One of the best rap CDs in recent history
Jozand | Central PA | 07/05/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Dungeon Family is still in my CD rotation after 4 years or however long it has been since it first hit the shelves. Following Stankonia, I can honestly say I was expecting Even In Darkness to be a notch below OutKast's acclaimed effort. I could not have been more wrong. Creativity, ability and perfect execution are all pushed to distances never reached in Southern Hip Hop before this release. Some highlight tracks are the "Crooked Booty," "Follow The Light," and "On & On & On." There are no weak songs, besides perhaps the intro. The "Trans DF Express" punishes the subwoofer, while songs like "Excaliber" show off Cee-Lo's amazing artistic ability. If you enjoy rap, soul music, southern hip hop, or OutKast, you can't pass on Even In Darkness.
"
Good Group...Horrible Chemestry (Rating: 6 out of 10- -3 sta
Chandler | Atlanta (College Park), Georgia | 02/03/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Boy oh boy was this an awkward album. This is one of those elemets that there are too many ingreedients in the pot and ended up a mess. That is exactly what this album sounds like to me, a big mess. When I kept hearing about the Dungeon Family (starting on the Witchdoctor LP), I was ready of what they were going to sound like all together. Throughout then, the group has acquired a lot of wack artists in addition to what they already have. In 2001, you have "Even In Darkness".
I see a lot of people giving this 5 stars because of the fact that Outkast and Goodie Mob were involved in the project. If it were them alone with a few others (Killer Mike, Cool Breeze, Witchdoctor) then my score would have been higher. One problem was that this album had no chemestry like the solo albums (listen to this album then listen to something like "Still Standing", and you'll hear the difference). The artists on here just didn't mix. "6 Minutes" and "Trans DF Express" are awesome tracks, but all the artists just seemed out of place when they did their verses. Another problem was that if the artists weren't widely known, they were inexcusably wack. With the exception of Killer Mike and Slimm Calhoun, "Curtains (DF 2nd Generation)" is one of those songs that I'm talking about. Even some of the known artists dropped a wack verse every so often, like Cool Breeze on "Forever Pimpin" and Witchdoctor on "What Is Rap"(and these are my two FAVORITE artists from the DF Crew. It hurts me so much to knock them. And lets not forget everyone who joined in on "Crooked Booty".). Also most of the concepts on the songs failed to keep a listeners attention, like the song "On and On and On".
Now I'm done knocking this album, because there is some good about this album. As I mentioned before, some of the highlights of this album are "Trans DF Express" and "6 Minutes (Dungeon Family It's On)". The G-Funk type song "Follow The Light" is another dope song that sounds experimental, but allows the listener to grove with it. The only outside guest appearance is Bubba Sparxxx on the song "White Guts", and he drops a dope verse.
This isn't a bad album, but it is not as good as these revewers say here. There are many hits on here, but there are many missses here as well. Trufully, I'm at least glad to see that this album made it to see the light of day for my curiousity, especially from a group who helped put my hometown on the map. I won't lie, talent trufully exists here amongst most members of DF, but the concept behind this album doesn't though. Buy this album if you are only curious of what these members sound as a group. Otherwise I recommend that you just stick with the solo albums and leave this on the shelf.
Favorite Tracks: Follow The Light, Trans DF Express, 6 Minutes (Dungeon Family It's On), White Guts
Honorable Mention: Curtains (DF 2nd Generation)
Peace Everyone!!!"
Dope Party Record
gpops | the trailer | 04/22/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a dope party album with come occasional intellectual commentary scattered throughout. Its not crunk, its not gangsta or jiggy, its just some tight beats with some tight flows by some tight MCs. Its a great summmer BBQ type of disc."