Birdman is a vulture, a nasty bird of prey. He feeds off other people’s talent, while he is little more than a bargain-basement Don Corleone. Yet he has two aces up his sleeve: his protégé Lil Wayne, who joins him on some tracks, and top-notch production. At times, those two assets are enough to make his albums genuinely good despite everything, as is the case with “5 Star Stunna”.
After his own moment of glory, it’s now his crew’s turn to step into the spotlight. With their debut album, “Serve & Collect”, Slim Thug’s Boss Hogg Outlawz take the police motto, turn it into a slogan for drug dealers, and deliver a quintessential slice of Houston rap. This album is utterly generic, without even the slightest hint of originality. And yet, the whole thing is impeccably executed.
After rubbing shoulders with the biggest names – Lil Wayne first and foremost – All Star changes course. Like the protagonist of “Carlito’s Way”, a gangster trying to leave the life behind, he abandons flashy rap. On this double album, the Nashville rapper turns to resentment, abandonment, and bitterness. He becomes Starlito, one of the most respected rappers of the years to come.
In the 2000s, deep within the California underground that had emerged in the wake of Project Blowed, in that extraordinary world known only to a happy few, Awol One was almost a star. And yet it is not easy to single out one undisputed masterpiece in his catalogue. Unless it is this album – more consistent than most – released relatively later in his career with Canadian beatmaker Factor.