Released on December 15, 2007,
on Grind Hard Entertainment.
The American South, the 2000s: Lil Wayne, from New Orleans, and All Star, from Nashville – two occasional collaborators – are both Cash Money artists. The former is an absolute superstar, the greatest rapper alive, as he himself puts it. Everything he releases – albums, guest appearances, mixtapes – is awaited with impatient, almost messianic fervor. The latter, however, is going through a difficult period in his personal life. He is languishing, watching his career stall. So, since he is not being allowed to release an official album, the man also known as the Cashville Prince – Jermaine Shute by birth – channels his frustrations into the Starlito’s Way series.
The title of this release is no accident. It is inspired by Brian De Palma’s Carlito’s Way, which follows a gangster (played by Al Pacino) trying to leave the criminal life behind. The series begins with a first installment in 2007, but truly comes into its own in 2008 with a second, thirty-one-track double album. Here, the rapper who had made his name with a flashy style built around punchlines and freestyles turns inward. The wordplay is still there (“Alphabet Soup”), but All Star displays a newfound taste for slow, melancholy production, often built around mournful piano lines, as on the poignant “Bless.”
Starlito’s Way 2 is divided into two parts. The first, December 15th A Star Was Born, looks back at Shute’s past. He retraces his journey. On the opening and closing tracks, “Life Story” and “Internal Affairs,” he talks about his family. Yet this half still features its share of abrasive, high-energy tracks, including “I’m On It,” “Hatin’ Ain’t Healthy,” “Gangsta-est Swag Of The Year,” and “Nawimtalkinbout.” All Star, still proclaiming himself a star (“I’m A MF Star”), remains rooted in a celebratory gangsta-rap world of clubs, drugs (“Champagne And X”), and dealing (Donna Summer’s “She Works Hard For The Money” becomes, alongside Yo Gotti and Young Buck, “Grind Hard For The Money”).
But with Internal Affairs, the second half of Starlito’s Way 2, the mood changes. The focus shifts to the period of depression the rapper was going through. The music becomes confessional. Jermaine Shute even holds a dialogue with himself on “Mirror Man.” His themes are abandonment, resentment, bitterness, and resignation, as titles such as “Fuck Em All,” “That Shit Aint Real,” and “Rap Music Ruined My Life” suggest. He talks about romantic disappointments, the duplicity of those close to him, and the deceitfulness of record labels. It is about reclaiming his freedom and taking back control of his own life. From this point on, he enters a different realm. A page has been turned.
Given its unofficial nature and his career slump at the time, Starlito’s Way 2 would remain a little-known release, discovered – and celebrated – only by the most knowledgeable listeners. Yet it is a pivotal project, probably the most important of All Star’s career. It is with this project that Jermaine Shute changes his stage name and becomes Starlito. In its aftermath, he returns to school, takes control of his career, and builds his own studio. He then teams up with DJ Burn One and, with his support, releases another landmark project in 2010, Renaissance Gangster. Later, he joins forces with Don Trip for the Stepbrothers series. This is how he becomes the reliable name he still is today.
The American South, the 2010s: although his influence on the new generation is absolutely enormous, Lil Wayne seems burned out, a has-been. Starlito, meanwhile, remains unknown to the general public but has become a respected figure in rap. With remarkable consistency, he continues to release a steady stream of very strong projects. And he built that reputation back when he was still called All Star, through those foundational works that were the Starlito’s Way projects.
