“Like This” - Review Of Bow Wow’s New Jack City II
ALBUM REVIEWS By TC on April 2, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Growing up in the industry ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Naturally, there’s invaluable knowledge to be gained — which will have your career a couple steps ahead of the pack, but as fans age and mature, so do their musical preferences; forcing the artist to shift their position — even it means contradicting their original standpoint all together. No one in Hip-Hop is more familiar with this than Shad “Lamborghini” Moss. Since the “Lil” was dropped, Bow Wow’s been faced with adhering to an entirely new market who mostly associate him with the teenybopper magnet Scream Tour and rapping about instant messaging cheerleaders while their parents are at the grocery store.
So even with the creation of New Jack City II, an album with no association with the 1991 film and his first to feature a Parental Advisory label, fans will still be skeptical of his artistic direction. For this pup’s development in the public eye has severely limited his subject matter to merely party n’ bullshit.
And of course girl records, which take up 54% of the album. Bow Wow, a fairly competent rapper from nearly two decades in the game, cleans up nicely on affectionate odes to the fairer sex like the two Johnta Austin collabos “Like This” and the radio-ready “You Can Get It All” which revisits TLC’s “Baby, Baby, Baby” for half of the magic. Elsewhere, B Dub flaunts his riches with DJ Toomp and T.I. over an exhilarating composition with some roadrunner bars to match and (surrogate) father and son are reunited to blend R&B and radio meticulously on “Roc The Mic” where Jermaine Dupri quips “You never know what you got til’ it’s gone/welcome home.” Indeed.
Still, a slim tracklist and Mario Van Pebbles couldn’t salvage some of the stagnant commodities found on NJCII. The cliché-ridden, Ron Browz-ruined, “What They Call Me” is the main culprit for the parental advisory still with a “nigga” here, a “motherfucking” there, and a whole lot of Auto-Tune. “I Ain’t Playing,” the Trey Songz duet, is successful only with rehashing the sentiments heard on previous girl devotions and Swizz Beatz’ cowbell massacre “Shake It” is the club anthem that will never be.
Due to classical grooming, Bow Wow’s grownup debut manages to be a respectable endeavor barring the deceptive album title and equal amounts of hits and misses. It may take a little more grinding to become the big dog, but if Pookie could be rehabilitated, then it should be a breeze for Mr. Wow.
BONUS
New Jack City II’s bonus tracks.
Bow Wow Feat. Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em - “Marco Polo” (Produced By Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em)
Bow Wow Feat. Yung Joc - “Big Girls” (Produced By Swizz Beatz)
Bow Wow Feat. Lil’ Bow Wow - “Anything You Can Do” (Produced By Jermaine Dupri & LRoc)
Previously Posted — New Jack City II Theatrical Trailer | “Negro Please…” | Being Bow Wow
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, AUDIO, GENERAL, LOOSIES, MUSIC — Tags: Bow Wow, Jermaine Dupri, New Jack City II, Soulja Boy, T-Pain
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30 Comments
“Line the barrel up with your weak picture then squeeze…”
so this is as good as “Padded Room” or “Boss of all Bosses?” i don’t believe it… Bow Wow = hot garbage
yea.. “cigs” screwed up
like barackeezy !
For Bow to really progress as an artist he’s gonna have to leave some of the songs for the ladies behind & find something new to rhyme about.
And get the fuck away from JD. That wack juice he’s got is contagious.
Far East Project - Nas Remix (2009):
1 4:08 Nas - Rule feat. Amerie (AjapS Remix)
2 4:46 Nas - I Can (Youichi Remix)
3 4:34 Nas - The Flyest feat. AZ (DJ Deckstream Remix)
4 4:03 Nas - Where Y’all At (Jugg Remix)
5 3:30 Nas - The World Is Yours (Ali-Kick Remix)
6 4:02 Nas - Nas Is Like (DJ Mitsu The Beats Remix)
7 5:33 Nas - One Love (Jugg Remix)
8 2:54 Nas - Life’s A Bitch feat. AZ (Jugg Remix)
9 4:25 Nas - Fast Life feat. Kool G Rap (Jugg Remix)
10 3:38 Nas - The World Is Yours (Jugg Remix)
RS:
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MU:
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“find something new to rhyme about”
^^^ lol…you mean tell his ghostwriters to rhyme about something new?
so this is as good as “Padded Room” or “Boss of all Bosses?”
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That would be a matter of preference but in terms of quality output…
Yep.
@AmpGeez LMAO. Co-sign to the nth power.
@ TC - damn, maybe the lil fella’s finally got something worth listening to…
April 1st was yesterday. Lil’ Bow Weeeeeeeeeeezy is as intolerable as he is unoriginal.
I’m not calling dude even the fourth coming of anything…but he can make a song.
I don’t know what he’s gonna do while TI’s locked up though
I don’t know what he’s gonna do while TI’s locked up though
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lmao - hey there’s always the mail…something tells me bow wow’s gonna keep his commissary money straight as fuck
And that mat’l probably is not for everyone. My daughter don’t even eff w/Bow Wow that heavy lol
Shamwow > Bow Wow
lmfao @ david d
I don’t know what he’s gonna do while TI’s locked up though
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Unleashed is prolly his best project & that’s cause JD wasn’t around & Tip co-wrote 50% of it.
Bow Wow to Grand Hustle?
The name BOW WOW conjures up images of earplugs, glass ceilings and 2.5’s
Is 3 cigs the all-purpose handout?
This joint is wack.
The joints with Tip & T-Pain are dope.
Bow’s been in the game dumb long & like Gotty said, dude knows how to make a hit.
Fresh Azimiz still gets sporadic burn on the iPod.
That being said, this rating is on point. I just listened to it again & it’s not trash. High production quality & catchy songs are exactly what lil’ dude is known for. For his fan base, 3 cigs is just right.
Shamwow > Bow Wow
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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Funny, Very Funny
I can’t call any MC that has to employ Ghost Writers through out his entire career, a competent rapper. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
*mumbles under my breath, Amanda Diva’s spandex love has made TC go Soft(Super Pause) 3 cigs for Bow Wow Jesus KC JoJo and Mary that’s insane!!!)*
who the fuck told Bow Wow this cover was ok to release to the public?
3 cigs is the all-purpose handout, unless its 3.5 cigs.
*mumbles under my breath, Amanda Diva’s spandex love has made TC go Soft(Super Pause) 3 cigs for Bow Wow Jesus KC JoJo and Mary that’s insane!!!)*
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LMAO
LOL @ the album cover.
Fisher Price “My 1st Photo-Editing program”
I’m guessing it’s crack smoke surrounding him?
He released a mixtape to drop lines. But even on here you have “I get money everywhere I go you got Lo cash call that shit Cb4″ . It’s not “I get more butts then ashtrays” but it’s a nice one. Bow Wow rhymes if said by a Cam ron or TI or Ross before 50 would’ve made everyone call him a decent B rapper but due to him being the lil dude from the movies he has a negative stigma attached to him. Well here’ my review
This is Bow Wow’s greatest album since 2003 undercredited “unleashed”. While “Unleashed” was great touching on personal and social, “New Jack City 2 has Bow Wow at his most confident, and romantic. He’s far from “puppy love” with the loving “like this” and freaky but fun “pole in my basement”. On “You can get it all” he shies away from autotunes and instead sings over the TLC sample. If you dont like Bow Wow or can’t admit you do then the TI assisted “Been doing this” is a great song for you. It features Bow Wow’s fast delivery that he started with and can be likened to his midwest roots as most of those rappers have a clear faster flow. Here he says it doesn’t matter what you say, he’s an accomplished rapper and has been for a decade. This album has a great feature with rising Grammy nominated singer Trey Songz on the addicting “I ain’t playin”. Also an instant song to fall in love with is “She My” which makes great use of an old classic Bobby Brown song.
This album is fun. It’s not lyrically a smash as it appeases to his young adult fans and not the hip hop heads. He understands his true demographic. Even those rap fans will find “what they call me ” and “Get that paper” to be right up their alley. They can also check his mixtapes “Half man half dog 1 and 2 which give lines and metaphors.
Come on with the slaps on reviews. Guess what, 3 cigs is avg. OK as in OK, worth a listen, u may like some tracks more than others, its not a banger, it not a classic, but recognize the effort; its not horrible. Eh, it may not be your taste or whatever. Each album is different and each artist is different.
Who judges anything off a review?; especially music & movies. It’s a perspective, an opinion. And the state of things? Everything is a link/google search away.
The crew spends alot of time listening, critiqueing, debating about some sometimes horrible shit so far out our “personal” listening ear; just TAKE IT FOR WHAT IT IS.
Ok, ur “above” listening to a lil bow wow cd. The fact that he came out with an avg rating now upsets you? A lil boy can’t grow into a man? He is a real live person. And in the same breath, ur gonna tell me “Padded Room” was GOOD? I dunno, cats need to stop tripping on every damn review; alotta time is put into this.
and for the record, fucka bow wow cd. Some good shit right here though:
http://rapidshare.com/files/215900266/Cunninlynguists-Strange_Journey_Volume_One-2009-CMS.rar
link courtesy of: http://groupripzv2.blogspot.com/
Is this a sequel to something other than the movie? Bc it can’t be the movie, that is too ignorant. Who even looked up to Nino?