Album Review: Dedge P – “Word on the Street”
Dedge P – “Word on the Street”
Released: 2011
Reviewed by: Ed Welch
Rating: 6.45
[xrr rating=6.45/10]
Dedge P is bringing the Word on the Street fromLos Angeles,California! Before I listened to one note and took the time to look at some of the features and producers, I have to admit, my expectations went up. BB Jay, Eric Cross, S.O.C.O.M., Twiceborn, and even G Status were all designated features. In short, I was ready to hear some heat! Well, I was a little disappointed at the overall product. Don’t freak out on me. I’m not going to bash this project, but I’m not going to give it tons of praise either. Dedge P probably had it a little bit harder than others, because I normally don’t come to a project with such high expectations.
I’ll start with the wordplay of Dedge P. Have you ever heard a friend tell someone else’s joke? You notice how it’s just not quite as funny even if they told the joke just like the original comedian did? That’s how I felt listening to Dedge P rap. I can hear the writing skill. I recognize the intellect and thought process that fueled the content, wordplay, and overall rhymes. But his delivery messed it up for me. His delivery of punch lines didn’t pack the power to knock me out. A lot of times he had ill-timed pauses that took away from the verse and flow of it all. It was like a movie that built up a whole lot of anticipation, but doesn’t deliver the bang as you imagined it. If his style were a little bit more fluent, this would have been a non-issue. Some lines that would have been “ok” came off as slightly corny (I believe the “going” term now is lame). Other lines that would have come off as witty or even cool came off as “ok” or mediocre. Sometimes I felt like he just needed a couple more words or a few more syllables to fill out his bars. Better word selection would’ve probably caused the actual rhyming parts and overall verse to sound much better. It also probably would’ve helped him stay on beat at some points where he was a little off. At times it felt like he was rhyming in slow motion and I was waiting on the next word.
The production was ok. I see that this project was mastered by G Status, but this album almost bumped too hard. …If that’s possible. I don’t mind admitting that mixing and mastering isn’t my area of expertise, so take what I’m saying here lightly. It’s not like everything wasn’t level or that there were huge audio blunders. Let’s be real, what hip-hop listener wants less bass or less of a kick? This album definitely bumps. The beats are pretty cool. Once again, I wasn’t blown out of the water, but there isn’t one song on this album that got on my nerves or made me want to skip and I can be pretty picky at times. I guess that’s my weird way of saying, “Good job”. 🙂
This album definitely has moments where it’s really catchy. Hearing some of his testimony in “My Bio” was cool. I liked the idea that was displayed in the hook. I liked the singing in “Father’s Day”. “Faith” is a pretty cool song as well. G Status definitely brought it on “Fear No Evil”, but my absolute favorite song on this project is, “Where Would I Be”. This is definitely the smoothest song on this project. The singing by Ralph Williams was great (he sang his butt off), and I enjoyed the Twiceborn feature as well. His voice fit the track perfectly. This is the song that I kept on repeat.
In short, this project was pretty cool. Some of the shortcomings I mentioned earlier pale as I look at the strengths of the album and put them side by side. So, what’s the word on the street in my opinion? Dedge P has put a pretty good project together. There’s definitely room for growth, but it was definitely a cool experience listening to this project. But hey, everybody’s a critic. I’m just the guy who wrote the review. Peace and much love.
Comprehensive Ratings:
Music 6.75
Flow 4
Lyricism 5.75
Content 7
Creativity 7.5
Credibility 7
Personality 5.5
Presentation 7
Overall Production 7
Potential Impact 7
