This album is best known by hip hop fans for it's unusual album art, as is probably Poohman/MC Pooh, which is unfortunate as he is a worthy artist. After checking out his 3rd album, Judgement Day, I was looking forward to this as that album was unexpectedly pretty great. As expected, the production isn't as good as Judgement Day, but it still has its qualities and is a sizeable jump from his debut album, Life of a Criminal, that Ant Banks also produced.
It takes no time at all to get into it, with the opener, 'Niggas Ain't Playin'', kicking it off with some high energy funk and sampling 'Dem Niggers Ain't Playing' by The Watts Prophets for the hook that creates a nice contrast from the quickly spit verses. The next couple of songs are enjoyable with Pooh sounding a bit like Ice-T on the title track. It starts to lose a touch in the production department from 'Player Haters' and some content with 'Your Dick' and 'Eating' Pussy', but I can't be too critical of the consistency. The aforementioned track is an interesting one that advocates for cunnilingus in a time where most rappers were saying that they don't do it. Petty Pablo's 'Freek a Leek' come to mind: "And love to get her pussy licked/By another bitch, 'cause I ain't drunk enough to do that." The previous song, 'Your Dick', sounds somewhat like a dirtier imitation of LL Cool J's 'I Need Love'.
Don't let the cover fool you. If you like west coast mobb music/g-funk, Pooh's early albums are worth checking out.
Beats: ★★★☆
Rapping/Bars: ★★★★
Hooks: ★★★☆
Best Tracks: Niggas Ain't Playin', Don't Cost a Dime, Funky As I Wanna Be, Fuckin' Wit Dank (Remix), The Projects, The Big Gangster
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