Search - Phife Dawg :: Ventilation

Predictable, Disappointing, and Boring (2.5 Stars)

Norfeest | Washington DC USA | 09/15/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"You'll never find a bigger ATCQ fan than me. You'll never find a bigger Phife Dawg fan than me either......but I believe in writing honest and unbiased reviews. I regret having to say that this CD comes dangerously close to being wack. It's not so much that Phife can't carry a song by himself, but something is missing. Phife actually has some dope solo tracks under his belt:



1) Butter - (from "The Low End Theory" LP '91)

2) 8 Million Stories - (from the "Midnight Marauders" LP '93)

3) Baby Phife's Return - (from the "Beats Rhymes & Life" LP '96)

4) His Name Is Muddy Ranks - (from "The Love Movement" LP '98)





These songs are all tight, and it could be argued that "8 Million Stories" and "Butter" are classic joints. With that being said, "Ventalation: Da LP" is a subpar release from a dope MC. There are so many reasons for the LP being a faliure.



Like other reviewers have pointed out, the first thing to stand out is the overuse of curse words. In my mind, cursing takes away from skills because anyone can make a curse word rhyme. It takes more skill to rhyme without cursing and I think that's one of the things that made ATCQ so appealing. Don't get me wrong, Tribe did curse from time to time, but Phife curses so much that I had to check the credits to make sure Richard Pryor didn't write the lyrics.



Another reason the CD is boring is because Phife hasn't improved lyrically. These are the same rhymes that you'll hear on any ATCQ LP...but with more swearing. That lack of improvement (or decline in skills depending on your view) makes at least 70% of this CD skippable.



Another reason to come to mind is the suspect production and the number of wack joints on the album. Supa Dav West needs to stick to singing because his production is suspect. I was even more shocked to hear such subpar production from Pete Rock on "Lemme Find Out". I'd have to say that "Ben Dova", "Miscellaneous" and "Lemme Find Out" are straight wack. "4 Horseman (192 N' It)" has a tight beat (courtesy of Jay Dee), but Phife and the aptly named trio No Name totally wasted it with some of the wackest lyrics I've heard since Vanilla Ice. Even the hook sucks: "This I'm holdin' down for Linden Bully like what / runnin' through life and not givin' a f*ck / gotta get your paper / nevermind these sluts / they ain't goin' nowhere / we can always get butt". It gets no sadder than that.



There are some good tracks on this album though. "Alphabet Soup" and "Flawless" are good, but they come off as skippable. "Tha Club Hoppa" reminds me of the ATCQ Phife that handled business on the previously mentioned solo joints. And then there are certified bangers like "D.R.U.G.S." (produced by Hi Tek) and "Melody Adonis" where Pete Rock redeems himself with a tight beat and Phife actually uses it well.



Overall, I'd have to say that this CD is somewhat dissappointing. The beats were suspect and Phife might've lost a step or two on the mic. If you're an ATCQ fan that was expecting more of the same on his solo joint, then you'll get most of the lyrics you're looking for, but most of the beats won't do anything for you. I'd only reccomend this to collectors that have everything else associated with Native Tongue / ATCQ.



Standout Tracks: Alphabet Soup, Flawless, Ventilation, Tha Club Hoppa, and D.R.U.G.S. (My Favorite)"

Weak

S. Shapero | Seattle, WA USA | 11/02/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Other than "flawless", this album is embarrassing. Phife is one of the best MC's of all time so we expect him to hold a higher standard than this."

Legendary Solo Effort

DJ Delicious | Florida | 01/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Phife Dawg had been a well established MC in the game as a result of his classic work with A Tribe Called Quest. Known for his slight islander drawl on songs like "Stressed Out", Phife always got a sort of second fiddle rep from critics. Well, Phife decided to dispell these notions and prove that he is dope in his own right. Dissapointing? Absolutely NOT. Phife brings out some big gun producers such as DJ Hi-Tek as well as Pete Rock, who provide the perfect sonic background for Phife to tear up. You can hear the hunger and passion in his voice; his emotion is palpable. The album title, Ventilation Da LP explains it all: Phife Dawg, raw, real and telling you how he feels. On gritty songs like Flawless, Alphabet Soup, D.R.U.G.S., Lemme Find Out, Ventilation, Melody Adonis, and the autobiographical piece and probably my favorite Beats, Rhymes & Phife, Phife Dawg lets the listener know what really been going on inside his dome. Its a trip worth taking multiple times. Trust me, you won't be dissapointed."