Mic Geronimo's CD is the bomb; can't wait for the next one.
03/15/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There are a lot of good tracks on this CD. A favorite is the one Mic dedicated to his mother, may she rest in peace."
He Fell Off Because Of This LP?? (Rating: 9 out of 10- -4.5
Chandler | Atlanta (College Park), Georgia | 08/19/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Trufully I never heard of Mic Geronimo ever until back in '01 he appeared on a bonus track on DMX's The Great Depression. Somewhere after that album he dropped Long Road Back, in which I've never seen hit shelves, but I heard a few songs from this. Back in 1997/1998, he would follow up on his debut The Natural with his sophomore album Vendetta. I've yet to hear his previous LP, but I believed that fans turned away from this album was the lead single "Nothin' Move But The Money" that features Puff Daddy (aka Diddy) (and just for the record: thats the only song that Puffy produces). As you can see Mic was trying to keep up with the New York trend of the mid-late 90's. From upbeat songs such as his lead single, to interpolations of old songs, to rocking Tims, shiny suits as you can see on his album cover.
After the first track, "Vendetta" comes next sounding very mellow type produced by The Legendary Traxter, as Mic spits some dope verses. Mobb Deep's Havoc comes in, and drops a nice beat for the next track "Survival", which comes off great. If you like mellow fast tempo beats, then "Life 'N' Lessons" will appeal to you, produced by Irv Gotti. "For Tha Family" produced by K-Def, which is also great. The way Mic rhymes on this album sort of reminds me of Prodigy from Mobb Deep, especially by the hook. "Street Life" is an easy standout, and one of the best tracks on the album. Also the song features Monifah on the hook. "Be Like Mic" is a solid track (think the movie Space Jam when you hear that track). "Unstoppable" Mic drops somemore dope rhymes over a Pete Rock beat. "Single Life" is a song more aimed towards the radio, and it wouldn't suprise me if that was the second single. The song features Carl Thomas, and Jay-Z. "Things Ain't What They Used To Be" is another solid track, but doesn't standout much in my opinion. "How You Been" is an emotional track that Mic dedicates to his mother. The final track "Usual Suspects" comes off strong that features DMX, Ja Rule, The Lox, and Tragedy Khadafi.
Listening to this album, it's a shame that it didn't receive such praise as it should have. I don't think Mic was trying to sell out, but at the same time if he was on a more popular label (ie. Def Jam), this album would have moved a lot of units. This album is so underrated, that it's not even funny. Great lyrics and excellent production, causes Vendetta to fall short of classic status. This album is being sold for one penny. If thats not a steal, than I don't know what is. Either way, this album is excellent, and I recommend that you add this to your library, especially if you're a fan of mid-late 90's rap. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best albums you never heard. Peace!!
Lyrics: A-
Production: A
Guest Appearances: A-
Musical Vibes: A-
Top 5 Tracks:
1. Street Life (featuring Monifah)
2. Unstoppable
3. For Tha Family
4. Survival
5. Usual Suspects (featuring Lox, Tragedy, DMX, and Ja Rule)
Honorable Mention Tracks:
1. Single Life (featuring Jay-Z and Carl Thomas)
2. Nothin' Move But The Money (featuring Puff Daddy)"
Great 2nd album from Mic Geronimo
G$ | B-More, MD | 06/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I remember when "Nothin Move But The Money" first came out, I was in the 10th grade and it was a hot song, now 10 years later I picked up the album again and I forgot how good it really was. A slept on and under rated MC with a smooth flow, he delivers a very tighht album. Though rather short, at only 12 songs, not one is bad, in fact I'd say 1 is ok, the rest are good, with a few being real good and 1 classic and 1 almost classic. Guests are minimal as well (rapping on 2 songs and doin the hook on 3) , and quite a few grew into some of the bigger names in rap shortly after this album dropped (Jay-Z, LOX, DMX, Ja Rule, and another great but under rated rapper, Tragedy Khadafi). Production is great on almost every song and handled by some bigger names. Irv Gotti & Lil Rob did 2 songs, Puff Daddy, Pete Rock, Buckwild, Prestige, Legendary Traxter, Havoc, K-Def, P & Time, Chrin Lange, Prince Kasan all do 1 song. A must have rap album from an era where rap was still about lyrics and not bling bling and women.
#1 - 9 (f/ Kelly Price -- tight beat)
#2 - 8
#3 - 8
#4 - 10 (CLASSIC -- great beat)
#5 - 8.5 (good beat)
#6 - 9 (f/ Monifah -- tight beat)
#7 - 8 (another good beat)
#8 - 7
#9 - 9.5 (f/ Jay-Z & Carl Thomas -- great beat)
#10 - 8
#11 - 8.5 (F/ Khadeija Bass)
#12 - 9 (f/ DMX, Ja Rule, Jadakiss, Styles, Tragedy Khadafi -- another version has Cormega & Hussein Fatal instead of Tragedy & the Lox)
Michael McDermon -- b. 9/14/73 -- Queens, NY
check all my reviews
"
(3+half stars) VENDETTA......return of the natural.
gavin redmond | rep of ireland | 05/30/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"After getting his debut album "the natural" wayback in the day when it 1st came out i was hit with 2 assumptions. 1)That album was laced with alotta hit records and 2)He wouldnt be able to recreate it cuz there were alotta fillers on the debut also so i thought he'd used up whatever he had in the tank in the 1st time round. How wrong i was+unfortunately i slept on this until very recently when i decided to cop it on the cheap. It starts off with 1 of the crossover aimed tracks "nothin move but the money" which was produced by PUFFY and genuinely wasnt as bad as i thought it wouldve been because MIC tears it down with some lovely wordplay. Next is the title track "vendetta", a MOBB DEEP sounding track were Mic flips some warnings to mc's. Then ironically comes "survival" produced by HAVOC from Mobb Deep, a jazzy rugged joint where Mic sounds in his element. Next is the IRV GOTTI produced "life n'lessons", a crossover type joint with a lovely laidback feel to it where Mic is in storytelling mode describing his life. The next joint is a K-DEF (Marly Marl's partner) produced heatrock, guaranteed to make you nod ya head. The next track "street life" is very much a radio filler and "be like mic" has a repetitive boring beat despite some of Mic's best rhyming. Then there's a track from PETE ROCK which i was not expecing at all called "unstoppable" and thats exactly what it is once you put it in your deck. A bone crunching bassline+beat driven track with a delicate piano rift with a touch of jazz mixed with Mic's stellar flow. Then there's 3 reletively forgettable tracks in "single life" (cr*p), "things aint what they used to be" and "how you been?". All 3 have a more r+b influenced vibe rather than a harder rugged edge Mic sonds better on. Finally we're giving "usual suspects" a posse cut with DMX, the LOX and Carl Thomas with a badboy feel. After hearing 2 of his 3 albums i get the impression that this cat makes albums with a handful of excellent str8 up real hiphop tracks mixed with a handful of more laidback radio/r'n'b tracks that kind of take abit away from it. Well worth coping for the variety of the tracks."
I give it a 3 because accurately half of it all got me.
Gentleman | Florida | 04/03/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"In other words, I didn't felt the other half of the album. It was okay, but I think that starting here is where Mic Geronimo starts to fall off the league. He's real good, without a doubt. But, I'm starting to fall into thought since he lately got with Puff Daddy and Jay-Z and all them... he's losing the feel.
A solid album if you a real hip-hop fan, but it's not as good as The Natural."