Search - Afu-Ra :: Body of Life Force

Dope

Neil MacLean | Washington, DC | 10/25/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just got it this morning, here's a track by track review of Body of the Life Force.1) Intro - A spoken word type intro by Asun the Black Sun, pretty dope.2) Soul Assasination- Production by Muggs (who else?). Not a bad beat, but not quite up to the level of either the other beats on this LP or Muggs previous work. Medium speed bumpin track with saxophone blasts, like I said, not bad. 7/103) Defeat- Production by Premier, this is the joint here. Bangin' track with tight horns and a female vocal sample. Afu's rhymes are tight on this one. 9.5/104) Big Acts, Little Acts (f/ GZA)- Production by True Master. Another banger as GZA and Afu trade rhymes over the dramatic Tru Master beat. Quotable by gza: "it's like gettin' stabbed with ice, and watch the evidence melt.." 8.5/105)Quotations- interlude type track featuring Afu acapella freestyling with a storm in the background.6) D&D Soundclash (f/ Coco Brovas and jahdan)- Production by Da Beatminerz. Another previously released joint, this one features coco brovas over a reggae flavored track by Boot Camp's Beatminerz. Tek is dope as always. 8.5/107) Mic Stance- Production by Premier. This one was previously released and I wasn't really feelin' it before. This time, Primo switched up the beat a little though, enough to make it a nice track. It sounds like some Asian sounding strings were added in the background while some annoying sounds were taken out. Solid track 8/108) Caliente (f/ Rasheeda)- Production by Joe Quinde (?) This one is trying to add some Latin flavor to the album, but it falls short in my opinion. It's not the worst "Latin" track though, it just seems out of place. 6/109) All That (f/ Krumb Snatcha and Hannibal)- Production by Mike Rone of Fabidden. This track is pretty dope, kind of a gangstarr foundation second string posse cut. All three emcees come nice on this one over some a slow bumpin'beat. 8/1010) Headqcourtaz- Skit- A nice beat with some guy (Headqcourtaz?) givin advice to Afu.11) Self-Mastery- Afu drops knowledge on how to live over nice production by DJ Roach, who also did Mortal Kombat. 8/1012) Visions- interlude- Dope production (for 30 sec.)by Premier I assume (no credit).completely instrumental, reminding me of old gangstarr album interludes.13) Mortal Kombat (f/ Masta Killa)- Production by DJ Roach. This one sounds like a Wu-beat, and Masta Killa and Afu sound good together over the piano flavored beat. (Afu once again mispronounces taoist as tayo-ist...) 9/1014) Warfare (f/ MOP)- Production by Mike Rone- A BANGER. Slow hardcore beats as the M.O.P. take over another track they're guesting on. 9.5/1015) Equality (f/ Kymani Marley)- Production by Premier. Another reggae flavored joint, but it sounds completely different than the Coco B'z joint. Kymani does a nice job on the hook, and Afu drops some nice rhymes on equality. This is yet ANOTHER banger. 9/1016) Monotony- Production by DJ Premier. Nice beat by Premier, but not spectacular. Fairly average track compared to the rest of the album. 7.5/1017) Bring it Right- Production by P. King. This one has a more commercial bouncy sound to it, but it's not bad. Wack hook though, which kills it. Afu is solid, but can't save the track. Better than Caliente, but not by much.. 6.5/1018) Whirlwind Through Cities- Production by DJ Roach (might as well be Premier though). You've probably heard this one, a dope track with a laidback beat that was Afu's first solo joint (its about 2 years old now). Good close to the album- 9/10.Overall, this is definitely a solid album, especially if you're a Gangstarr/Premier fan. Definitely one to cop, you'll be nodding your head the whole time (except for that Latin track maybe). Only minus is they didn't include Trilogy of Terror- the joint with Hannibal and Guru over a slow Portishead sampled track. A great debut by Afu-Ra.."

Dope beats, but okay rhymes

E.J. Rupert | Milwaukee, WI | 06/25/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Longtime partner of Jeru the Damaja, Afu-Ra dropped what I believe is his first album, Body of the Life Force. Though I thinks he needs a little practice in the rhyming department (he has the tendency to start every fourth bar with "straight up and down"), there are enough gutter beats to keep any hip hop fan satisfied.I heard "D&D Soundclash" (featuring Cocoa Brovas) from a mix tape and I fell in love with it right away, but the reason why I bought this album was for "Bigacts, Littleacts" with GZA. Unfortunately, the version I was looking for was the Premo remix, and that's not on the album; the less-exciting True Master original is on here. Oh well, at least the other jams don't disappoint: Premier's contributions such as "Defeat" and "Equality" all require extra rewinds, as well as the aforementioned "D&D Soundclash", the album's best cut, with its Barrington Levy sample and HEAVY bassline. Coming in at second is "Whirlwind Through Cities" with its sparse piano key licks, and the chorus is taken from a line Afu said on a song from Jeru's first album.Guest stars are few and far in between (i.e., M.O.P.), and when they come, they all outshine Afu. But the one guest star you keep waiting for is nowhere to be found: who didn't invite Jeru to the party? Anyway, Afu got all the things needed to be a dope MC, he just needs that classic LP."

Guru > Jeru > introducing Afura

hipnotik | Atl, Ga | 11/09/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First heard as a guest on Jeru The Damaja's album (The Sun Rises in the East), Afu-Ra acquired his fans through his 12" singles. "Whirlwind Through Cities" and "Defeat" are those such joints, but even on tracks, "D&D Soundclashquot" (featuring Cocoa Brovas) and "Equality" (featuring Ky-mani Marley), Afu can also throw in some Rasta flavor to add a different aspect to this album. Wu-Tang flavor can be heard on such tracks as "Big Acts Little Acts" (featuring GZA) and "Mortal Kombat" (featuring Masta Killa). He continues to keep it live with such tracks as "Monotony", "Headquarterz" (featuring Krumbsnatcha), and "Warfare" (featuring M.O.P.), giving the album a very different, harder sound. The only two flaws are tracks "Bring It Right" and "Calienta" because they seem to be more of a disruption in Afu album's flow, sounding more like it was produced from Afu's old label, Gee Street. Nevertheless, while he's still not as good an emcee as Guru and Jeru, Afu-Ra certainly can handle his own and produce an album that has all the right ingredients for an enjoyable sound."