The Official DiS Hip-Hop Listening Club

Bunging this on now. The beat on Crook Country makes me think I will enjoy this album.

if it’s on spotify, i’ll give it a first listen on the train this evening

It is. Was going to do the same.

Had a pretty busy couple of weeks at work so only had a chance to listen to a few tracks so far - need to delve properly.

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The Hook on Crook County is like a puzzle how Twista crammed all those words in there and still made it memorable. Also probably my favorite example of Twista coming in and laying waste to the track.

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Enjoying this in spells. Can fully see how if you got into this in your formative years it would stick with you as a classic. Getting it into it later on I don’t think it holds quite the same sway but still enjoying it, some tracks are a bonafide vibe (Front Porch through to Mobstability is a stellar run of tracks, and love hearing them all tear into that NWA beat, legit got hairs standing on the back of my neck the first time that played out.) Warm Embrace is probably my favourite after a few spins. Also agree that Twista is best enjoyed as part of a posse album like this, makes the verbal gymnastics welcome bursts of energy, and less exhausting. This is probably one i’ll cherry pick a few favourites from and revisit every now and then. To my shame Twista has always felt like somewhat of a minor character in the Kanye West story in my relationship to rap music (first heard him in Slow Jamz, Kanye was on Overnight Celebrity, I really hated Sunshine for some reason), so really good to take some more of his work on in it’s own merits.

Quick shout out to this which I love and good to see Twista is still at it all these years down the line

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didn’t have high hopes for this one as never been much of a twista fan but pleasantly surprised by it. know absolutely nothing about the other two lads but they both seem to hold up their end well enough. first half is deffo stronger but overall it’s pretty good, dunno how often I’ll come back to it as a whole but I’ll deffo bump a few of these tracks again

alright I listened to this a few times today driving around in the van for work and big grower. was listening to the Mobstability track way too loud in stationary traffic

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it’s quite rare for a bonafide album to literally lift a beat from another album, no? I know a lot of samples get used again and again and some beats get reconstructed but this is literally the same beat with some extra synths no?

@nav @Jamos fair. I’ve probably listened to this album like 500+ times so it’s hard to tell any more!

Slow Jamz put him on the national pop radio stage which is kinda unfortunate. as it’s not one of my fav songs by either artist. good timing: https://twitter.com/TheLaunchMag/status/937145375172984832
Overnight Celebrity >>>>> Slow Jamz

I fell in love w Twista raps first on Do Or Die’s Po Pimp and then again on Puff’s Is This The End. Pretty much bought everything Twista from that point on. That Do Or Die album is the three-headed snake with Mobstability and Adrenaline Rush as far as Twista’s best work. That’s the late 90s chicago sound.

one of my top ten songs this year is off his new album crrok county (which is really good!)

He’s still got it imo.

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It happens. One of the biggest ones off the top is Jay Z using the Black Moon Stay Real beat for PSA. Smart move as it’s still one of his best songs and it absolutely kills live.

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As with several other choices in this thread, this is an album I would have never thought to check out but very glad I did.

Agreed.

For me personally, I think the ‘very wide range of styles on this album’ isn’t necessarily a great thing. I would eat up a whole album of straight mob tracks. Even on early listens I was skipping the slow jams. When rappers were on Westwood promoting an album, and dropped the line “This album has something for everyone!” I’d be all “NOOOOOOOOOO”

One i always think of is Missin Linx…

Don’t miss the days of the something for everyone formula

Track 1: Generic street track (hype building/melodramatic beat)
Track 2: Generic club banger (first single)
Track 3: Generic posse cut (disposable, hidden behind big single)
Track 4: Slow track for the ladies (Mary J Blige on the hook)

etc.

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Final tracklist: 17 songs in length, 2 bonus tracks. 74:38 long.

*Edit - Glaring omission of intro and skits here

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LOL.

Trying to think of key perpetrators… Fat Joe definitely one.

The other one that got alarm bells ringing…

“I’ve worked with the best producers in the game, so this time I’ma handle the beats myself”

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lol f u guys, so true tho :sweat_smile: for whatever reason it didnt bug me on this album. maybe cos when i bought it i had no expectations other than the dr dolittle track.

chairman i bet youd like adrenaline rush more.

i had such high hopes for that fat joe album

This proper made me chuckle. My upcoming pick is one of the few hour-plus noughties hip-hop LPs which fully holds my attention front-to-back. So much bloat in general, though.

I knew Obie Trice would pop up sooner or later

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Fashionably late to the party again :roll_eyes: . Sorry fellas.

So I’d never even heard of Speedknot Mobstaz before last week. I knew my knowledge of 90s Chicago hip hop was weak, so it wasn’t a massive surprise, but fuck me, I should have been paying more attention. This absolutely kills.

Never really delved into Twista properly before. Always kind of viewed him like Busta in that he was one of the best guest rappers ever, but a whole album would have been too much. Not sure I think that anymore, after listening to this (will be checking Adrenaline Rush too), but Liffy Stokes and Mayz definitely add another dimension and the three have great chemistry. Can see that Twista is the main attraction to some extent, but totally didn’t hear this as ‘Twista and two other dudes’; they all bring it.

Production is what makes it for me though. Again, never really paid attention to Legendary Traxster before, but dude knows what he’s doing. After the first couple of tracks’ skittering snares and big synths I thought the production was going to be a bit one note, but it’s anything but. There’s so much going on. Legit Ballers sounds like an early Black Moth Super Rainbow track or something (except about five years earlier). Totally unique - can’t think that anyone was doing anything similar at this time.

Was laughing at the conversation above cos was actually playing 90s hip hop bingo while listening to this - mob track; slow jam; dead homiez track; weed tune etc. - but it’s all executed so well, and the beats are so varied, that it doesn’t matter. Probably my favorite album the thread’s kicked up so far, which is saying something. Crazy nice yo

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