Search - B.g. Knocc Out & Dresta :: Real Brothas

Classic gangsta rap, under-rated.

Mister Hip-Hop | The Land Where Hip-Hop And Jazz Live. | 09/18/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a classic album from a duo of brothers, B.G. Knocc Out & Dresta, who made names for themselves on tracks by Eazy-E. The atmosphere of the album is unbelieveable; beautiful singing voices and intelligent lyrics put this album to the top. Of the duo, I like B.G. Knocc Out best, because of his amazing lyrical ability and versatile flow, though Dresta is also very gifted, with a style all his own. Though no longer on Eazy-E's Ruthless Records (Eazy had died of AIDS not long before this album came out), these two showed that they could manage on their own, now on Outburst Records, a division of Def Jam Recordings. Plus, unlike many rap albums, B.G. and Dresta take on many subjects, whether it's talking about the puzzle of life, catching enemies slipping, street life, picking up ladies, talking back to other emcees, or just jumping in the car and taking a ride, it's great. The highlights on this album include the excellent party opener, "Every Day, All Day", which really brings you into the album, "Jealousy", the single in which B.G. Knocc Out & Dresta express their anger towards all jealous people. On the true-life track "Who's The 'G'", B.G. Knocc Out goes solo and talks about many of his bad influences as a child, including his first drive-by at age eight, and his first high-speed chase at age nine. My favorite, the party song "Compton Swinging", has the "Hollywood Swinging" Kool & The Gang sample, used with italian-sounding keyboard waves. I found "Life's A Puzzle" very profound with Dresta and B.G. Knocc Out talking about facts of street life. The heavy bass-bumping of "Compton Girl" has Dresta talking about women over a great keyboard and bass beat, while the slower "Mic Check" is another gangsta jam session with B.G. Knocc Out doing a great job, and Dresta putting in a great verse. The first single, "50/50 Love", a song about how the life of the street has turned friends against each other. The swinging "Real Brothas" is another great tune with great guitars and my favorite little keyboard lick. This song really introduces B.G. and Dresta to the world. The slower "Do Or Die" has a great harmonica and B.G. Knocc Out talking about street life; a great song. Another one of my favorites is "Take A Ride", a song laced with shiny guitars and horns in the background, great song for the summer. Even though "D.P.G./K" disses my favorite rap group, The Dogg Pound, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Nate Dogg, it's all good because The Dogg Pound responded with "Dogg Pound Gangstaz" and "One By One", and the beef was peacefully resolved.I love this album, and it makes no sense why these guys lost their record deal. I wonder where they are, they're so great. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Eazy-E or any other rap of that variety."

Banging, hardcore g-funk...a slept-on gem

ctrx | 'bout to show you how the EAST COAST rocks... | 12/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In late 1995, Compton natives and half-brothers BG Knocc Out & Dresta released their debut album "Real Brothas" to little fanfare on Eazy-E's Ruthless Records. Recently I have been going through my collection and reviewing some of my favorite albums, trying to steer people towards some underrated hip hop releases. "Real Brothas" shines on multiple levels. While on the surface the duo may just look like another jeri-curled, Compton Crip rap group, Knocc Out and Dresta are two of the toughest, grittiest west coast rappers that I have heard, and despite their young age they come as hard as any, heavy with threats and stories. Musically the production is excellent, graced with the slow rolling, heavy bass, whiny synths, and hard beats of the best g-funk records of the 90s. Unfortunately, this album is long out of print and impossible to find, making its legend even greater. "Real Brothas" is one of my favorite west coast g-funk albums and I highly recommend it.



The album begins with the banger "Everyday Allday," which is an upbeat cut with funky guitar line and bass, the MCs introduce themselves and their lifestyle. "Jealousy" explores the trials and tribulations of gang life, and the chorus is well sung by a female singer. "Who's the `G'?" is straight gangsta rap, with a nice woozy synth, another good song. "Compton Swingin'" is awesome, a funky, representing track with a great chorus, production, and verses from both parties. "Life's a Puzzle" drops a little philosophy, telling some stories too. Younger brother BG Knocc Out gets a chance to shine and explore his character on his self-titled solo cut. "Compton Hoe" is humorous and entertaining and boasts one of the best beats on the album. My favorite song is "Micc Checc," which is slow-rolling and will keep your head nodding. The chorus will have you chanting along after alisten or two. "Compton and Watts" is the first track where they diss Tha Dogg Pound, and they pledge to stay hard and true to their roots. On "50/50 Luv" they reminisce over their lost pal Eazy and look at their lifestyle from where they came from. After the title cut, a very upbeat, catchy track, comes "Do or Die," a deeper track exploring the pitfalls of urban life. "Take a Ride" and "Down Goes Another..." are two laidback but hard songs, just excellent g-funk cuts. The closer "DPG/K" is a definite highlight, a ruthless diss track aimed at DPG where they profess, "You'll never see Compton and Long Beach together."



"Real Brothas" is consistent, very well produced, and entertaining. BG and Dresta are lyrically miles ahead of the rest of the g-funk crowd lyrically, and the production on this album makes it one of the best, perfect for riding to in the car or playing at anytime. I understand that fifty dollars is an outrageous price to pay for any album, but if it comes your way, definitely pick it up. I have heard that Knocc Out & Dresta have recently gone back to the studio to record new music for the first time since this album, and I can't wait for that. Until then, "Real Brothas" is gangsta rap at its finest."

Westcoast essential

Kd | 06/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is tight all the way through from start to finish. The production was on top for the 95 west coast flavour, the classic old s#it that sounds better than most the stuff out now. But the two half-brothers had mad flows too and worked well flipping the mic between eachother, dresta had a slower and deeper voice, B.g. had a higher tone voice with a faster flow ripping up the tracks. They were featured first on eazys 93 album ''it's on (dr dre) 187um killa'' and that was a stepping stone for them, after ruthlessly attacking deathrow members. Then they had ''real brothas'' in 95, this was around the time the dogg pound album dropped too and that had more attention because a lot of people were following the row and all the hype around their releases of the time(not saying they weren't tight, just the way it was). So a lot of people didn't really know about this. The whole of the ''row'' were taking shots at eazy and anything to do with him at the time, he was real depressed about a lot of things in the last years of his life. Anyway, on this album, dresta and knocc out came at the row hard again, answering back everyone that knew them and didn't hold back anything. They showed they weren't intimidated by the row like kokane did on his classic ''Funk upon a rhyme'' album and RBXs ''The rbx files'' and the docs ''Helta skelta''. 'Real brothas' is tight because it has a variation of real life things in the ryhmes, a classic song about 'Jealousy', one about how life is so complicated and a struggle 'Life's a Puzzle', one about how you can't trust people like before and how they change '50:50 Luv', and lots more. The whole album is just heavy and worth getting. The only one problem is, there was a track I liked with knocc&bone thugs and a few other knocc&dre'sta tracks that were left off the album completely which is a shame. But still, theres enough tracks to make this the classic that it is. Can't wait to hear the newer stuff when b.g knocc out gets out, I hope he ain't going to come out with a completely different style. Anyway, if you want a tight unforgettable westcoast album, get this quick before amazon charge you $500 or something stupid like that. Peace!"