Damn, the website is a time capsule! https://www.themacmall.com
Having never heard of the rapper until today, I’m surprised most search results are for the rapper. This retailer was huge in the late 90s and early 00s. Maybe it’s because google knows me and is tracking my other activity so it putting the rap links higher. Plus this store is dead so there’s that.
Going into this on a morning walk, past the intro skit I felt like the production or mixing overall seems a little flat, and could stand to have a little more punch. In the 90s I would have been messing with my in-dash EQ right off the bat. In 2024 I can’t be bothered messing with my phone or Spotify’s settings and having to readjust for whatever I play next.
But starting with “Cold Sweat”, the beat pulled me in with the first few notes and things started to feel more vibrant and hard-hitting. Really enjoying the vibe of this album for the most part, and I’m only on Don’t Wanna See Me right now but the stretch from Cold Sweat has been solid (Crack Da 40 being the low point). Really dig the west coast g-funk sound but it also reminds me of southern stuff for some reason. Can’t put my finger on it and maybe it’s just that nostalgia of hearing stuff like this a lot when I was living in Houston through most of the 90s. Most of the rap I listened to at the time were the high-profile west coast guys, so not this, but I probably heard a lot of lesser-known stuff like this indirectly. Booming lowriders, record stores, clubs, movies, other pop culture. I really do miss the cultural diversity of Houston.
Anyway I’m quite into this and glad I got past my initial feelings on the production. Curious if the early tracks really do sound more flat or what the deal was. I was using the same headphones at least through Crack Da 40. I really like how most of the tracks flow right into one another. I think it actually helps carry the album over the 75 minutes, whereas more defined breaks between tracks might get me wondering if we were done yet. It sounds like that could make the album feel endless and unrelenting, but it’s working for me.
My Opinion reminds me of an Eazy-E track I can’t put my finger on. Now the title track, another great one. I’m always a sucker for samples and this has plenty of them. Ghetto There is pretty good but maybe that’s the point we’re stepping into “it’s too long” territory. Would probably sub it for a weaker one elsewhere on the album as opposed to removing it, although it does feel like an end of album track. Which makes me wonder how the actual last song is going to feel. Yeah Ghetto There really does feel like a closer, dragging on more than anything else on the album. Going into Pimp Shit feels almost like trying to go back to another point in the story, like a slight rewind…a “but wait! there’s more!” moment. Good track though, no complaints really. Thinking back to the Houston vibe maybe it’s that it reminds me a little of UGK.
Verdict: Very good, will listen again. I don’t plan to compare every album in this listening club but as we’re only on the second one…I think stylistically I vibe more with the O.C. album but some of the criticism about it being smooth, effortless, and not varied are true compared to this one, which (despite my initial comments about flat production) feels dynamic and alive. Doesn’t mean I prefer one over the other, just that I appreciate all that’s going on here. A nice surprise.
got his second album on now, enjoying it a lot. there’s only a couple of khayree tracks but the slack is picked up by some west coast heavy hitters (rick rock, tone capone, ant banks, cold 187um & more!)
dunno why ive not listened to this before now. great cover too:
Think Mac’s performance on the mic is actually maybe an improvement on that one, but it suffers a tiny bit for not having quite as consistent and unique production as the debut. Still a really solid album though, with some stand out joints (Let’s Get a Telly, Opening Doors, Crestcide… I mean, all the Kahyree joints do it for me but some others too haha).
That and Da US Open are the next places to go for Mac Mall IMO. Never bothered with the sequels (Illegal Business 2000 and, hilariously, Legal Business).
Then I think my other favourite Kahyree produced album is Young Lay’s Black and Dangerous (which I actually considered for the list, but it’s a bit more obscure and not on Spotify).
Listen 2, part a.
Got up to and including Versatile on my lunch walk. Really liking it actually. Versatile itself was probs my standout this time, really hit, but also It’s All Good, I Gots 2 Have It, Cold Sweat, all solid to excellent. I’d say Nathan But Game I’d probs cut from this section, certainly it could have been 3 mins rather than nearer 5, if he’s really desperate to keep it.
Glad you’re vibing with the record! Overall, I think it sounds pretty great for a rap record from 1993, partly because it doesn’t really rely on still kind of dusty sampling techniques. But it’s also an independent album from the early 90s produced on a shoestring, so the mixing/mastering isn’t what it might be on a major label.
There’s definitely a lot of overlap between West Coast and southern rap, particularly of the late 80s/early 90s. The shared love of funk being a key denominator. People often say the south hadn’t really developed its own sound yet, and that it followed the template of western gangster rap and g-funk. But it’s worth noting that the DOC came up rapping in Texas, for instance. I think there was more of a permeable influence between the regions than credited.
what an absolute classic! two of my favorites off the top of hhlc2024.
i want to shout this out cos its what got me to get into this album as a teen. and what hooked me to bay area rap. love on this record how he’ll just change a beat mid song, sick wit tis was the first mac mall song i heard, it was all over bay area compilations and a main stay on local radio. that beat switch about 2/3 through is so good. easily one of the bays best beats.
love every beat on here honestly.
ant banks, ea ski, tone capone, khayree, shock g, studio ton, these producers really nailed that bay area regional sound. all about those live bass lines. ant banks easily a top ten producer all time for me but some of these others arent far behind.
the last third of this album goes into a way smoother direction, highlighted by ghetto theme
video directed by pac who loved his bay area hip hop
Another one is never heard of and sadly another one I didn’t particularly get on with. I’m a fussy bastard when it comes to hip hop!
smooth headbanger shit
there were a lot of shared sounds between the south and the bay in the early/mid 90s. suave house production a cousin to bay area production for sure. a lot of love between the two regions.
i put this in the Pros column vs the Cons.
Only listened to the first half but enjoyed it. First 5 tracks really come out swinging!
It’s the kind of rap that makes you feel a foot taller walking down the street. Love how unpolished cold sweat sounds. I remember listening to some memphis rap mixes that Legowelt put together and it does have a similar feel despite being west coast.
Sorry only a brief post…
I’ve listened to the album several times now & overall can say I enjoyed it. There’s good energy in Mac’s rapping & the production is fun, I like the way Khayree is happy to just let his groove run it’s course & let Mac ease tracks out with his adlibs.
Young N Da Game is currently my favourite track, but It’s All Good, Ghetto Theme & My Opinion are not far behind.
Going to be happy to dip back into this in the future & explore Mac’s catalogue.
New album tomorrow, so I’ll post the poll up! Really enjoyed seeing so much engagement, some people discovering a new LP, some discussing an old favourite. Looking forward to everyone else’s picks!
Started a new job last week so I suck at the internet and listening to new music currently. 
Enjoyed this. Totally passed me by at the time, but I actually don’t think 1993 me would have been very keen on it. Interesting that some of it was recorded in 1991 - only 2 years, but back then that was an eternity. At the time I’d inevitably have been comparing Mac Mall to Bay Area artists like Casual and the rest Hiero who lyrically were way more technical and I just vibed with more.
Certainly a long album, and because the Bay Area sound has never really been my favourite, I have zoned out a bit during my listens. But it’s a great album to stick on at the gym, or while I’ve been cooking and drinking beers in my garden. Definitely respect the way Khayree switches things up but funnily enough it’s ‘Versatile’ that really caught my ear and is the one I keep going back to, even though it’s maybe the most minimal cut on the album?
Anyway. Another nice pick.
Same, I didn’t really appreciate this kind of stuff at all for a long time (100% a me problem).
Had this on a couple more times as background music and I have really enjoyed it that way rather than for focused listening. Length isn’t really so much of an issue when my attention isn’t on it all the time.
My turn this week. We are listening to…
Jonwayne - Rap Album Two (2017, Authors Recording Company)
It is by no means a classic, but I’ve really come to love Rap Album Two and feel it will forever be worthy of a larger audience, so I’ll bump it every chance I get. Gravel voiced bars and great beats with all but three tracks produced by Wayne himself.
In a nutshell, this is the tale of a man trying to leave his mark while he can and struggling with his demons - sabotaging his own career because he is too anxious to fly, letting down those closest to him when he does go on the road and surviving an act of self sabotage that has quite often rid us of great talent. Thankfully he survived to deliver us this album.
The influence of Low End Theory definitely has a chokehold on the sound of the album (no, not that one, the other one), but it’s all the little touches that make me love it - the old Hollywood orchestral soundtrack samples, the slightly out of tune pianos, the rhodes drenched in reverb conjuring an image of the hazy, smoggy city of Los Angeles in which Wayne resides. At least that’s what it brings to mind for me. I’ve never been to LA, but this is what it sounds like in my head.
To date this his last release and he is on record saying he does not plan to record another album again. He looks to be in a good place though, in his element showing off his beat making process on YouTube and Patreon. Maybe he’ll get in the right headspace once again and one day we’ll be lucky enough to get Rap Album Three.
That was fucking ill, dude! What the fuck!
Yo, did you guys hear that man? Yo, Jonwayne!
2017! Damn.
He’s kind of like the rap Limmy to me. Respect what he’s doing on YouTube, but damn. No new albums ever? Really?
Haven’t listened to this or Jonwayne in general in ages, looking forward to giving this another listen.
Obviously not on this album, but him rapping on the Numbers on the Board beat is better than Pusha…
