As far as this album goes specifically, Roc shares the mic with a lot of amazing features including the aforementioned Ka, Action Bronson, Quelle Chris, Freeway, Blu, Guilty Simpson, and Knowledge the Pirate among other lesser known artists. Seeing the track list and guest lineup alone got me excited enough for this album, as if being a Marciano fan like myself wasn't enough for a purchase. Lucky for you all, I'm going to tell you if it's worth the money or not, so you don't have to risk the waste of your precious ten dollars that you just can't live without. Throughout this album, Roc gave me a lot more than I was expecting. Sure, we got his gritty, whispered lyricism delivered over very obvious New York production, but that's not it. Given all of the features, Roc's style never gets old, which was probably my biggest issue with the Pimpire tape. There are a lot of catchy hooks on this LP, and a surprising amount of replay value for almost all of the tracks. I have to single out a few features that damn near stole the whole show including Ka, Freeway, and Quelle Chris. Not to say the other features were bad, but these guys shit on their respective songs in the most complimentary way possible. There is not a single track on this lp that doesn't deliver lyrically which is vital when talking about Roc's music, given that his lack of emotion isn't going to inspire you in any way. The album is short enough to listen to all the way through without losing your attention, while you fans will still get your money's worth out of the length by all means. Roc personally spits the New York street bars that have gotten him famous, and is almost chilling with his delivery at times, and in case you were wondering he does not at any time during the album raise his voice at all. His flow is methodical, and creepily slow, and he manages to leave me genuinely entertained while spitting at the pace of a line at the DMV. As always I have no problem with Roc on the mic at any point during this album, which I'm glad to say is always the case.If you thought that last paragraph sounded a bit like a Roc love fest then prepare for the shit storm.
As much praise I have for Roc on the mic, I have almost as many problems with his production. The sad thing is, the production is fucking good. It just suffers from something I call the "Indicud syndrome". For those who can't put it together, the production makes this album run like one fucking song. I'm not saying every beat is the same, I'm just saying I literally can't tell when one song is ending, and another is beginning. Roc, you are a good producer, but you have to limit yourself to maybe seven tracks an album, and pull in those producers you have littered all over your album for no damn reason, and put them on the boards. I assume he takes great pride in somewhat putting this album together by himself, but a little help never hurt anyone. The problems I have with Roc on the mic are few and far between. If I had to be picky (which I do. For fucks sake this is a review) I'd have the same problem with the lyrics as I do with the production, but to a much lesser extent. Roc spits about the same shit a lot, but it seems like that is what Roc knows, and he's good at it. So as long as he keeps the features in abundance I have no problem with his lyrics.
There are a few tracks that I really love on this LP, and a few that I am not crazy about. First of all, "Cut The Check" was an amazing song. Quelle Chris could have rapped over the entire track and I would have been satisfied, but Roc and Blu only sweetened the deal for the rest of the show. The same goes for the track "Didn't Know", in which Freeway makes the track his bitch while rhyming about his beard of all things. The last track that I really loved (not to say there weren't other amazing tracks, but these three really placed a claim in my regular rotation) would be "Confucious" with Ka. Both mcs did what they do best, and they killed that shit in the grittiest way possible. The eerie whispers of both Ka and Roc really highlight all of the good on this album, while the production actually really knocks. As far as the bad tracks there weren't any glaring missteps, just tracks that didn't leave me feeling any type of way like "Phsych Eard", and "456", but there wasn't anything specific about these tracks that made them noticeably worse than the others, just a personal preference in my case. With a few high points and even fewer low points, this album spent a lot of time in the middle. Not to call the sound of the album average, but good. Nothing extraordinarily special, nothing horrifically shitty, just some good music.
As a final bit of advice, I can't tell you if you'll like this album or not. This will be some people's favorite album, if you are into the street lyrics, and gangster approach. On the other hand, if you, like many people do, need emotion, or meaning in ymthe music you enjoy, you will thoroughly hate this album. There is the rational in between, of someone who can appreciate the stellar lyricism while noticing the lack of variety in the production, but great opinions like mine don't come around all too often. Obviously musical taste is an opinion, but in this case, whether this is good to you or not is really an opinion. That sounds redundant, but look at it this way. Illmatic is a classic, everyone knows that, and Rebirth by Lil Wayne is astronomically bad. Of course there are assholes who will disagree with that, but generally those are two hip-hop facts. This album on the other hand is so in the middle that it is a complete opinion. Before I get off on another irrelevant tirade, I'll just end this shit here. Here's to hoping for a great 2014 in hip-hop.
Rating: 3/5