Search - Young Black Teenagers :: Dead Enz Kidz Doin' Lifetime Bidz

More Gimmick Rap From The "Other Side" (1.5 Stars)

Norfeest | Washington DC USA | 09/03/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Back in '93 a group of white kids dropped their sophmore LP called "Dead Enz Kidz Doin' Lifetime Bidz". I found a few things wrong with this CD. First of all, I have a personal beef with gimmick rap. Their name alone suggests a gimmicky approach to the rap game. Secondly, their skills on the mic are suspect. When this album came out back in '93, I had already saw the kid with the dreadlocks (another gimmick.....those dreadlocks were GONE by late '94) on House Party 2. He did a decent job on the mic in that movie, so I decided to go ahead and steal this album from the local moms and pops shop (what, you thought I'd actually PAY for something like this?). When I got home and gave it a listen, this album actually made me give up stealing. I didn't think this album was worth risking a criminal juvenile record (I was only 16) and I was pretty mad at myself for doing so. That's how bad this album is. Yeah, this album came out in '93, but rhyme styles back then were still light years ahead of these guys. And when you speak about Das EFX being imitated by so many MCs, this is one of the groups you're speaking of. They did manage to drop a lukewarm single with "Tap The Bottle" and "Soul Wide Open" is okay, but all positive aspects end there. Imagine Leaders Of The New School's debut album without lyrical skills and add some suspect production and you've got Young Black Teenagers. That's pretty much what it sounds like. Overall, this is a gimmick album. I have very little respect for gimmicks. This music was crafted by black people in the ghetto for black people in the ghetto. When white boys step on the scene, they are under a microscope and when they step on the scene with wack gimmicks they are less likely to be tolerated (word to Vanilla Ice). This would explain why we've grown to forgive MC Hammer (on the DL, I ALWAYS liked Hammer) but we still sh*t on Vanilla Ice. Artists like Eminem and 3rd Bass always get love because they stepped onto the scene with a respect for the craft. I don't do this often, but I have to give this album 1.5 stars. Therefore, this album has achieved the rare "coaster status". Use this to sit your drinks on, it'll serve a better purpose that way. As a matter of fact, I'm putting my copy up for sale on this website for $0.50, I don't even want it as a coaster anymore.



Standout Tracks: Tap The Bottle and Soul Wide Open.....that's it."

After Vanilla Ice and before Eminem, there was the YBT

03/10/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album was back in the day when rap music was at its climax with hard-hittin' beats and phat rhymes, it was the second from Long Island's Young Black Teenagers (a white rap act trying to satirize rap music) and it's much harder and more polished than their debut album. Things start out pretty strong with Tap the Bottle, and Sweatin' Me is a head-nodder. Blowin' Up the Spot is the best track on the album, and Outta My Head is pretty decent. The lyrics are tight and the beats are in-your-face, but all the tracks on Dead Enz Kidz are hit and miss, depending on how you look at it. YBT has since broken up and have gone on to other things (DJ Skribble has made a name for himself with his Traffic Jamz albums), and most hip-hop heads dissed and dismissed this album. Dead Enz Kidz wouldn't cut it in mainstream hip-hop today but it's a good album to listen to if you want to remember how good rap music once used to be."