Furious Styles Co CEO of Gmfl Records droppin his first solo cd I am the burgh drops april 21. Detailed album review by Mysterious FURIOUS STYLES –“ I AM THE BURGH” DETAILED REVIEW Off top, this review is unbiased. I’d say me and Furious Styles are cool as hell at this moment tho we’ve never met in person. I’ve produced a song for him already and we exchange tweets often on the Twitter. He wanted true and unbiased reviews of his album and that was the only way I would have done one so, here it is. My review of “I Am The Burgh”. This is a very detailed review because I break down the songs individually. Its very rare that I post a blog and when i do blog, its usually pretty long. Being that this one was a request, I got it done once I got the time. A good thing about Styles is u can tell he's actually making an effort and he loves music and rapping. He's not just reading raps to a beat to pass out to his crew or hood. He made a complete set of work that pretty much puts u in the mind and day of a hustler. The rhyme patterns and timing of the bars can be weird at times. It’s like he takes awkward pauses where u wouldn't expect. Some bars seem like they were either missing a word or syllable or there was 1 too many. But overall, you get a good interpretation of the picture he is painting. He gets the point across, no matter how vulgar or straight forward the verses get, he makes sure you get the point. Also you can hear everything he says clearly. That's a plus. I hate having to rewind verses to understand what somebody is saying. I don’t know the names of the other contributors to this project, but, I’m gonna focus mainly on Furious Styles. Me bein a producer/artist I was naturally thinking of ways some of the joints could have been better (in my opinion). This is my opinion so keep that in mind. “I AM THE BURGH INTRO” For Furious to declare “I AM THE BURGH” with the title of his cd, I was expecting something crazy for the intro. This intro didn’t live up to the title at all. The Superbowl clip was definitely genius… But it coulda been used better. There should have been more Pittsburgh references or shyt talking being that the cd is called “I AM THE BURGH”. The Intro failed to bring the listener into “The Burgh” world. When he said “I AM THE BURGH” towards the end of the hook, it was kind of whispered. That should have been screamed. But lets get into the cd… "I HUSTLE" This joint set the cd off right. Hook and beat is hot. You can tell he is in his element on this track. He sound comfortable on this track and on this subject. Straight up Hustler anthem. Solid. "FRIDAY" When I heard the Friday sample at the beginning I was instantly happy. I don't smoke but I LOVE the movie. I was hoping when the beat dropped it would have sampled the song from the background of the Friday snippet. It didn't, but the beat that did drop brought a welcome change of tempo and energy. The beat made Furious put a little more energy in his vocals. It was cool. The beat coulda had a little more thump to it tho. Turn the drums up add a bass line, it woulda been a banger. That aside tho, the verses stayed on subject and on point. The hook waz tight. This joint iz cool. "BEDROOM GANGSTA" The overuse of autotune has definitely made me a little disappointed in the game and some of the decisions to use it... Especially when it either isn't necessary, or when somebody really can't sing at all... I think its best used when somebody has at least basic vocal skills... But, there are certain songs that are hot, autotune included. That brings me to Bedroom Gangsta. As the song goes on, you can hear that Dirty Maine has some vocals, which is a plus, but, I wish I knew how the song would have sounded without autotune. I imagine it would be better. Dirty started the song off singing "This aint T-Pain"... Not a good way to start a song in my opinion. Then the auto tune settings were too strong and they chose to roll with only one track of vocals for the hook... It would have been so much better with slight auto tune settings and a couple harmonizing tracks to smooth out the hook and make it a lot more sexy. The first verse made me think of Pretty Ricky. And I'm not sure if it was the recording or the mixing (most likely both) but the vocals, hook and verses, are screaming and peaking over the beat. I do see what the track is trying to accomplish and it worked, but it could have been a lot better. "LORD LISTEN" This one is interesting because I would never expect this subject on this beat... But... It works! I like this joint. The hook is hot. Beat is hot. When I listen to it I can't help but to nod my head. Real song about the struggle between living christian-like and paper chasin. This is the truth. "HATER SKIT" This was funny as hell. Period. However, if it had a setup like it was a voicemail or like it was a young buc asking his granddad what he think about Furious Styles it woulda been even funnier. When he said "your other great great granddaddy was a slave so that made him a b**ch automatically" I was laughing out loud. Nice skit to go into… "I NEED YOU HATERS" Furious back in his element again. This joint iz hot. When he started the song with "Im on that dark brown and light green/I don't do mohawks or skinny jeans" I knew I was gonna like this song. The "No homo but these haters all on my D" was kinda wack tho. That makes me think of way back in the day when we would say “D” instead of “Dick” because we wasn't aloud to cuss. This was an elementary bar. The rest of the verse was cool tho. And dude who spit 2nd did his thing. His rhyme pattern was hot. This is a stand out track. Its hot and I love what the song is about. "IM BLOWED" Furious did his thing on this too.There's a lotta heart in the track. He matched the mood that the beat gives off. Tho I didn't understand the "Police killin niggas over dogs" line tho... If there's a situation I don't know about that relates to this bar, lemme know. I just hope this wasn’t a Michael Vick punchline. Also another bar he says "I pray I aint die in vain". Last time I checked, Furious was twittering, alive and well. Lol. This song is real tho. "DONT TALK TO ME" This joint is decent. I like it Everybody did they thing. Its solid. Hook is hot. Beat is hot. Towards the end tho Furious follows a wack bar ("Always talkin sh*t on me but u always on my a**") with a hot bar ("Dont talk to me cause I'm higher than premium gas") "IM A G" This beat goes hard. Hook iz aight. I fux wit it. Everybody came thru. The first and 2nd verses definitely outshined the 3rd but, everybody did them, and did the track justice. Furious sets this joint off right. He gives you a peek into his childhood so you understand a little more why he is who he is. Definitely a standout verse from Furious. “HER BOYFRIEND SKIT” This skit is kinda funny but it’s a little too long. And by it not having any background noise, sounds or any other characters (Like the first skit), it’s a little empty. I can see if there was a setup like someone asked him if he believes his girl is faithful then he answered. There are so many ways this could have been a better skit. It didn’t really gel nicely into the next track like it was supposed to. Terry Jones is a chameleon with his voice tho and he’s funny as hell. “FUCKIN YO BITCH” Similar to the “Bedroom Gangsta” track featuring Dirty Maine, the quality of the song is a little funny. The vocals overpower the beat and it seems the vocals were either recorded or mixed too loud. I love the subject of this song. The hook coulda been a lot hotter to me tho. Seems like hardly any effort went into writing it. The “Call me the Rock cause I’m layin the smackdown” line is kinda dated. When was the last time the Rock laid the smackdown? While I think the hook and verses could have been a little more clever, they get the point across. Very in-your-face lyrics on this one (As you can tell by the title) The song is raw as hell so if you don’t wanna hear a lot of b**ches and f-bombs, this track aint for you at all. Dude that spit 3rd on the song came through with the double time flow and I’m glad he did. Everybody came through completely different and it made the track better in the end. “RUNNING” Beat iz bangin off top. The bass drum is weak, but the track is hot. If I first heard this beat, I would never think to rap about the subject Furious chose, but, it works. The melody and pattern of the hook and verses is hot over the track. Very catchy. “69” Now when I got to this track, I started to wonder… Maybe this might be sex song overkill. This would be the 4th one out of 11 songs so far. More auto-tune on this one. The beat is hot and this time, the beat is clear and on level with the vocals. The strings set this off. Who produced this by the way? I’d like to know the production credits of this album. Anyway… it’s very rare that you hear a rapper actually admit on wax that he eats p**sy and Furious aint scared to say how he gets down. He keeps it real at all times. He tells the truth in his songs so, you gotta respect it and the majority them dudes who claim on wax that they don’t go down on chicks BE LYING!! I know the ladies gotta feel this joint and he reps for tha dudes that go all out in the bed. This song is hot for real. He’s funny as hell freestyling at the end of the song too. I like this one a lot. “GET AWAY” This one is a little iffy. The beat isn’t quantized correctly so it makes the hook sound slightly off beat. Also the hook is kinda dull because there is no life or energy in it. But, the words of the hook are the truth tho. This one is a little deep. A lot of hustlers can relate. I found it interesting that on each verse, a rapper mentioned having 2 kids. (I think all the children were girls too) This song shows that there is another side and mentality to hustling. “WE GET MONEY” There are TONS of get/got money songs out, ESPECIALLY in Pittsburgh. But, this one is catchy and it bangs. Beat is hot. Hook is hot. The females voice on the hook made it even better. Even tho she only sung 2 words, I was waiting to hear a females voice on the cd somewhere after all the sex songs. I can see dudes bouncing to this and females singing along with the “Get Money” line the girl sings on the hook. This one is mixed and recorded very well. The verses were on subject. The “I’m glad to be the subject of your topic” line made no sense to me tho. But Furious always comes back wit a hot line like “You missed the layup, so how the f**k you ballin? “Bedroom Gangsta Part 2” Another sex song, but… THIS version is a lot better. It came on like some throwback Twista type shyt. Dirty did his thing. Effects on the hook ONCE AGAIN, but, it works. The hook is, ONCE AGAIN, way above the beat, but this time it’s softer and sexier. And the hook has harmony. The beat is hot and you can clearly hear the instruments in it this time around. The singing is so much better. Furious does not hold back on the verse. Straight raw wit it. I was hoping a female would have spit on this one since this is the remix. That would have been hot to have a female talk just as nasty as the guys. This song is tight tho. I would toss this on in the bedroom. (Along wit “69”) “SNITCHES REMIX” When the drums to this drops, it’s on and crackin’. Beat is hot. The hook is hot. The first verse set the song off proper. They stick to the subject. Not too much to say about this track. It’s solid. “IT AINT NOTHING” This beat is stale. I can’t say it any other way. And the guitar or synth on the hook is annoying at times (to me). I think it’s the way the beat was mixed. Sounds like the song had on too much compression or something. It has the elements to be hot, but it didn’t come together in the best way and it rubs off on the rest of the song. I like the hook. It’s lacking a little enthusiasm tho. Maybe if the song was a tad bit faster it would have been better in my opinion. “ENCORE” This beat comes on CRAZY. This should have been the first song by beat alone. But, I can understand why its also near the end of the album. I think Furious should have come first on this one. The guys’ style who came first is too laid back and monotone for this beat in my opinion… Listening to it a 2nd time, I don’t think anybody matched the energy the beat gives off. The song is still ok. The We Will Rock You sample should make you wanna switch ya style up a little and come amped. “GET BREAD” This one sounds like a hidden/bonus track or something. “Encore” should have closed the album out. But the beat is hot. The verses work wit it. They all sounds good on Juliano’s production. This song bangs. I fux wit it. The album cover looks a little weird to me. It looks like Furious’ head is shaped like a building… or a building with a face is smoking… It didn’t really look like Furious’ face was being reflected in the building. I do understand why the decision was made tho. It works with the title of the cd. Overall, it’s an ok cd and a good effort. In 21 tracks, he gives you ur moneys worth. And for those of you that got it free from his Twitter Exclusive giveaway, you definitely got a steal. About 4 or 5 of the tracks could have been taken off to make it more of a complete collection but I’m pretty sure he didn’t care about that. He gave you the life of a hustler and damn near filled a cd up doing it. With a running time of 76 minutes, I bet he just wanted to give the fans everything and not cater to critics. And that’s whassup! The beat selection waz good. I feel like there is definitely a lot of unnecessary swearing but, that’s his style. I’m not sure if he even cares about radio play and clean performances, but, if so, the swearing and subject matter is something to think about. He got a sense of humor which is always a plus to me. Being that I started talkin to Furious Styles a lot more through Twitter, it’s nice to hear his life through his music. He does a good job giving his point of view and this album could easily be a soundtrack to a movie about the streets or about the life of a hustler. -MYSTERIOUS Album review by Beat Supreme GMFL Records – Furious Styles “I Am The Burgh” May 10, 2009 Posted by theblogsupreme Well, I’m a big fan of Pittsburgh hip hop and I’m glad that I got to review this mixtape. At first listen, you may think that Styles ain’t from Pittsburgh. He gotta monotone slow speaking flow, but it gets catchy after a while. The first track to stick out to me was “Friday feat. D to the O.G.” Think of Smokey from Friday sayin’ “It’s Friday…and you ain’t got sh*t to do…” Perfect setup for this blunt smokin’ song. The easiest repeat in the first 1/4 of the disc is “Lord Listen” produced by Epik. Hot track. “Bedroom Gangsta” is good if you’re still into Auto-Tune. If you’re like me, and tired of hearin’ it…it’s a good track…but a skipper. The second half of the album starts with “I Need You Haters.” It is a great track. Basically sayin’ “I need you haters around me to make me better…” The synths are good for the track along with the horns….reminds me of an up-to-date Rocky Theme. Next power track is “Don’t Talk 2 Me feat. Chris Caine & D to the O.G.” produced by Dust Dipped. Since I’m a producer at heart, I’m feelin’ this track for the beat. I like the artists on it, but the beat caught me right away. Onto the 3/4 of the disc. The normal song to hear about stealing your girl and havin’ your way with her is “F***ing Your B**** feat. Dirty Maine”. The hook states “It ain’t my fault you ain’t layin’ the pipe down, call me The Rock cause I’ma layin’ the ‘Smack Down’.” Again…a slight T-Pain on the hook. Moving onto “69 feat. F.Stain” produced by Flawless RNB….I’m diggin’ this song more than the latter track. The beat is hot, T-Pain like hook is perfect for this track, and this could actually be considered bedroom gangster music. The girl that this is about…she better be holdin’ it down on going down. The last 1/4 of the album starts with “We Get Money” produced by Pittsburgh’s own, Johnny Juliano. It’s the basic “I’m gettin’ money and I can make it rain on y’all, and I ball better than y’all ever will.” I’m diggin’ this track. I can see me pullin’ up to the club blasting this and makin’ sure people know that “We Get Money!” Power track of the last set of album is “Snitches Remix feat. D to the O.G. & Big Shultz” produced by Johnny Juliano. FIRE. FIRE. FIRE. The title explains itself. Finishin’ out the album is “Get Bread” produced by Johnny Juliano. This should’ve been called “We Get Money Remix” or “We Get Money Pt. 2″ Definately like this more than “We Get Money.” This should’ve replaced that track. Over all “I Am The Burgh” is definately worth checkin’ out. GMFL Records sounds like a force to be reckoned with. I like Terry Jones, but he could’ve been left off the mixtape. Just kinda ruins the vibe of the whole disc. Even though it was 2 skits, it was 2 too many. Like noted before, I’m tired of Auto-Tune, so to hear this on a Pittsburgh disc kinda made me sad. Pittsburgh’s sound isn’t like any other style out there, but I can understand hoppin’ on the bandwagon. Hell, I’d do a track with Auto-Tune as well if it got me air play. A few skippers, just like EVERY album, but out of 21 tracks, I was very pleased with the mixtape. Furious Styles could be in the line of the next big thing to come out of Pittsburgh no doubt. Go check it out, and hope you’re feelin’ the next movement in Pittsburgh. Rating: 1= Use It As A Coaster 2= Bad 3= I’ll Listen To It 4= I’m Definately Gonna Check It Out 5= Supreme Status My Rating: 3.75 The Beat Supreme