Long a staple of the New York mix-tape scene, Canibus saw his impending debut get hyped for months. Maybe, though, there was too much buzz, and maybe it became more of a distraction than a confidence builder because, unfor... more »tunately, on Can-I-Bus, the silver-tongued (and sometimes -faced) MC is plagued not by a lack of rhymes--after all, "[Canibus] without lyrics is like a porn flick without sex," as he boasts on "Buckingham Palace"--but by utterly somnolent production. Though Wyclef Jean succeeds with the pulsing "Second Round K.O." and the Eno-meets-dub "Buckingham Palace," most of the beats are lackluster, hardly befitting Canibus's verbal blaze. With a producer like DJ Premier (of Gang Starr) or even Laze E. Laze (M.O.P.), Canibus would have a track worthy of his penetrating flow. --Jon Caramanica« less
Long a staple of the New York mix-tape scene, Canibus saw his impending debut get hyped for months. Maybe, though, there was too much buzz, and maybe it became more of a distraction than a confidence builder because, unfortunately, on Can-I-Bus, the silver-tongued (and sometimes -faced) MC is plagued not by a lack of rhymes--after all, "[Canibus] without lyrics is like a porn flick without sex," as he boasts on "Buckingham Palace"--but by utterly somnolent production. Though Wyclef Jean succeeds with the pulsing "Second Round K.O." and the Eno-meets-dub "Buckingham Palace," most of the beats are lackluster, hardly befitting Canibus's verbal blaze. With a producer like DJ Premier (of Gang Starr) or even Laze E. Laze (M.O.P.), Canibus would have a track worthy of his penetrating flow. --Jon Caramanica
It ain't about beats. Canibus is truly the illest right now
UNDAGROUND MILITIA | 04/11/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"To all of the people talking about his beats, is that all?Hell, I love rap and hip-hop just as much as you do, but I canactually look past a beat and listen to the rhymes. In this department, Canibus delivers, and shows why he has a right to hold a mic. With lines like, "I grab mics and push niggaz to the left so hard their hearts end up on the right sides of they chest", how can you claim that Cani has no rhymes? Hell, people be calling DMX the resurrected Tupac, so why do people then try and dis Canibus? If you listen to the album you'll find every single line he spits is at least three times as good as most commercial songs as a whole. Give the album a chance and listen to the lyrics and not the beat. He's one of the greatest, his time will come."
CLASSIC
joehiphophead | Kansas city | 09/05/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album is truly underated and misunderstood i cant tell you how many people have knocked it and dissed it since its release in 1998. Canibus is a truly talented MC and out of all of his albums this one is probably my favorite. If any man could save hiphop from its sorry state than that man is Canibus also be sure to check out Mic club and Rip the Jacker 5 Mics all around.
P.S. Canibus has a new album comin out in a couple months called
Hip Hop For Sale Be sure to check that out to."
Krs-1, Rakim, LL, Canibus!(and others) = HipHop
canibusfan | Somerset, NJ United States | 06/14/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Unfortunately this CD was released when there was an extreme thirst for dancehall/commercial rap(Puffy looped beats/RuffRyder Jingles). Even though I'm an underground fan, I was dissapointed at first because the oldschool/mellow beats totally DID NOT match with Canibus' wicked style(although now I love this CD from concentrating on the LYRICS). As Canibus said himself when he apologized to his fans "It wasn't my fault, Wyclef spoiled it!" I've bought mostly all of Canibus freestyles and tracks. And I've heard some tracks from the upcoming album. Let me tell you...These beats are some of the best I've ever heard. I heard a song where Canibus is ryhming A'capella(?) for a minute, then the beat comes in slowly and builds itself up around HIM. Thats real hip-hop. Not when rappers create jingles that sound exactly like the beats they are given. I try hard to be a hiphop purist, and with his upcoming CD, it will be a lot easier to remain faithful! Buy this album and the upcoming one if you want to know what this music is really about."
Wack lackluster production=a waste of a skilled lyricist.
UNDAGROUND MILITIA | 02/21/2000
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Before the release of his debut, canibus co-starred on common's and ll cool j album out shinining them both by far. Canibus became the new buzz of the underground with his unmatched battle style raps. I had alot of hopes for his album just before i copped it. I give canibus himself 5 stars, but wyclef's lack luster flavorless production killed the whole album. canibus's lyrical integrity couldn't even disguise the lack luster beats. With primo, rza and some underground producers on the beats the results on can-i-bus would been a ground breaking debut."
Can-I-Bus? Yes, but...
blazerfan0 | Oregon | 06/19/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This was one of the most anticipated debuts in awhile as Canibus had a career's worth of dope verses on mixtapes and guest appearances. So could Canibus translate his "underground" success into a full length album?
No. The first question to the hip-hop fan is why would Canibus choose to sign with Wyclef of everyone? This seems to be the biggest problem of this entire album. Wyclef and his Fugee's connections (as talented as they are) are not the same type of music that Canibus makes. Wyclef's beats and some of the directions he takes this album in are more appropriate for himself, rather than the lyrical monster Canibus and his battle rhymes. Wyclef's best contribution to this album is the song "Second Round K.O." as Canibus lyrically gives it to LL Cool J. "I Honor You" is a great song and is underrated as Canibus expands his lyrical horizons, but still feels forced.
The album really gets going on the tracks "How We Roll" and "Channel Zero" as they are produced by DJ Clark Kent and Canibus rips these quality beats to shreds. The latter (Channel Zero) is a highlight of the album as Canibus mixes his lyrics with his intelligent way of thinking and creates a song full of government conspiracies. The song "Rip Rock" is a cross between rock and rap and was worth the chance taken because it could've been good, but again misses its mark as Canibus seems uncomfortable on this song.
The song that best captures this album is "Buckingham Palace" as Canibus raps over a very simplistic beat and spits venomous lyrics that will show everyone that he is a top lyricist. Canibus has said multiple times that he believes beats don't matter and lyrics is all that he's concerned about. That's what this album is. It's weak from a production standpoint, but lyrically as strong as any album out. With lyrics like his I was hoping DJ Premier would be brought in to give Canibus some tracks that could match his lyrical tenacity.
Fans concerned with lyrical content first will probably have no problems with this album and will be rewinding it over and over to catch all his clever rhymes. But fans wanting more than just rhymes, or a balanced album should listen to some of it before spending your money."