Search - David Banner :: David Banner: Certified

3-1/2 stars -- A certified improvement

Anthony Rupert | Milwaukee, WI | 01/20/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, I'll admit that I was a little ahead of myself when I deemed David Banner a one-hit wonder because of "Like a Pimp" (but just for the record, I still don't like that song). And I REALLY didn't like Mississippi: The Album. But I found myself liking "Play" (although it really shouldn't have been released as a single because it had to have so many edits), so I decided to give him another chance by checking out Certified.



I listened to the album once without being able to get into it, but then I listened to it again and discovered that it really isn't that bad. One problem, though, is that there are too many guest stars on here; Banner is only alone on three of the seventeen tracks ("Lost Souls", "Play" and "Westside"). Fortunately, those are all good songs.



Other good songs are "Gangster Walk", "Treat Me Like" and "Bloody War". Also good is the obligatory song featuring Bun-B, "Take Your". The song also features Too Short and Jazze Pha (another necessary guest star), and it has Too Short dropping a less-than-memorable verse. But that's not too bad because everyone else handles themselves well.



There are still some slip-ups to be found, though, like the tolerable metal-rap attempt on "Crossroads". "2 Fingers" sounds like Banner jacked the beat from J-Kwon's "Tipsy", and it features an out-of-place hook by Jagged Edge. And singer Sky's vocals on "My Life" start out okay but then crash and burn by the end of the song. Furthermore, tracks 6-8 ("F'ng", "Thinking of You" and "On Everything") are pretty skippable.



But the song that made a lot of people upset (myself included) is "Ridin'" with Talib Kweli and dead prez, because to call it racist to be an understatement. I know some people may look at it with a fight-fire-with-fire mentality, but I think there's just TOO much white-bashing there. Aside from that, while this isn't a flawless album, Certified is a pretty solid album that turned this naysayer into a believer.



Anthony Rupert"

Not that good

Music Fan | MIA | 02/27/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This David Banner CD, as well as the other ones he has put out, is not that good with the exception of a couple bangers. I am not feeling most of the songs on Certified mainly because they sound pretty much like his other songs on previous albums, and they kinda slow. His lyrics are not the best either.

However, the songs that I do recommend are: Treat Me Like and Play. The ones I think are good are: On Everything and Certified, while Gangster Walk, Westside and X-ed are ok. The other ones I usually skip when I hear this cd."

Certified

Chantel D. Bowie | Tallahassee, FL USA | 09/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I absolutely love David Banner!!! Play, Gangster Walk, and I Aint Got Nothing have already been hits on the streets since the beginning of summer!! Certified just brings more icing to the cake, with killa guest appearances and lyrics. Yeah!"