11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Predictably straightforward and refreshingly enjoyable
A quick glance at the cover of WC's newest album makes it clear that he lacks the name-recognition he had just five years ago, when his Ghetto Heisman album went gold despite a major distribution goof by Def Jam. It's sad that someone thinks he needs Ice Cube's name and mug, as well as Westside Connection's name, for WC to sell albums. It seems like with each passing year...
2-1/2 stars -- If you're from California, skip this review
Westside Connection attempted a comeback in 2004 with Terrorist Threats, and even though that album went gold, I still wasn't impressed with it because it seemed like the trio ran out of things to say. But Ice Cube's solo comeback Laugh Now, Cry Later was actually pretty solid; it's too bad WC didn't fare as well with Guilty by Affiliation.
A quick glance at the cover of WC's newest album makes it clear that he lacks the name-recognition he had just five years ago, when his Ghetto Heisman album went gold despite a major distribution goof by Def Jam. It's sad that someone thinks he needs Ice Cube's name and mug, as well as Westside Connection's name, for WC to sell albums. It seems like with each passing year of garbage hip hop capturing the mainstream, pioneers and veterans like WC creep closer and closer towards obscurity.
Anyway, WC's third solo album in ten years dropped earlier this week to little fanfare. For those who don't know him, WC is a 20-year veteran who began his career as a member of Low Profile in the eighties before moving on to his group WC & The Maad Circle and ultimately to the infamous Westside Connection with Ice Cube and Mack 10. You basically know what to expect when taking home a WC release. You'll get straightforward, menacing, hardcore gangsta raps over some banging, distinctly West Coast production. No fluff, songs for the ladies, or political correctness. WC is a gangsta rapper to the core, has been for 20 years, and will be to the day he dies. "Guilty By Affiliation" doesn't pull any surprises in that respect. It's West Coast rap with bass-heavy production. But the quality of this makes it so refreshing. WC's quick-lipped staccato flow sounds as sick as ever, and the production throughout the album is excellent. The beats are upbeat and heavy, with the post-2001 sound that creates some true anthems. Except for a few missteps towards the end of the disc, this album provides some truly enjoyable music that West Coast purists are sure to love. Real West Coast gangsta rap is in short supply these days, and this is some to remember.
The album opens with a banger in "This Is Los Angeles," a West Coast anthem. The thumping piano-heavy production features nice instrumentals, and both the hook and verses are clever and memorable. "West Coast Voodoo" is also great for the same reasons, a similarly-approached song featuring a great appearance from The Game, who lately has been tearing up his guest verses. WC displays his sick flow on "Jack and the Beanstalk," which has a thumping bass-heavy beat to match. "Paranoid" is pretty cool, using the same foundation as the album's first songs. Ice Cube delivers a great hook on the nostalgic title track, which sounds like a classic Westside Connection cut. I also love "Dodgeball," which has a seductively creepy beat and a suitable hook by Butch Cassidy. Snoop Dogg also appears for a guest verse, and this song is a standout highlight. The bouncy "Keep It 100," is okay but forgettable as it doesn't stand out, and it's followed by "Crazy Toones 4 President," a DJ/instrumental track. "If You See a Bad B..." is one of the weaker tracks, it sounds like one of the slacking club songs from Terrorist Threats, and neither "Let's Get It On" nor "Side D..." are particularly good or memorable either. "80s Babies" gets the album back on track with a clever Ice Cube collaboration. The two tell listeners born in the 80s that they've most likely been with their mothers, ironically cementing their veteran status. The twangy beat is good too. The upbeat production on "Gang Injunctions" will recall 50 Cent's "If I Can't," and WC's old school rap concerning gang activity is fun. The album closes with "Addicted to It," a final banger.
"Guilty By Affiliation" is refreshing in the same way that Keith Murray's recent album Rap-Murr-Phobia is (other than that they're both great albums, two of my favorite of the year). Despite little promotion, after 20 years WC is still sticking to the formula that works and making WC music. Hard and effective West Coast gangsta rap is notably absent right now, and this is sure to please many fans. I happily recommend "Guilty By Affiliation," a nice album from WC.
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I was a huge fan of last year's 'Laugh Now, Cry Later' by Ice Cube. Not everyone was a big fan, but I really enjoyed the lyrics and production on it. That being said, even though I havn't bought any WC albums in the past, I was excited to hear 'Guilty by Affiliation' because it's the second album on Ice Cube's 'Lench Mob' label.
Lyrically, you've probably heard this album before. If you've listened to any West Coast gangsta album ever, you've heard everything that's been said here. However, WC's and the deliveries of featured artists like Ice Cube, the Game, and Snoop Dogg are impeccable and show that even these West Coast vets still have it in them.
The production and beats are great as well. This is the type of album you have to blast to get the full benefit of listening to it, and once you hear songs like 'Keep It 100', 'Look At Me', and 'Crazy Toones 4 President', it'll be hard not to.
WC didn't fill this one up with guests, but the ones here do a great job. I was especially surprised by 'The Game', who adds greatness to 'West Coast Voodoo'. I might actually pick up an album by 'The Game' after hearing his remarkable job on here. Ice Cube's flow is still great as well, but his lyrics aren't nearly as good as on his last release.
If you're looking for something new, 'Guilty by Affiliation' isn't for you. But if you've ever enjoyed a West Coast hip-hop album in the past then definitely pick this one up. If Amazon gave me the option I would probably give this one around 3.5 stars, but on their system it gets a 4 from me.
This makes me want to see what Ice Cube has in store for future releases on his record label.
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WC is a West Coast legend, and he's been doing his thing ever since the late 80's, making him a true vet in the rap game. Everything he did in the 90's (The Low Profile album, His 2 albums with the MAAD circle, The Westside Connection project, and his best solo ever "The Shadiest One") is a straight classic. In the 2003, Def Jam, which had signed WC a few years before that, finally released WC's long expected album "Ghetto Heisman". As usual, Def Jam never promoted that album (just llike it hadn't promoted any West Coast artist album on their label) and it didn't sell well. It was a good album (with a few bright spots), but you felt it wasn't the WC we were all used to, you could feel there was a lot of Def Jam influence on that album, and at times some song just didn't fit WC's style. After that record, WC left Def Jam and joined Ice Cube on his label Lench Mob Records. After 2 great guest appearences on Ice Cube's comeback album "Laugh Now cry later" it was time for a WC album as well.
From the moment you take a look at the album, you realise that WC is back! A black cover, with nothing but WC giving you one of his hard-a** looks, with Cube in the background. No fancy throwback jerseys, no chains, no Bentleys in the back - you can feel you are getting something different than what rappers are putting out these days. And indeed, "Guilty by Affiliation" proves to be a straight West Coast Gangsta Rap album, just like the good ol' days, when West Coast was running the charts, and rappers actually had a lot to say. Unlike "Ghetto Heisman" the production is straight West Coast, fitting WC's style like a glove. The beats are hard-hitting, with thick and loud bass-lines, they hit you in the chest so hard! No RnB type of beats on that one either. It's straight gutter and hardcore, handled by Jelly Roll, Mr. Porter, Ice Cube, Emile, Laylaw, Teak, Nottz and a few others. And it's not only about the beats. The biggest change is WC's rapping. On this album, WC sounds 10 years younger, rapping with the same rage, power and emotion he displayed in the 90's. I can't explain it, but at the age of almost 40, WC sound HUNGRY again! And when WC is hungry, you better take cover, because he just rips songs appart with his powerful voice (this man definitely has on the top 5 powerful voice in rap mucic!) and hard-hitting, straight in-your-face delivery. Just listen to songs like "Paranoid", "Gang Injunctions", "Addicted to It" and every other song on that album and you'll remember the good old WC we all loved. WC dispays, rage, emotion, and he's just being, well... hardcore to the fullest. In fact, I think this is the hardest album WC has ever recorded, both musically and lyrically. It seems that working with Cube brings the best out of WC, and he sounds better than ever. Lyrically the album is gangsta to the fullest, just like the good old 90's. No songs about flossing, Bentleys and Rolex watches. It's all about the streets, representin' Lench Mob and the West Coast. WC makes a couple of songs about sex, and they are not bad too. And of course he also touches a few social issues, mainly rapping about the strugles in life. WC's presence is so powerful that even though he has the 3 biggest rappers on the West Coast on his album (Ice Cube, The Game and Snoop Dogg), he outshines them with ease, and you get a feel that he could even handle the album all by himself (how many rappers these days can do that?). To sum it all up, "Guilty By Affiliation" takes you back to the good old days, the 90's, when gangsta rap ruled the charts, and the artists were doing their thang, and didn't have to follow some formula in order to get radio play. WC sounds hungry, fresh and angry, and with such an artist, when you get this over great production, you don't need anything else. You just sit and enjoy the album, from begining to the end.
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Westside Connection attempted a comeback in 2004 with Terrorist Threats, and even though that album went gold, I still wasn't impressed with it because it seemed like the trio ran out of things to say. But Ice Cube's solo comeback Laugh Now, Cry Later was actually pretty solid; it's too bad WC didn't fare as well with Guilty by Affiliation.
This is another one of those cases where I looked at the other reviews and now I wondering if we all listened to the same album. The first two tracks ("This is Los Angeles" and the Game-assisted "West Coast Voodoo") ARE excellent, though, as is the interesting title track. Ice Cube does the chorus to the latter, and he shows up a few times elsewhere on the album (no big surprise, considering he's on the album cover), but sometimes he can't save the material (see "Addicted to It" or "Keep it 100"). I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but nowadays you can hear WC rap a verse and then you'll be asking yourself, "WTF is he talking about?" This is especially evidenced by "Jack and the Bean Stalk", where the first verse contains uncomfortable similes like "I'm harder than Michael Jackson's d in a daycare" and "who got `em shakin' like Parkinson's disease?"
There are other missteps as well. Snoop Dogg and Butch Cassidy add nothing to "Dodgeball", "'80s Babies" is a metaphor that doesn't even make sense, and "Side D" is just plain disgusting. And the "Crazy Toones 4 President" interlude serves no purpose. WC might have been around in the mid-`90s when rap could still be hardcore without sounding manufactured, but his skills seem to be long gone, so Guilty by Affiliation isn't worth picking up.
Anthony Rupert
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I don't need to go into a long review to let you know EVERY track is fun to listen to. I ripped EVERY track to my computer so I don't have to put the CD in. This rarely happens to me as I, at most, usually rip 5 songs from a 12-15 track album. BUY THIS NOW!
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WC is what rappers are trying to be. This is not a surprise coming from Dub, Cube n Toones... Classical s**t. Pain dues ma brotha. Mack come back home the game needs WSCG. Keep these dudes in check, ya know... peace.
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dub-c has always been under-rated, along w/ 3-6 mafia. dis was 1 of the greatest albums of '07, but w/ no promotion he wont get his recognition, except for us tru fans!. if u like hard-core rap, then please go cop dis album, u wont b disappointed, trus u wont!
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WC by far has been the most underrated artist from the West Coast and probably the U.S. He could lyrically and physically kill any artists at anytime yet for some very odd reason he's been overlooked for lesser talent. Real WC fans know what I'm talking about and this album was one of his best, esp. since this is his first solo since Ghetto Heisman. WC comes hard on every track and kills its with his witty/gritty lyrics and socially-conscious commentary. If you don't know about him or remember him from Westside Connecition, WC and Maad Circle, or hell even Low Profile, you know what he's capable of and this is THE album to get. Guilty by Affiliation-the biggest Gangsta album of '07 and you need this esp since hip hop and gangsta rap is nearly dead.
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Every time I play this disc, I play "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Side D**k" about three times each. The rest of the disc has excellent stuff and no wasted tracks. Just hit play and forget about skipping songs. You don't listen to gangsta for original subject matter; you listen to whether the rapper can do it well, and Dub C does it as well as anyone. A great effort.
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I won't go into any great detail, that's been done elsewhere. But this is one of the best if not the best album of the year as far as I'm concerned. From the opening to the title track, this is what west coast hip-hop is all about. Do your self a favor and put this CD in heavy rotation on your entertainment device of choice.
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