Released on March 29, 2005,
by Dame Dash Music Group and The Island Def Jam Music Group.
The bleeding-gangster routine – the sad criminal laying bare his feelings – is sometimes presented as a defining feature of 2010s rap. But it was hardly unique to that era. Examples abound in earlier decades. Some are even legendary, like 2Pac, perhaps the first great “emo” rapper. Even the hard-as-nails Geto Boys were no strangers to probing their inner turmoil and mental struggles. And then there is Beanie Sigel, the Philadelphia rapper signed to Roc-a-Fella. His third album, The B. Coming, often regarded as his masterpiece, taps deeply into that vein.
Dwight Grant was the real deal as a gangster. His run-ins with the law never seemed to stop. While recording the album, he was still facing charges involving guns and attempted murder. In fact, he rushed to finish this third LP in a matter of weeks – along with a series of five videos, two promotional documentaries, The Trial: Beanie Sigel and The Truth: Beanie Sigel, and the feature film State Property 2 – before beginning yet another prison sentence in late 2004. Adding to the turmoil surrounding the record, Beanie Sigel released it right in the middle of the falling-out between Jay-Z and Damon Dash.
Beanie Sigel is a bad man, and his lyrics make no bones about it. Over the brutal piano of “Flatline,” he promises death to his enemies. On “Purple Rain,” he launches into an extended ode to purple drank over yet another sample of the Dramatics’ “In the Rain.” On “Oh Daddy,” which uses Fleetwood Mac’s superb song of the same name – or, more precisely, Natalie Cole’s cover of it – he sings the praises of rough love. As for “Tales Of A Hustler Pt. 2,” elevated by the wayward wail of a saxophone, it is exactly what its title promises: a chronicle of criminal lives.
The rapper also shows off his skills on the mic on tracks that are flashy but slightly soulless, typical of the era’s mainstream rap: “One Shot Deal,” produced by Bink! and designed to make room for a few Redman bars; the playful “Gotta Have It,” featuring Twista and Peedi Crakk; “Don’t Stop,” a fairly by-the-numbers lesser Neptunes production; and the bonus tracks “It’s On” and “Wanted,” the latter sampling Bon Jovi’s almost identically titled hit. There is a touch of humor, too, on “Bread & Butter,” featuring two-thirds of Brand Nubian, about a woman taking advantage of the rapper.
Yet Beanie Sigel also plays on his emotions. He brings in an impressive cast of guests – Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Bun B, Cam’Ron, Redman, Grand Puba, Sadat X, Twista, and others – but that does not stop him from getting personal, intimate, and autobiographical. Right from the start, the single “Fell In The Air” plays that card. If anything, it overplays it, with its appeals to God, its nods to the aforementioned Geto Boys’ “Mind Playing Tricks on Me,” and Melissa Jiménez’s airy vocal runs.
The best songs in this vein come later. There is “I Can’t Go on This Way,” about the stress of his life and the pressure weighing on a kid from the streets; “Change,” about life in the ghetto and the faint hope that one day it might change for the better; the gospel-tinged “Lord Have Mercy,” on which the rapper calls on Allah for forgiveness and mercy; and the song that should have closed the album, “Look At Me Now.” On it, Beanie Sigel declares that after everything he has been through, nothing can touch him anymore – a defiant, vindictive moment that brings together his rage, his anguish, and his pride.
