Canibus is regarded as one of the best MCs around, consistently proving his skills with street cred albums full of lyrical arsenals. But one thing he hasn't always had a reputation for is versatility, until now. "Mind Cont... more »rol" takes Canibus down a road that's more positive and full of personal insight into his "gentle giant" side. Fans need not worry though; he's still as credible and incredible an MC as ever.« less
Canibus is regarded as one of the best MCs around, consistently proving his skills with street cred albums full of lyrical arsenals. But one thing he hasn't always had a reputation for is versatility, until now. "Mind Control" takes Canibus down a road that's more positive and full of personal insight into his "gentle giant" side. Fans need not worry though; he's still as credible and incredible an MC as ever.
CD Reviews
Bis' Third Album
Hot Monkey | NYC, NY USA | 07/23/2005
(2 out of 5 stars)
"All of this album was recorded after 2000 B.C. and before "C" THS. The producer of this album (won't mention his bi**h a** name) wanted to show the world a softer side of Bis and under contract basically forced bis to do this album in an Un-Rip The Jacker type way. After completion of the album Bis refused to release it due to the fact he felt it was to soft and he didn't feel the beats or production. The producer then having no choice scrapped the project. 5 years later the very same producer knowing he had a Bis album in his archive and hadn't worked with any other big named artists decided to go against Canibus' wishes (now that there contract was up) and go ahead and release the album and a weak album at that. This is the album Bis never wanted you to hear and for a very good reason it sucks. This is a scrapped project that was dug up years later by a broke producer hoping to make money off of Bis' fanbase with an album he honestly thinks is good but only because he produced it. It was a waste of Bis' time and mine along with my money. Buy any other of Canibus' albums:
By favorite order:
1. Canibus
2. Rip the Jacker
3. 2000 B.C.
4. Mic Club
5. C True Hollywood Stories
6. Mind Control
Or you can wait for the fall release of Bis' "Hip Hop for Sale" album wich will be produced by Stoupe The Enemy of Mankind on Babygrande records. Stoupe Produced the "Rip the Jacker" album and is one of the members of the group Jedi Mind Trick (if you haven't heard Jedi Mind Tricks I strongly suggest you do)"
Canibus gives us a blast from the past on "Mind Control"...
MCHeadcase | Erwin, NC | 06/23/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Canibus' new release, "Mind Control", has been promoted as a brand new album, but in reality, it is an old unreleased album, full of material he recorded after "2000 B.C.", that he is just releasing now to complete a contractual agreement. Some of his fans who've already heard the material shun him for that, but for the most part, the album is dope. And even though it's old material, "Mind Control" is an album that takes Canibus down a different road in his career, showing more versatility than he ever has before. It's an amalgamation of all of Bis' different styles, giving us lyrically inclined battle tracks ("Last Laugh" and "Canibus Man"), commercially driven songs ("My Home Atlanta", "Not 4 Play", and "G.Y.B.A.O.T.C"), tracks involving storytelling ("Stupid Producers" and "Mind Control") and some insight on his career ("In the Rain", "My Name Is Nobody", and "Talk the Talk"). This album definitely has something for everyone and can reach a broader audience than his past releases. I will admit, I was disappointed in the fact that most of the tracks were available before; I was really excited in anticipation for a new Canibus album with new material, but I guess this will be the appetizer for what's to come. Bis has tons of new material for us in the future, such as a documentary DVD in coming out in August, "Hip-Hop For Sale", a sequel to his last full-length release "Rip The Jacker", and a possible collaboration with Kanye West. Bottom line, if you just take it for what it is, an album with some dope Hip-Hop music instead of just an album with some older unreleased tracks, you'll realize its not that bad."
Great CD by Can-I-Bus
Ayatollah316 | 06/22/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Even though Canibus was told to change his style for this CD, he did a good job making this CD even though some of the songs suck because its not the same Canibus. I couldnt imagine Canibus making whole tracks based on clubs and bitches and stuff.
1. 33 3's - 5/5
2. Canibus Man - 5/5
3. Atlanta - 2/5
4. Gybaotc - 3/5
5. In The Rain - 4/5
6. Mind Control - 5/5
7. Last Laugh - 5/5
8. Not 4 Play feat. Kurupt - 3/5
9. Stupid Producers - 5/5
10. Talk The Talk - 4/5
11. Nobody - 3/5
Cant wait till Hip-Hop 4 Sale comes out. Good job Bis."
Very little material, but 3 or 4 hot songs.
Leo | ny | 11/01/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"There are at least 3 songs on this album that for any real Canibus fan make it worth the money. "33 3's" is a simply brilliant song that displays 'Bis in classic form. "Mind Control", the title track, has a great beat with a catchy, more-mainstream hook, but with good though less abstracted lyrics. "Talk the talk" is simply hot lyrics with a nice beat to it that will grow on you. Here Canibus comes hard against his critics and detractors in an effective way. Those represent the core of this 11 track album, while a 4th --"Canibus Man"-may deserve mentions as a decent Canibus track over a rap-rock beat with a fierce tone, but not Canibus at his best in my opinion.
"Last Laugh" and "Stupid Producers" have both been featured elsewhere and both represent decent, though not great Canibus material. The rest of the album is consists of good lyrics mitigated by melodramatic and often difficult to listen to delivery, mixed with poor beats. Not much worth mentioning.
As always Bis shines on the mic with sick lyrics, and "33 3's" especially demonstrates classic Canibus concept and lyrics that his die hard fans love so much. Over-all though, we have 11 tracks, one of which ("Nobody") isn't even an actual song (and was also previously featured on the "My Name is Nobody" cut). So what we have here is really 3 good songs, 1 pretty good one, 2 good ones that were previously out there, a few other songs ranging from junk to decent (depending on if they grow on you) and an introspective and very philosophical outro track that is also old material. Is it worth your money? To the average hip-hop fan? Probably not. Go pick up "Mic Club" or "Rip The Jacker" or any other of his albums for that matter if you want a better sense of Canibus' talent.
For a true Canibus fan? You've probably heard around 33% of this already anyhow, but the good songs might be worth the dough; think of it as a pricey single. Still, while this might be somewhat disappointing-particularly considering the quality and progression begun by his last two albums-it's still worth 4 stars based on the quality of the 3 or 4 good songs, and the other 2 or 3 decent (though old) songs on here. But the lack of content and the reuse of old stuff is pretty depressing.
"
An above-average album by Bis, but far from his best effort.
T. Walsh | New Jeru | 09/21/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Before listening to this album, keep in mind of these important facts: 1. This album was recorded between the releases of "2000 B.C." and "C True Hollywood Stories" 2. Much of the material on this album was leaked YEARS before 2005 either through Canibus's old [...] site and in his mixtape 'my name is nobody' 3. This album was released due to a contractual agreement and the material was hardly altered since 2000/2001... To the extremely zealous Canibus fan, somebody who collects everything the man ever lays his vocals on, only THREE songs are in fact 'NEW'!!! So that's why this album is receiving such fluctuating reviews (although some are out of differing tastes, but most negative reviews are out of fury). So without further interuption, here's my unbiased review of Mind Control...
Things start off nicely with Canibus's continuation of Jay-Z's classic "22 2s" by creating "33 3s". Although '2' is easier to flip around using different meanings, Bis is somewhat able to pull it off by using '3' for different words. The production is very similar to Large Professor's on the Stillmatic track 'Backwards' by Nas. The 2000 BC Canibus is present in 'Canibus Man' where Bis spits what he's famous for -- innovative battle rhymes. Production is very bass driven and is good for blasting out loud in your ride.
Mind Control stumbles a little bit with two southern influenced tracks which are both somewhat surprising and may be difficult for Canibus fans to digest. 'Atlanta' has a pretty hot beat, but the lyrics are pretty boring. And 'GYBAOTC' has a very lackluster production, but the lyrical content is comical, yet very dismissive.
Luckilly, things pick up entirely with 'In The Rain', a very introspective look at Canibus's career through his own eyes. The chorus is an extended metaphorical look at his career and he's very good at expressing his pain with his delivery in this track. The title track, 'Mind Control' is next and continues the creative streak. The production is very laid back with some female vocals on the chorus, but the overall vibe of the track is very relaxed. Canibus spits a little narrative tale on the track about leaving Universal Records and becoming reborn musically.
More battle rhymes return as 'Last Laugh' comes up next. The beat is a bit repetative and the 'hahahaha' sample may become annoying to some listeners, but the second verse alone in this song is probably the best verse on the album (although the second verse is recycled in another song 'Da Shock' with Malarchi --- which is a much better track)
Things take an unexpected plundge in quality as 2 very lackluster tracks come up to the plate. 'Not 4 Play' with Kurupt has a pretty hot beat, but the lyric-content is horrific as Bis and Kurupt trade verses about strippers, being G-ed up, and other garbage --- NEXT --- 'Stupid Producers' although innovative with its beat and subject matter, is almost impossible to listen through due to the chipmunk-voiced 'producer' whos garaunteed to grate a nerve or two.
Next comes up 'Talk The Talk' which is very likely to hype up listeners. The production is very bass driven, but the chorus is a bunch of unnecessary R&B singing. Canibus's delivery is very intense, but his lyrics are a bit too simplistic. I have mixed feelings about this track, its almost as if Canibus was running for a touchdown and fumbled at the last second.
The album closes out with some very intelligent statements by Canibus about his reception to hiphop listeners and his contributions to hiphop... His fame due to obscurity...
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So my initial reaction to this album was that it was nice to see this material commercially released, but the fact that only 'In The Rain', 'Mind Control', and 'Talk The Talk' were the only actual new songs in an album that should've been released 4 years ago... I'm kinda on the fence, but falling more towards a positive review due to the albums diversity...
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1