Artist: B Dub From The Mob C.I.N.
Album: World War 1: The Mixx Tape
Year: 2004
Label: Reel Mob Entertainment
B Dub and the Mobb C.I.N. have been in the rap game for a while now and are affiliated with the Oakland hip hop group Americas Most Wanted. Although C.I.N. have never released anything sub-par they still haven't received the attention they deserve. C.I.N., hailing from Richmond,California, comprise of 4 rappers - B Double E (B Dub), The Trouble Maker, MCM and Cooley T. C.I.N. released their "94 Mobstas" album on SMG/ Real Mob Records in 1995 and then "Richmond Roullette" on No Face Records in 1996. After these two albums they pretty much disappeared off the face of the hip hop world (as far as I know) until 2002 when they released "Untold Chapters: Chapter 1" on Sack It Up Records.
This "Mixx-Tape" has 13 tracks and came out in 2004 on the rejuvinated Reel Mob Entertainment label. Although this is B-Dub's album, it still features the other C.I.N. members (MCM now goes under the name Money Bagz) as well as a few other guest appearances including Nutt-So (who appeared on Paris' "Unleashed" album), El Kaye, Gama, Troopa and Lil Big. All the tracks on this album are over jacked beats, as is the case with most "mix tapes".
The first track is an intro and it's pretty much just B Dub giving shout outs to people. Soon as I heard the 2nd track, "What We Do" start I knew this was going to be a sick album. B Dub's flow is flawless and his lyrics are quality. The 3rd, 4th and 5th tracks are all sick as well, on most other albums they would be the stand out tracks but on this album they just maintain the standard.
The 6th track "Soldiers" is one of the stand-out tracks for me. The beat used for this track is off of Eminem's "Soldier" and it suits the track perfectly. The track features Cooley T and Lil Big. All three rappers on this track have totally different voices that go well with eachother and all three are mad, but B Dub is on another level, he spits his militant gangsta rhymes with effortless flow.
The next track "Full Pimpin" features El Kaye and gives the listener a break from the gangsta rhymes by adding in some pimp rhymes. El Kaye has a unique voice and sounds def but again, B Dub steals the spotlight away from the guest with another crazy verse. - B Dub lays down the law in this track... "Lets go hunny, I'm a muthafuckin' mack man, Get no money? - Get the mothafuckin' back hand".
Track 8 is called "Clap First" and it features Solitary 1, this is another stand out track. This time B Dub raps about himself as a rapper and how good he is - at least his confidence is justified. Again, his flow on this track is sick and his rhymes don't disappoint. The next track, "Hotel" is alot more laid back than the rest of the album, probably the worst track on the album but it isn't bad, I'm just not a fan of the hook and there is way too much talking in the track that takes away from the music.
"We Commend You" is the albums 11th track and it is a dedication to soldiers fighting in the "war on terror". B Dub thanks the soldiers for protecting the United States and even though its clear that he doesn't support the war ("They got us lookin' for weapons of mass destruction, hundreds of soldiers losin' they lives and we aint found nothin") he respects the soldiers, something that I haven't heard too many rappers do. The theme of the album, including the cover, is that living the gangster life is like being at war. This track is sick because it ties together with the whole military theme and B Dub is able to sincerely speak about how it feels to be in the midst of gun-fire and how it feels to lose friends and family.
The second to last track is about B Dubs connection with the ghetto and how he will never leave his past behind him, no matter how he dresses and where he lives he will still be the same person. The final track, "The War Is Over", is rapped over the beat used for Lil Flip's "Game Over" and with no disrespect to Lil Flip, but B Dub and Rio Gambino put Flips version to shame, definately keen to checkout anything else Rio Gambino has done...
I've always rated C.I.N. highly and "94 Mobstas" is a classic in my eyes but the new C.I.N. stuff has a unique sound. This album, along with their latest project "Untold Chapters: Pages Of Sin" deserve alot more recognition than they seem to have received. The only actual fault with this album is that most of the tracks are short but I guess you get away with that (and 'borrowing' beats) by calling your album a "Mixx-Tape". Anyone into west coast gangsta rap should check these guys out if you haven't already - you won't regret it.
MP3:
B Double E Ft Cooley T, Lil Big - Soldiers
Rating: 4 and 1/2 Daytons out of 5
No comments:
Post a Comment