“I’d Rather…” - Review Of Three 6 Mafia’s Last 2 Walk
ALBUM REVIEWS By MZ on June 29, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Opportunity: noun 1. a favorable juncture of circumstances. 2. a chance for advancement or progress. [Merriam-Webster]
Opportunity is a finicky and unpredictable event, so one has to always be ready to strike when their moment arises. This occurred for Three 6 Mafia in 2005 when their break-out single “Stay Fly” dominated the airwaves and their song “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp,” garnered them an Oscar for Best Original Song. With all eyes on the group, what do they decide to do? Forgetting they won the Oscar for best song and not actor, DJ Paul & Juicy J headed west to Hollywood to pursue movie “opportunities.” The result was their short-lived reality show Adventures In Hollyhood. 2 ½ years later they finally return back to what opened the doors – the music, with the release of their oft-delayed album Last 2 Walk. Sadly the only redeeming value this album has is as a warning to those who fail the strike when the iron is hot.
Other than the group’s continually dwindling roster, the first thing you notice is the sound of the album. The dark, lush, and soul sampled sound beds of their earlier works have been replaced with keyboard driven beats that sound more like attempts at classic rock anthems or mainstream pop hits at, than rap song songs. “I Got,” featuring Pimp C, lazily samples Zombie Nation’s “Kernkraft 400,” where outside of an added drum line and 808 kicks, nothing is done to the original sample. Conversely, on “Hood Star” featuring Lyfe Jennings, they manage to squeeze almost all the life out of Willie Hutch’s “Color My Sunshine,” by speeding up the melody like they did for their break out sing “Stay Fly.” It’s unfortunate because this is one of the few songs where Paul and Juicy step aside from their usual array of club anthems to address the trappings fame bring.
Songs like “Playstation” and “Weed, Blow, Pills” have such generic and unoriginal hooks that make it virtually impossible to take the songs seriously. To make matters worse, the hooks come before any verse and set the songs up for immediate failure. When you’re inundated with repeated chants of “Play with your Playstation” or “Weed – Blow – Pills” for 40 seconds before any actual verse begins, it’s almost like they’re daring you to skip to the next song. When the verses actually start, things don’t get any better as their rhyme schemes and lyrics rarely go above the “See Spot Run” complexity of 3rd grade. Like on “I’d Rather” when DJ Paul kicks things off with: “Riding down the street man/I’m in my big car/I scoped a little sexy little, mixed little broad/she made my dick stand like Kareem Adbul Jabbar/I hit the brakes so hard, that I dropped my cigar…” When DJ Unk drops a scene-stealing verse on your song, you know you’re doing something wrong.
Another problem when a project is delayed is that some songs are dropped and others which may have been original when first made, may face similar sounding songs when they actually see the light of day. “Dope Boy Fresh” was released over a year ago and had to be dropped. “Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body),” which became the new single, pales in comparison to Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop.” The same goes for “My Own Way” featuring Good Charlotte sounds very similar to Busta Rhymes’ “We Made It.” What may have been a good idea at the time, comes off more as a cheap imitation today.
It’s remarkable that Paul and Juicy have been able to keep Three 6 Mafia afloat despite all the turmoil that’s gone on within the Hypnotized Mind Camp throughout the years, but it appears they’re prone to relying on the strength of their production as unoriginal songs populate the majority of the album. They may be the Last 2 Walk, but each step they take brings them closer to the end of the plank. Another album like this and they might jump the ship, because this LP is the epitome of an opportunity squandered.
Last 2 Walk (Columbia Records) is in stores now & available online.
For more info, visit www.triplesix.com
Three_6_Mafia-Last 2 Walk-(iTunes_Bonus_Tracks)
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, AUDIO, GENERAL, LOOSIES, MUSIC — Tags: Album Review, Hypnotized Minds, Last 2 Walk, Three 6 Mafia
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27 Comments
Oneness
Shit.
“Riding down the street man/I’m in my big car/I scoped a little sexy little, mixed little broad/she made my dick stand like Kareem Adbul Jabbar/I hit the brakes so hard, that I dropped my cigar…”
^^
Even in a freestyle, that’s clown poop.
that’s too bad, cuz I kinda root for Three 6.
from HipHopIsRead.blogspot.com:
Hip Hop Is Read Presents:
Jay-Z Live at Glastonbury 2008
http://www.mediafire.com/?imd2xydaxmm
http://rapidshare.com/files/125787881/jayzliveatglastonbury2008.zip
01. Jay-Z - Wonderwall (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
02. Jay-Z - 99 Problems/Back in Black (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
03. Jay-Z - Is That Yo Bitch? (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
04. Jay-Z - Smack My Bitch Up/Rehab (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
05. Jay-Z - A Billi (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
06. Jay-Z - Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
07. Jay-Z - Izzo (H.O.V.A.)/I Want You Back (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
08. Jay-Z - Can I Get a… (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
09. Jay-Z - Beware of the Boys (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
10. Jay-Z - I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me) (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
11. Jay-Z - Show Me What You Got (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
12. Jay-Z - Girls, Girls, Girls (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
13. Jay-Z - American Boy (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
14. Jay-Z - Umbrella (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
15. Jay-Z - Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
16. Jay-Z - “Beautiful Moment” Speech (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
17. Jay-Z - Encore/Numb (Live at Glastonbury 2008)
@ ET
Check out the Smoke Break on the right
oh, dang, that’s where I found it!
haha
short term memory loss
40 degree day?
40 below, maybe.
fuck yall that cd bangs so hard on the cerwin vegas
My homie said that shit be ridin….but the only ridin this will do is off my hard drive.
Caca.
bootleg worthy
they need an instrumental version quick.
Why are we surprised?
Last good album was CHROME’S!! ..They need to get back to their roots
Obie Trice declares his independence:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/14420862e2b80c00/
http://i31.tinypic.com/hsmb1e.jpg
Take it as you will…
http://lix.in/-2e981d
^ “Jay Unit” (Jay-Z over G Unit beats, mixed by DJ Spinatek):
01. Intro
02. Threat (Heat)
03. P.S.A. (What Up Gangsta/On Fire)
04. What More Can I say (If I Can’t)
05. H to the Izzo (U Not Like Me)
06. 99 Problems (Poor Lil Rich)
07. Mi Amor (Magic Stick)
08. Bonnie & Clyde (21 Questions)
09. Who U Wit (You Don’t Love Me)
10. Watcher (Attack Mode)
11. Deja Vu (Can’t Leave Em Alone)
12. What We Do (Outta Control)
13. Girl’s Best Friend (Karma)
14. Can I Get A (Amusement Park)
15. Jigga My Nigga (Put U On The Game)
16. Money Ain’t A Thang (This Is How We Do)
17. Point Out The Bounce (So Seductive)
18. Roc Boys (Rider Pt 2)
19. Allure (The Way She Do It)
20. Ignorant Shit (Talk About Me)
21. Hello Brooklyn (Westside Story)
22. Moment Of Clarity (Position Of Power)
23. A Dream (Dreams)
24. Dirt Off Your Shoulders (P.I.M.P.)
25. Best Of Me (Build You Up)
26. Jigga That Nigga (Just A Lil Bit)
27. Takeover (50 Shot Ya)
28. Encore (Hate It Or Love It)
w/each member they lose, they lose some of their sound. The two remaining members were always part of the whole when it came to rhyming but no way are they strong enough to carry an album…well, they could crush an instrumental album.
The instrumental to this bitch get the same rating lol.
I can’t believe it took 2 years for this doo-doo to be created. Any drunk mofo with Fruity Loops could’ve created this shit. Definitely missing that signature Three 6 flavor. This is more like Baby D.
WEED. BLOW. PILLS.
Well, we kinda knew the album was gonna be ass when we saw they were behind on it on Adventures in Hollyhood
This Three Six album is straight booty buttcheeks. I’m so glad I bootlegged it.
These dudes done pissed everyone off, and now all they have is themselves. And that’s the problem–they can’t rock an entire album by themselves. They need dudes like Lord Infamous, Koopsta, T-Rock, etc. Hell, at this point I’d love to hear Crunchy on there somewhere.
These dudes fell the fuck off–probably harder than most. They get all the props in the world for accomplishing what they did with the Oscar. And I guess you could say that opens it up for them to whatever the fuck they want. But what they’re doing now just isn’t working for me. I need some of that classic shit.
*throws on “the Koopsta Knicca tape”*
I didn’t hate it as much as y’all did…Mike Watts’ chopped and screwed version is worth copping though
I didn’t think the album was that bad. I’d give it 2.5, maybe even 3. The production is on point and lyrics have never been a strong suit for these two so I wasn’t really looking for lyrics when I grabbed this joint. I don’t listen to Three 6 expecting to hear them spit like Lupe and Common. I wouldn’t cop it but it was worth 3 spins I gave it. Decent album.
man when “lolli lolli” dropped yall were hyping it as the club scortcher for the summer now they cant get no love? lolli is the worst song on the disc and one of yall fools were claiming its gonna be THE jam of the summer…3 6 is about production if your looking for lyrics you picked the wrong album.
yall are acting like they EVER had dope lyrics if anything juice and paul have only gotten stronger on the mic but the presence of former members is missed.
The worst song of the disc?!?!
Did you hear “Playstation” or that Good Charlotte shit?
These beats are trash.
Everyone knows they ain’t no rappers like that, but I’m sure everyone has at least When The Smoke Clears, Most Known Unknown, or Choices in the stash. Good crunk music with catchy/memorable melodies like they did with “Gangsta Chick,” “Stay Fly,” “Sippin’ On Some Syrup,” or even “Tear Da Club Up.” It’s always been simple as hell but you would sing along with no shame at all. This is one of the worst albums I’ve ever heard….period
*randomly selects songs*
http://www.zshare.net/audio/14466964ac84e455/
Tell me this song (beats, melody, chorus, verses, the whole sha-bang ain’t asscheeks).
they really need to stop trying to change it up… In the outro they said they was doin solo’s
So hopefully we will get anotha taste of
Chronicles of the juice man
dj Paul vol 16: for the summa