Best Gift Shopping > Music > West Coast
|
|
Best Gift Shopping > Music > West Coast
|
|
Ball Street Journal(more) »rank: 1088by: E-40
Our review: :A West Coast phenomenon whose previous seven albums reached the R&B/Hip Hop top 10, E-40- rap pioneer in the hyphy movement- made his gold major label debut in 2006 with 'My Ghetto Report Card.' Suddenly, E-40 became a sensation as the album debuted #3 Pop and #1 R&B/Hip Hop and went platinum. Now the innovative E-40 returns with his most polished product to date, the imaginatively titled 'The Ball Street Journal,' featuring superstar guests from Snoop Dog and Ice T to The Game and Akon. This is the parental advisory edition Detail |
LAX(more) »rank: 1860by: The Game
Our review:Album Description:The Game returns with his third and supposedly last CD LAX. Keisha Cole is featured on the lead off track 'Game's Pain.' Other guests include Ice Cube, Raekwon, Ludacris, Bilal and Raheem DeVaughn, appearing on 'State of Emergency,' 'Bulletproof Diaries,' 'Cali Sunshine' and 'Touchdown,' respectively. Cool & Dre, Irv Gotti, Nottz, J.R. Rotem, Scott Storch, DJ Toomp, Hi-Tek and Kanye West lend their production efforts to the album. Detail |
||
2Pac - Greatest Hits(more) »rank: 2624by: 2Pac
Our review: :An indispensable and definitive collection showcasing the passionate genius of the late rapper. The album's nonchronological sequence highlights the contradictory impulses that made Tupac's music so commanding; the 21 well-loved 'hits,' some slightly reedited for legal reasons, are accompanied by four previously unheard songs. Of the new material, the raw-sounding 'God Bless the Dead' has been the subject of the most speculation, owing to its subject matter: a eulogizing of the late Notorious B.I.G.--a mysterious feat, since Tupac was killed six months before Biggie. And, making its first proper appearance on a Tupac album, the B-side 'Hit 'Em Up' stands as the most ... Detail |
The Chronic(more) »rank: 4237by: Dr. Dre
Our review:Album Description:Death Row Records. Digitally remastered and repackaged in jewel box in slipcase. Enhanced portion features the classic video Dre Day. 2001 reissue. essential recording:1989's Straight Outta Compton, by Dre's previous outfit N.W.A., may have shined the public spotlight on the genre, but The Chronic legitimized it. That is not to say that Snoop Doggy Dogg (The Chronic marks his debut) and Dre's raps are for everyone; the subject matter is the sex, drugs, violence, and politics of South Central Los Angeles, and the phrasing is explicit, to say the least. But The Chronic's real genius is the music. By breeding hip-hop, ... Detail |
||
2001(more) »rank: 4097by: Dr. Dre
Our review:Album Description:2007 vinyl repressing of Dre's 1999 opus featuring guest turns from Eminem and Snoop Dogg. Interscope. :Despite the number of guests on hand, Dr. Dre's decade-/century-/millennium-ending sequel to The Chronic is, like its predecessor, less a stack of posse cuts and more an elegantly seamless work from West Coast hip-hop's premier auteur. Deliberately cinematic in everything from its mix of moods to dramatic musical surges, 2001 is Dre's assessment of the gangsta life in medium shots. No longer fully immersed in violence and random sex, yet aware of their attraction, he often lets his guests blow steam about whatever's on their minds. ... Detail |
Monkey Business(more) »rank: 2733by: Black Eyed Peas
Our review: :As with their last hit, Elephunk, Black Eyed Peas' new disc Monkey Business is a joyful cross-genre journey with musical props to hip-hop, rock, folk, funk, and pop. The reason the Black Eyed Peas have audience appeal that crosses over many styles is because the band members are such obvious fans of diverse music. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Monkey Business’s high-profile guest list. After Justin Timberlake’s contribution to the massive 'Where Is the Love' breakout hit from Elephunk, their inclusion of big names once again was a smart, respectful move on the part of the band as well as their ... Detail |
||
Elephunk(more) »rank: 5954by: Black Eyed Peas
Our review:Album Description:Includes the bonus track Something For That Us. :Black Eyed Peas have at times been accused of sounding too Tribe for their own good, but this time out Will.i.am and crew have consciously expanded their horizons. Problem is, perhaps they've tried too hard. As the title suggests, Elephunk borrows from every single element of funk known to man and (with the exception of the one straight-out rock & roll track, 'Anxiety') tries to cram them all into a semi-hip-hop format. While such willingness to experiment is admirable, in this case the attempt comes off as slightly desperate and too diffuse. Elephunk settles ... Detail |
The Slim Shady LP(more) »rank: 3283by: Eminem
Our review:Album Description:Asian version featuring a bonus Audio/Video CD, with 3 videos and 5 additional audio tracks. :On The Slim Shady LP, Eminem wants it all. He's conflicted, you see; the world has treated him badly, and he wants to respond in kind. But he isn't a straight-up gangsta--this is, after all, the first release on Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records, his post-Death Row-era venture--and Eminem (born Marshall Mathers) doesn't really want anyone to follow in his footsteps, which leads to some interesting contradictions on this album. In the first single, 'My Name Is,' he's self-deprecating, rapping about his poor upbringing and his hairy palms. ... Detail |
||
Office Space: The Motion Picture Soundtrack(more) »rank: 4988from: Interscope Records
Our review: :Ice Cube's 'Down for Whatever' is the highlight on Office Space's soundtrack, a classy West Coast production with just the right proportions of laid-back groove and simmering tension. Scarface turns in a credible enough track ('No Tears'), and the Geto Boys' impersonation of Bill Clinton at the end of 'Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta' is funny, though not terribly accurate. But Canibus and Biz Markie's attempt to rework David Allan Coe's 'Take This Job and Shove It' into a hip-hop novelty hit falls flat, as does a similar effort by Lisa Stone at revitalizing '9 to 5.' Two ancient Perez ... Detail |
All Eyez on Me(more) »rank: 6224by: 2Pac
Our review: essential recording:Simultaneously serving as both endless fodder for intellectual debates and the album most likely to be blaring out of the adjacent car's window, All Eyez on Me is a phenomenon that packs a wallop with every listen. Unquestionably the most nihilistic album to top the Billboard charts--and it's doubtful that any will match it--Eyez also manages to dish out the good-times dance tunes and still flow seamlessly. Recording commenced within hours of Tupac Shakur's release from prison, and a year's worth of pent-up ideas are unleashed with a fury akin to lifting the lid on a box of plutonium. The line ... Detail |