, melodic , jazzy (at times), and hella funky! Productionwise, this is one of the best albums of 1992, in my opinion. All three layer soul and funk samples one on top of another and Mike T dices and scratches them up with precision. Musically, this album resembles a West Coast DJ Premier of Gangstarr. Here in 1992, West Coast and East Coast beats diverge musically, and G-Funk was starting to pop up in West Coast albums. This album shows those tendencies while remaining raw at the same time. MC Eiht is game tight throughout the album. He can hold his own, and he gets hard on DJ Quik (who to be fair, I am a big fan of too)on the short "Who's Xxxxing Who?" and "Duck Sick 2," the latter is a funky classic. I love the Issac Hayes "Walk On By" sample by Slip on the melodic "Hood Took Me Under," an absolute classic where CMW shoots game about the trappings of the hood. Another classic is "N 2 Deep" with Mr. Scarface, another one of my favorite rappers; they both serve heat over a soulful funky beat. I love "This Is A Gang" which beautifully samples the beat sequence and hook of NWA's 1988 classic "Compton's In The House," and Slip adds a soft funky flute to add to the effect. This album sets a high standard for West Coast rap and often takes a back seat to other West Coast albums like The Chronic. It should not be overlooked.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
EIHT HYPE, June 22, 2000
MAN LOOK HERE IF YOU WANT A JAMMIN AZZ CD.MC 8 PUT IT DOWN FOR THA CPT. AS ONE OF THA ZAGGIN THAT CAME OUT RAPPIN AND NOT JUST SAY COMPTON TO SELL RECORDS.THIS CD TAKES ME BAC TO WHEN ME AND MY ZAGGIN WAZ OUT THERE. THIS A THE BEST TAPE 8 EVA MADE. I DON'T THINK HE COULD EVER TOP IT.GEEHA
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