Search - G-Dep :: Bad Boy

Bad Boy...come out and plai-yay!

Pablo | 03/17/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I will never truly understand Mr. Sean Combs. The man is a cunning mogul, most certainly; he's made himself one of the richest entreprenuers in American for a reason. What I lack in understanding of Mr. Combs is the amount of talented New York emcees he signs, and let's go to waste. Sure, Craig Mack was dropped by Mr. Combs for a reason, but since Craig Mack's dispell from Bad Boy over a decade ago, Diddy's done the exact same thing with so many other rappers on his label. His loyalty to his artists needs no exploring; just look at Shyne, and you'll see how much Diddy cares about his roster of talent beyond their record deal. What doesn't make sense to me is the amount of potential New York renassiance men Diddy signs, only to have them release one album, then sit on their contracts until they expire. Black Rob was almost a casualty of this, but he somehow managed to release an album two years ago, on Bad Boy records no less. G. Dep and Loon weren't quite as lucky though.



G. Dep has long been one of my favorite underrated New York emcees. I first heard him on the Premo track, Head Over Wheels, and from that moment on, I was a fan. His debut album, and thus far only solo album, Child of the Ghetto, was arguably the best non-B.I.G. album to be released on Bad Boy Records, and continues to be such to this day. Loon, on the other hand, is someone I never really paid much attention to; I heard him making guest appearances on Puffy songs, but never really thought much of him. On this release, I find out that Loon, too, has a unique flow, and can ride almost any beat.



The production on this album is surprisingly tight. It sounds like it has a major-label budget, which tends to help independent releases have a higher sound quality. Whatever budget these two had to work with over the course of this album, they put their money together, and delivered a dope album musically. Behind the microphone? G. Dep and Loon, as I said, are both above-average emcees, with Dep riding the lines of excellent and Loon being pretty dope in his own right. Fellow former Bad Boy artist Styles P makes two guest appearances on this album, and it's sad to say, but the beats he rhymes on here are hotter than anything that was on his latest album; while that maybe dissapointing for Styles, it certainly isn't for this album as Shrimp & Lobsta and Special are two of the tightest tracks on the album. Smig Dirtee makes two guest appearances, and he's average; as is I-Rocc, who makes one guest appearance. Besides those three artist I just mentioned, the only other artist to guest on this album is Ginuwine, who was known for making frequent guest appearances on Bad Boy albums back in the day. Loon also includes three disses to everyone's favorite target, Dipset, on this album in the form of the Elmo skit, the track 'cleverly' titled "Jimmy!," and the outro, which is a radio excerpt of himself and 40 Cal.



While it's nothing revolutionary, G. Dep and Loon's collaborative Bad Boy is a dope album that has a right in any hip-hop head's disc changer. Don't sleep on it."

G-Dep & Loon - Bad Boy

Constant | Vancouver, BC Canada | 02/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"G-Dep (A.K.A. Ghetto Dependant, Travell Coleman) & Loon (A.K.A. Chauncey Hawkins) release a collobration album with "Bad Boy" (2007). The two harlem rappers and former Bad Boy Artist's provide a grimy release which features appearances from Styles P, Ginuwine, Smigg Dirtee. While Loon has released a couple of album's over the last few years, G-Dep has been relatively quiet having released some mixtape material. I was a fan's of G-Dep's debut solo album "Child of the Ghetto". This release reminds me of Cormega & Lake's "My Brother's Keeper" - two MC's from the same hood collaborating for a street album. The two MC's open the album off well with "Callin", a strong cut which is laced with an on point chorus and stellar production. G-Dep, Loon & Smigg Dirtee then deliver another solid collaboration with "Code Of The Streets". The next cut "Noodle" is a cut which has club friendly appeal, laced with a beat to dance to. My current favourite track on this release is "Special", Styles P of the Lox leads the way while G-Dep & Loon shine delivering outstanding lyrics and a memorable chorus. The three MC's reunite for the follow up "Shrimp & Lobsta" another banging cut. Ginuwine provides the background vocals for "Like Me", a track addressed to the ladies. The bizarre "Elmo" skit, is an opener for an impressive diss track directed at Jim Jones of the Diplomats. G-Dep & Loon demolish Jim Jones on "Jimmy", one of the dopest diss track's I have heard in awile. I personally think Jones music is garbage, his Pac biting pathetic, so I am not surprised to see other Harlem MC's exposing him for a fake and liar. The follow up cut "Blap Blap" is a street banger, to bump in the whip. Another outstanding track is ominous "The Story", feeling this joint which has G-Dep & Loon telling some real life stories. The album's closer has Loon talking about beating down 40 Cal. It's good to see G-Dep back at it, and I prefer Loon's music when he keep's it street. Nowadays Bad Boy Records is full of pop acts, manufactured music, and affiliated talentless artists like Young Joc - the label's best artist's are no longer around Biggie's dead, Black Rob & Shyne are incarcerated. G-Dep & Loon provide an independant album worth checking out with "Bad Boy"."