Review: Crooked I – Say Hi To The Bad Guy

Crooked I – Say Hi To The Bad Guy is one of the hottest lyrical West Coast rap albums from 2002. Each track is sure fire. Ray J’s on damn near every track. Say Hi To The Bad Guy is a West Coast classic.

Crooked I – Say Hi To The Bad Guy was the second album and debut album from Crooked I that was going to be released on Death Row Records in 2002. However Crooked I – Say Hi To The Bad Guy was never released due to various label issues and industry politics.

Suge just wasn’t used to independent releases because he was used to going platinum in the first week of sales. He was used to selling 6 to 7 million records at a time. It would have been hard for him to match his level of sales on Koch Records– which was Death Row Records distributor when he got out of prison. Koch Records was a different company back then as it was an artists graveyard. That’s how a lot of executives looked at Koch Records. Even if that was not always the case.

Artist were getting $5 to $6 dollars an album when they had distribution deals with Koch Records during the 2000s. He believed Crooked I’s album would not sell if distributed by Koch Records. So once Suge had figured that out, he decided that he needed to release the Crooked I – Say Hi To The Bad Guy album on a different label to be distributed by a major –record label or else people were going to think that he lost it as an executive So he shelved the Say Hi To The Bad Guy album.

One of the other reasons why Crooked I’s debut album Say Hi to the Bad Guy was constantly getting pushed back, in part because it was set to be released after Kurupt’s Against Tha Grain album. That created a timing conflict.

There were nights when Crooked I recorded 4 or 5 songs in a row for the Say Hi To The Bad Guy album. However he did not see much profit off it. There was a lot of passion going from Crooked I during the recording process of the Say Hi To The Bad Guy album.

Crooked I and For the People Entertainment had released Crooked I – Say Hi To The Bad Guy as a mixtape and bootleg themselves in 2002 until Suge Knight and Death Row Records issued a cease and desist order against Crooked I. Only 5,000 copies of the album were pressed and the album was eventually leaked online by For the People Entertainment later on in the decade.

Songs from Say Hi To The Bad Guy were put on to his 2010 album Hood Star, which was released by WIDEAwake. Bits and pieces have been leaked since then. The album was later butchered into an EP called Crooked I – Say Hi To The Bad Guy EP.

Crooked I let us know that Death Row was back on the track called Hood Near You. Darren Vegas produced Hood Near You. His wordplay and lyrical ability improved since the Untouchable album. He uses much more advanced vocabulary on this track with words such as “hallucinogenics”, “biochemist”, and “physicist”.

Here is one example of how his wordplay and lyrical ability improved since he recorded and completed the Untouchable album.

Spit game with the language of a menace
I’m dangerous as a dentist, high off hallucinogenics
Mind of a biochemist
Smart as a nuclear physicist

Guess who’s back? Death Row. People are sayin’ Crooked I’s too laid back. However we all know that’s not true. Crooked I is married to carrying chrome and married to chasin’ paper even if it’s running quick as Marion Jones. He’s wearing a Smith & Wesson like it’s part of my dress code. He’s dressed to kill. That’s why they call it a wardrobe. The boss is back with enough beat in the back to snap California off the map.

Somebody’s flow came iller? Well, that’s rare. Just let Tha Row make skrilla now. That’s fair enough. Crooked I is still that tyrannosaurus stalkin’, walkin’ thesaurus. He’s often strapped in black. Crooked I is as as a dentist, high off hallucinogenics as he is also has the mind of a biochemist whois as smart as a nuclear physicist.

If he gets pissed off, he’ll pistol whip you for your Walkman. Put this in and bang till it’s finished. He’s so sharp you could use him as scissors. The Uzi is vicious. Crooked I’s album is comin’ to a hood near you. Death Row is in this muthafucka. Everytime you see that logo, scoop that shit up. It’s fire. You know what the fuck I’m talkin’ about.

Hood Star explains why Crooked I is a hot lyricist. The song is pure fire.

You’re fucking with a nigga hot as a flamethrower. That is Crooked I. He shoots up the Range Rover. He blows some of your brain on one of your dang shoulders. Deranged when he bangs on ya.Fucking niggas up beyond recognition.

Crooked I is in the neon Expedition wishing for collision. He is quick to predict the way you gon’ swerve. Crooked I is a mixture between a banker and a baseball pitcher for the way I throw money at them take it off strippers. He is faded off liquor while breaking off chippers. Better run with the wind or catch a 100 uppercuts right under your chin.

Crooked I explains why you do not want to fuck with him on Ya Really Don’t.

Ya really don’t wanna fuck with Crooked I. He keeps them pistols in the stash no matter what. So you don’t want to clash with him. These niggas out here talkin’ about Crooked I everyday. But if they come at him, he’ll have to blow them niggas away. They’re nothing but rats stuck in the trap. Crooked I is killin’ you niggas over oil like President Bush. That sherm oil.

So if you don’t want you heartbeat to stop, then walk away before his gun pop.Leave him alone.
That known cat is gonna leave a niggas back blown. A nigga won’t even make it back home. His gat cracks bones.

You don’t want to go up against the West Coast nigga that squeezes the most triggers. Crooked I has fucked the most bitches and touched the most riches. The 4’s are on switches. The Benz’s so vicious.
We stay ghetto for life, my nigga. See you niggas really don’t understand what we doin’ at Death Row. We trying to organize them gangsta hits to flood the industry with and if you with that shit then cop everything with the Death Row logo on it.

Crooked I tells us that it feels so damn good when you’re so damn hood on the track So Damn Hood. He brought back that aggressive lyrical gangsta rap with this track.

Boss Me Up is another one of the heaters for that album which went unreleased for whatever the reasons(s) may/might have been. This was another one of the illest songs that were fire.

I rate this album 5/5*****!!

Review: Crooked I – Untouchable

Crooked I – Untouchable is one of the hottest lyrical West Coast rap albums from 2002. Each track is pure fire. Darren Vegas and Daz Dillinger were the producers of this fire album. Untouchable Cali, Bang On Em, and West West are some of the highlights from the album.

Crooked I – Untouchable was supposed to be Crooked I’s debut album on Death Row Records back in 2001. However this did not happen because Suge Knight believed the album title was too ambiguous with other music releases out on the market. So the Untouchable album was shelved indefinitely. So he had Crooked I record a new album which would be known as Crooked I – Say Hi To The Bad Guy.

Now if Crooked I titled his debut album as “Untouchable Cali” instead, then his debut album would have been released in 2001 and Say Hi To The Bad Guy would have been released in 2002. That was his mistake.

Untouchable Cali was opening track from the Untouchable album produced by Darren Vegas. This served as the opener for/of the album. Crooked I’s flow was on fire as he was one of the illest lyricists on the label at that time.

Bang On Em was the first track ever recorded between Crooked I and producer Darren Vegas which was supposed to be featured on his debut album on Death Row Records called “Untouchable” back in 2001. However this song was later re-recorded with Daz Dillinger and Lil C-Style. The song is sublime due to the melodies.

I rate this album 5/5*****!

Review: The Shacks – Haze

Mix ‘60s progressive rock and ‘70s psychedelic rock, voila you have the sounds of The Shacks. The Shacks are quite similar to Lil Cap’n Travis and The 13th Floor Elevators. It’s if Neil Young were to meet The Black Keys or MGMT. This is no conventional type of rock or rock band at that. Haze is the first full length album from The Shacks band that was released on Big Crown Records in 2018 on CD and vinyl.

Hazy humor laced over distorted twangy guitar notes on top of a groovy sound is one way to best describe this album. You will love the real dreamy sound. The Shacks did a wonderful job performing on this excellent cover song. Sharon Wise has an Enya vibe in her voice and a Tweet vibe in her voice as well. Her whisper-vocals breeze through the speakers. You can hear the youthfulness in her voice.

‘60s progressive rock meet ‘70s psychedelic rock on the song Haze. Notice the cool chord changes. This song certainly has an edge. ‘60s pop meets ’70 funk on Follow Me. Birds is a song you would expect to hear on the Fleetwood Mac – Tusk album.

I rate this album 5/5*****!!

Review: The Shacks – The Shacks EP

Mix ‘60s progressive rock and ‘70s psychedelic rock and you have the sounds of The Shacks. The Shacks are quite similar to Lil Cap’n Travis and The 13th Floor Elevators. It’s if Neil Young were to meet The Black Keys or if Neil Young were to meet MGMT. This is no conventional type of rock or rock band at that. The Shacks released their debut EP on CD and vinyl on Big Crown Records in 2016. The digital EP for the The Shacks – The Shacks EP contains 9 songs with 2 bonus tracks. The 2 bonus tracks are Strange Boy and No Surprise.

‘60s progressive rock meet ‘70s psychedelic rock on the song Strange Effect, which is no surprise because the song covers The Kink – Strange Effect. Henceforth the hazy humor laced over distorted twangy guitar notes. The song does have strange yet desirable effect on its listeners. So far this is the best cover version of The Kinks – Strange Effect. The Shacks did wonderful performing this excellent cover song.

Sharon Wise has an Enya vibe in her voice. She also has a Tweet vibe in her voice as well. Her whisper-vocals breeze through the speakers. You can hear the youthfulness in her voice. You will love the real dreamy sound. Notice the cool chord changes. This song certainly has an edge.

The song plays in synchronicity as they blend and loop with each other. This song is a song that will get stuck in your head and you will have to research and look it up online to listen to over and over again repeatedly. The synchronicity of this song is what really stands out.

Strange Effect is their most well known song(s) to date. The music video for Strange Effect reached over 100,000 views on YouTube since 2016. The music video has since surpassed over 300,000 views!

The music video for The Shacks – Strange Effect is currently featured in the Apple iPhone 8 global ad campaign that has been playing on television and the internet. The music video has appeared on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram reaching up towards 20 million views worldwide combined! The lead actor in the spot was all over the place in the music video.

Orchids is a suspense ridden, sax driven song with dark lyricism. Orchids is truly a beautiful original song. The song is about heartbreak and sorrow driven with such fearless emotion. Overall Orchids as a song has a groovy sound despite the dark vibe and tone. The chords don’t change or alternate that much. The rhythm section is perfect in orchestration.

Sharon Wise has an Enya vibe in her voice and also has a Tweet vibe in her voice as well. The youthfulness in her voice really help this song stand out on its own. Leon Michels produced Orchids with Max Shrager. Although Leon Michels take most of the credit.

Orchids is one of their lesser known songs to date. The music video for Orchid reached over 30,000 views on YouTube since 2017. The music video has since surpassed over 33,000 views!

Sharon Wise laid down her vocals perfectly on Rain. Rain is orchestrated in a pitch-perfect melody soothing to the ears. Sharon Wise has an Enya vibe in her voice. Her voice is a breath of fresh air compared to what’s on the radio these days. The freshness of this track is what really stands out the most.

Reggae meets rock on Hands In Your Pocket. Frightnrs represent the rhythm section backing Sharon’s voice with Max Shrager on guitar. The song is a pitch-perfect melody. Laying down a pitch-perfect song is an easy task for Sharon Wise. Max Shrager does half of the acoustics. The reggae sound on this track is what really stands out the most.

I rate this EP 5/5*****!!