Search - Cormega :: Realness & True Meaning (Spec)

Cormega's "Special Edition" is not to be slept on!

Crazy Jim | Massachusetts | 01/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Those who've been sleeping on Cory McKay for awhile now are running out of excuses. With a double-disc re-release of his first two albums put together for the price of one with six brand new songs and a enchanced video preview of his upcoming DVD, you may just have to go and pick this one up. Cormega's "The Realness" and "The True Meaning" were both viewed by the underground as instant street classics. There aren't too many who can argue.



Cormega's "The Realness" was viewed by many as the hottest debut since fellow Queensbridge artist and former friend, Nas dropped "Illmatic" in 1994. Mega's touching tales of struggles within the hood on "The Saga" rivaled rhymes of 2Pac as far as depth was concerned. His duet with Mobb Deep's Prodigy on 'Thun And Kicko" was solid as well. While the album only ran 14 tracks deep, few could deny that Cormega was a talent to be reckoned with.



I actually found Cormega's follow-up, "The True Meaning" to be even better than "Realness". Highlighted by "Love In, Love Out", a record that most view as a diss track to Nas but is actually more of a personal recount of Mega's falling out with Esco than a verbal attack on him. Tracks like "Live Ya Life" and "Built For This" further showcase his raw lyrical talent.



While a number of re-issued "bonus tracks" are often just mediocre leftovers and filler content, the songs included within the second disc of "Special Edition" are all actually good enough to compete with those that proceeded them. The remix of "The Saga" improves over its original courtesy of a piano-based instrumental while "All I Need Is You" with Jonell is also an outstanding track. A few of the bonus songs are actually from his unreleased album, "Testament", which is reportedly going to finally see the light of day in 2005. If you don't own either of Cormega's first two albums then you definetly need to go and scoop up this special edition release."

Get this album

Douglas T. Root | Tallahassee, FL | 12/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While it's probably not quite five stars, it's better than four... so I had to give it 5. Honestly, I had downloaded a lot of these cuts on Napster while trying to find the song "Fallen Soldiers" because I didn't know the name of the song -- and after downloading a bunch of them, I found out that "Fallen Soldiers" (a great tune) isn't even one of the better songs on this compilation - I didn't think, anyway. "Glory Days" ranks among my favorites on "The Realness" while Track 18 on "The True Meaning" (the name of the song escapes me) has this piano riff that's got to be heard to be believed. If you like rappers with good lyrical content and an interesting cadence/flow, you'll dig Cormega -- the only thing I can say is that if you buy his most recent album, Legal Hustle, and try to listen to all three of these albums in a short period of time, I think you'll realize that a lot of Cormega's beats are pretty similar. Although most of his beats are good, they can get repetitive when you layer the albums one on top of the other."

Lyrical masterpiece

Blake Stevens | 10/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mega is one of the most slept-on New York rappers yet arguably one of the most talented. This combination pack is ideal to a fan of hip-hop in general that actually wants to listen to lyrical genius, with mind-numbing beats from a REAL mc. The only other alive-mc displaying the same hood respect as Mega is Scarface. I would say Mega is a mix of Talib Kweli and Jay-Z. Many say Mega is the most heartfelt and emotional rapper since 2Pac yet he retains his hardcore appeal.



The 2 albums included are a must for any fan of lyrics and will not disappoint anyone



Blakey84"