Search - Lil' Scrappy :: Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live

Not dissapointing, but not particularily strong - meets expe

Pablo | 12/05/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If there's any crunk rapper I can tolerate from Atlanta, Lil' Scrappy'd most likely be it; in fact, I actually quite like Scrappy's style. He is rather weak as an actual emcee, but he has enough charisma to carry him over some tight production - and throughout this album, the production does continue to bang, and Scrappy's charisma does glimmer rather brightly. However, charisma can only go so far without polished skills.



While I've said in the past that Scrappy is the only rapper outside of the legendary Onyx crew who should be screaming into a microphone, Scrappy isn't nearly up to par with Sticky, Fredro, or even the obscure Sonsee when it comes to skills an emcee. The wordplay isn't there, and Scrappy's a little too obsessed with materialism to come close to Onyx's rugged subject matter. Scrappy is a good modern hardcore emcee, and even one of the better members of the G-Unit collective; however, that's not a difficult spot to obtain.



He isn't as skilled lyrically as Lloyd Banks, he isn't nearly as charismatic as Young Buck(as the Money In The Bank single clearly reveals), and he can't even match today's Mobb Deep's gulliness; but he does show more promise than the likes of Young Hot Rod, Tony Yayo, or 50 Cent. Musically, this is probably the most well-produced album to come from the G-Unit camp this year(which isn't considerabley difficult, seeing there's only been two other G-Unit releases, and both suffered from borderline terrible production). It isn't neccessarily crunk; it has enough funky Southern grooves to it to make this chill out music. While Scrappy does sound much more comfortable over the crunk beats such as on "Gangsta Gangsta," he doesn't sound too bad when he actually raps in his normal tone of voice; however, he DOES sound a little too much like his fellow ATLien, T.I. When Scrappy screams, as he does quite often, his style is all his own; when he raps on songs such as "Livin' In The Projects," you have to check out exactly whose album you're listening to, because you could've sworn Tip'd had jumped on the track.



There are some highlights, definitely; the first single, Money In The Bank, I'm Back, the aforementioned Livin' In The Projects, Born To Live, Get Right, Baby Daddy, Like Me, and Lord Have Mercy are all terrific cuts, thanks to Scrappy's charisma and the fantastic production. However, this album is honestly riddled with cliches, and examples of very weak emceeing at times.



When it comes to his commercial contemporaries, Scrappy fairs fairly well. Scrappy may not possess the talent of T.I., the wit of Lil' Wayne, or even the connection to streets that Young Jeezy possesses, but he's good at what he does, just like the three other rappers mentioned. A little too cliche for the underground crowd, but worth it if you wanna see what Scrappy's about; the mainstream cats should definitely be feeling it, because there's plenty of hot beats and catchy hooks for them. In the end, it's a decent effort worth buying as long as you know what to expect from it, and would find interest in an interesting rapper, who falls victim to mainstream standards. It's a keeper, but doesn't really exceed average status."

Scrappy man you let us down

Pressureworld | Atlanta, GA | 02/04/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"First of all let me clearly state that im from Atlanta and I am a diehard fan of Lil Scrappy and that is why it breaks my heart to tell you that this CD is garbage. Besides Money in the Bank there are no other standout cuts and it is a shame because the underground mixtape he dropped with DJ Don Cannon early last year was on fire, He and Cannon delivered all new tracks and there were all on point, that was of course before 50's influence which brings us to our problem. The influence of Curtis Jackson A.K.A 50 Cent is very clear on this album. I like 50 but he knows little of the way we make records down south. If the G-Unit boss would have just stayed out he way and let Scrappy pick and choose his own tracks, verses etc. everything may have been fine. The guy is a control freak and as a result nobody in the "A" is pumping this and it is a shame because when Scrappy is on point the boy is unstoppable. This CD is garbage plain and simple and 50's influence is going to put the the crown prince of the south's career in serious jerpody unless he quickly wise's up. This is an honest review from a fan that has been down since day one.I have bought all the mixtapes and everything else he's dropped but, im telling you If you the consumer buy this Cd you will regret it and to Scrappy ditch the G Unit do what's in your heart and get back to business."

Someone Stole The Thunder {3 Stars}

Norfeest | Washington DC USA | 12/12/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Short and simple, if Scrap ain't gettin' crunk, I really can't feel 'em. There are a few tracks where he comes across okay without crunk beats like "Money In The Bank" featuring Young Buck and "Living In The Projects." One of the standouts, in my opinion, is "Posted In The Club" featuring Three Six Mafia. I'm a huge fan of HCP and their production and it's tracks like this that Scrappy sounds best over. Then there are some rowdy joints like "Gangsta Gangsta" and "Been A Boss" featuring Bohagon & Young Dro (call me crazy, but I'm starting to take a liking to Young Dro) that remind you of the old Scrappy.



The problem here is the obscene amounts of skip material to be found on the album. "Get Right" and "N**** What's Up" are decent at best. You shouldn't listen to "Touching Everything" while operating heavy machinery. "I'm Back", "P**** Poppin'", "Baby Daddy", and "Born To Live" are just plain terrible. There are plenty of songs that fall under the same categories, but then I'd be here all day typing if I tried to list them all. Couple that with the fact that, like another reviewer said, there are times where Scrap sounds like T.I. That's not a good look at all.



Bred 2 Die, Born 2 Live isn't that great a follow up to his debut. While I won't call it a step backward, I'd definitely call it a side step. Hopefully he'll ditch G-Unit and get crunk again. G-Unit has a way of dragging new signees down (like Mobb Deep) and, even though they aren't all that prevalent on this CD, this CD seems to taking the same course. I recommend downloading this one and testing it out before you actually pay for it.



Standout Tracks: Been A Boss feat. Bohagon & Young Dro, Posted In The Club feat. Three Six Mafia (My Favorite), Living In The Projects, Money In The Bank [Remix] feat. Young Buck, and Gangsta Gangsta"