Album Review: Slave Da 9th Inning – “Drugs”

Slave Da 9th Inning – “Drugs”
Released: 2011
Reviewed by: Ed Welch
Rating: 6.2 (Out of 10)
[xrr rating=6.2/10]

Well, when I first read the album title, I was wondering if this project was going to be some carbon copy version of This’l’s (heh, say that 5 times fast) song “I Hate You (Crack)”.  I like that song by the way.  But that concern was killed instantly by the intro.  I loved the intro as well, by the way.  There’s no music, but the story line pulled me in and got me open for whatever Slave was dishing out.  It was humorous and immediately brought clarity to what the album was going to be about (addiction to the Holy Spirit).  Great job!  I guess that means I was open to giving this “Drug” a try.

After the intro, Slave hits immediately with “Hustler”.  The hook kicks things off with saying “Ain’t nothing wrong with being a fiend”.  I like the melody and I think this was a great start to this project.  What else can I say…you had me at “hello.”  (Sniff)  Ok, I’m sorry.  I had a moment there.  Another thing I liked was Slave’s voice.  He has one of those rough, grimy voices in the ballpark of DMX.  Please note, I’m not saying he sounds like DMX (cause he doesn’t), but he displays rough and smooth vocal options.  Both options come across well.  He also brings great vocal energy to each track.

I spent the first half of the album feeling like I was doing the hokey pokey, cause I “liked” (aka thought it was a “good” song) every other song.  None of the songs really blew me out of the water, by the way.  I was also a little disappointed with the title track, but be warned that this may be more of a personal bias. I believe that the title track of an album should easily be one of the strongest songs on the album. It’s not a “bad” song, per se’, it’s just not one of his best (at least I told you it was personal).  He follows this up with “Get it In”.  It’s a dance track…I wasn’t moved.  But I could see others really catching on to it.  My favorite part was him screaming out “DAARINAH”, right before her verse started.  “Glow” and “Already Dead” are “skip-able” songs for me as well.

The production is varied.  I appreciate the shift in style with production and lyrics.  You literally can’t tell what kind of track is coming next or how he’s going to rhyme from track to track.  Slave definitely gets a “thumbs up” for versatility.  I would like to see a little bit more wordplay from him, but his lyrical style can hold your attention for awhile.  His interludes were great.  Having the original version of “Up in Here” play right behind the remix of “Up in Here” (utilizing the same beat) was a big mistake.  By the time its starts to play again, you feel like you just listened to it.  I’m not saying it shouldn’t be on the album, I just feel like it would’ve been better for the listener’s pleasure to have these versions spread out some, since it is using the same beat.  But hey, everybody is a critic.  I’m just the guy who wrote the review.

Peace and much love.

Comprehensive Ratings:

Music                           5
Flow                            7
Lyricism                       5
Content                       8
Creativity                      7
Credibility                     5
Personality                    7
Presentation                  7
Overall Production        6
Potential Impact            5

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