I mentioned in the review of 'And in This Corner...', that on 'Then She Bit Me', Will seemed to be going for an Ice-T kind of vibe, and he continues to do that on a few tracks here where his voice becomes deeper with a similar flow to one of the fathers of gangster rap. As far as the song quality goes, 'Summertime' is the obvious classic song here, and is probably the duo's best-known tune. 'You Saw My Blinker' is also an interesting track, that puts Will rapping about a road incident. Listening to it one can't help but think he experienced such an incident in real life. Everything else fails to hit any great levels, and it's more poppy than their previous albums, but there isn't much, if any, that I dislike. Fans will enjoy.
Best Tracks: Summertime, Caught in the Middle, Trapped on the Dance Floor, You Saw My Blinker, Summertime (Reprise)
I'm surprised no one else has mentioned this, but on 'Then She Bit Me', Will gives off a huge Ice-T vibe to me. It's unlike how he has ever rapped previously. In terms of consistency, overall the production is another step up from their previous albums, however, this album perhaps lacks the classics other DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince albums contain.
Best Tracks: Then She Bit Me, Jazzy's Groove, Everthing That Glitters (Ain't Always Gold), You Got It (Donut), Numero Uno
I don't get the big deal about this. Sure, he may write the odd humorous bar, but Cam'ron is a bore to listen with his straight talking rapping style that anyone could do. Tthe only songs that stand out are 'Harlem Streets' with 'The Theme From Hill Street Blues' sample, that would turn anything into a good song, and the Kanye co-produced 'Down and Out'. A lot of rap fans ride for him but I don't get the fandom. While the beats are of a slightly higher standard than 'Diplomatic Immunity', average production overall with a pretty dull vocalist isn't a good mix. Forgettable.
Best Tracks: Down and Out, Harlem Streets
I really liked 'Love Me or Hate Me' so I got this. Unfortunately, I don't like the rest of the album very much. If you like any other song other than the aforementioned one, then you may like the majority of the album as the rest of the tracks are probably more similar to each other.
Best Track: Love Me or Hate Me
This looks like Naughty's last LP they will ever do, and while it doesn't reach the heights of their older music, it's still quite solid all the way through, a better listen overall than their previous album, and as you come to expect there is a mix of anthems and 'real' hip hop on here. Anthem wise you have the tracks such as 'Feels Good', 'Red Light' and 'Swing Swang'. More conscious stuff like the last track 'Family Tree' and 'Naughty by Nature', and you also have what past Naughty albums have had - a sexual inspired track like in 'What You Wanna Do'. There's also what has been on a few previous albums in a real aggressive banger toward the end in 'Wild Muthafuckas' produced by Lil Jon. Unsurprisingly, with Kay Gee not being involved with this album the beats are created by many more producers than their previous efforts, but it still has that Naughty By Nature feel to it, and Treach and Vinnie don't miss a beat.
Best Tracks: Icons, Swing Swang, Rah Rah, Feels Good, N.J to L.A, Red Light, Wild Muthafuckas, Family Tree.
Here's to another Naughty By Nature album in the future.
*Written many years ago.