"Just got this CD the other day and it really is something different that is on the market right now. Haystak has his own type of flow that really sinks you into his music. I really love almost every track on this CD. Don't underestimate this rapper just because of the color of his skin...Vanilla Ice is in the past. You will not regret getting this CD."
REFRESHING !
creatureart | Massachusetts | 08/11/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"HAYSTAK is one of the sickest & most underrated rappers i've ever heard in my life! This album is insane! A must have for real true hip-hop fans."
Instant Classic - - - A true southern masterpiece
Stock Gotti | 12/24/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"What can I say? 'Stak just keeps getting better and better with every track. This album is an instant classic and anyone who appreciates rap music for true lyricism and honesty must own this one. Haystak paints such a vivid portrait of life in lower class white America it could become easy for those detached from that enviroment to feel the same pain for the 73 minutes the disc spins. It combines all the ingredients rappers look for these days to make an album "whole". He starts off with "Fight, Write, Die" which sets the tempo for the whole record as he comes through on some Pro-White, hardcore, never say die attitude which carries through to the next track "Dadgummit". The CD switches pace on the next cut, the club banger, "Broads and Alcohol" as Mak Million makes sure the party don't stop dancing on his account. The emotions the track leaves you with turn 180 degrees on the next track, "Red Light", which makes the hardest gangsta rappers seem soft as toilet tissue as 'Stak invites any and all haters to: "Catch me at the red light slippin' sittin' still/ Catch me at the red light grippin' on the wheel/ Catch me at the red light. Aim for my head/ If you don't like one f*ckin' thing that I said.... B*tch catch me at the red light!" That song leaves ready-to-get-crunk taste in your mouth as Hay teaches us the dice games on number 6 "Hustle & Flow" immediately followed by "Still you doubted me" on which he rubs his success in every face that didn't believe in him back in the day. Next up is "Off the Wall" and "Girl" which are fun cuts for the radio but probably won't hit home as hard as "My First Day" as Big Stak tackles the issue of overcoming drug addictions on a well produced beat. The inspiration left by "My First Day" doesn't have time to subside as it is quickly followed by the hustlers anthem "Make Money". The next several songs are just filler. Mostly decent beats and each song has some memorable one liners but not on par with what has just been heard on the previous 11 tracks. That all ends on track 16 "First White Boy" where Stak states his pride in his race and boasts about being "a white boy before these white boys was white boys". The hook is rather repetitive and can get annoying quickly but the rest of the song is excellent. I'd say overall I'd rate this album an 8.5 out of a possible ten. This isn't the Top 40 watered down overly commercialized version of rap the young kids want to hear. This record is for the streets. This record is for all those real hardcore white boys looking for someone in the music industry to identify with. This record is for the south. Portrait of White Boy is the best rap album I've heard that has come out in 2004 and is must own for any true hip-hop head.
-Stock Gotti-
Gainesville, TX"
3.5 Stars
The Best Rap Critic | 01/16/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"GREAT MUSIC. Haystak really steps up his lyricism on this album (I guess he's trying to show Def Jam that they shouldn't have dropped him), and he shows growth as an artist also. The production on this album lacks at times, but overall it's a MUST HAVE."
Portriat of a white boy
Andrena M. Taylor | 03/10/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The CD is very entertaining and his lyrics are better than most mainstream rappers. My question is, why is he still underground. I will be ordering the next 2 in the trilogy."