Search - Suga Free :: Just Add Water

An excellent summertime album from the Pomona pimp

ctrx | 'bout to show you how the EAST COAST rocks... | 05/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"West coast veteran Suga Free's "Just Add Water" is an excellent album and among the best of his career. Anyone who likes his other albums will be blown away by this, which is his most consistent and maybe complete yet, along with "Street Gospel". Suga Free's lovable, pimped-out persona is at a high here, and his lyrics make you laugh and keep you listening through the album's tracks. The production is also outstanding, even without former partner DJ Quik, Suga Free finds great beats for every track. His producers make happy, free, and for lack of a better word, pimping beats that keep you coming back for more. Instrumentals are common throughout and the production is actually not too different than Quik's on his previous albums. The songs are light, good-spirited summertime anthems. It is not G-Funk like his previous albums might be classified, instead it is more advanced, like a new generation. The lyrics are very elevated. On some tracks he coos to an attractive lady, on others he paints pictures of experiences, and on others just has fun as only Suga Free does. Suga Free is a pimp above all else, but he speaks of relationships very knowledgably. He has obviously matured, yet still keeps to his instincts. If one word describes the album, it's original.



The first full song is "What U Want" featuring Strange, where Suga Free imitates James Brown well over nice horns and bass. "Put Ya Hands Up" has a reggae-styled hook and good production. The first single "U Know My Name", has cocky, representing lyrics as the title would suggest and horns and funky bass and synths in the background. I love the line, "When I was a baby, I fell into a box of glitter, and I been shinin' ever since." On "So Fly", the one and only Snoop Dogg drops by for a classic collaboration with Suga Free and Katt Williams. "The Ranger" is a standout. Suga Free sings and raps about trouble in a serious relationship, and the production has an awesome guitar riff and drums, he sings in a high voice, it's an awesome song. "Peace of Mind" is a one-of-a-kind, well produced song about problems with a woman with great guest appearances from Debra Edwards and Cody Elles. A good collaboration with Knoc'Turnal, "U Ain't Knowin'", precedes my favorite track, "Suga Cain", a completely amazing song. It has a bouncy bassline and electric guitar that has rock and roll written all over it. Suga Free and Kokane trade off excellent abstract verses and singing, and the hook is excellent, it stays in your head for hours. "How I Get Down", a cheerful collaboration with young protege InfaRedd defends his pimping disposition. "I'm Gone" has sweet droopy synths and another good chorus, it's a funny song. "Person 2 Person" is perfect, it has a great hook by Blaqthoven and an awesome head bobbing beat. The catchy "Don't Worry" has a great chorus, relaxing and soothing music, and nice lyrics, a conversation to Suga Free's girl. The perfect beat on "Where U From" is met with great verses by Suga Free and InfaRedd. "Happy", an R&B influenced song with great singing by Marlon and lyricism by Suga Free, has feel-good production with funky synths and instrumentals. "Change" is a track that serves to diss DJ Quik. It is beautifully produced, with a great chorus, and the lyrics are brutal. "Boyfriend (Pimpin)" is beautifully produced, and the lyrics are smart and funny, among the best on the album. The album closes with a nice remix of "So Fly" by Mannie Fresh.



"Just Add Water" lets Suga Free emerge as a great character, an intelligent pimp capable of wooing women, making people laugh and entertaining listeners. His guests all hold their weight, and the production carries the album as well as the lyrics, with arguably his best beats yet. This album could be the next generation of G-Funk, elevated and mature yet entertaining lyrics teamed with high class music from the boards. It's just an awesome 78-minute album, and I know I'll be enjoying it years from now. "Just Add Water" is a very original album that I hope receives its deserving exposure, and I recommend it to all hip hop lovers."

Display of Suga Freedom

AllwayznStyle | Tampa, FL | 05/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love Suga Free's new album, Just Add Water, because he really displays his creativetity in writing and flow. He's got tracks on there with everyone from Kokane to Mannie Fresh. "Dont Worry" and "U Aint Knowin" are some of my favorite tracks of the album. This is definitely one of my favorites from Suga Free's repertoire."

New and Improved!

Philip Y. | Israel | 09/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Just Add Water" is Suga Free's first album without his former long-time partner and West Coast legendary producer DJ Quik. And surprisingly, this new album (his 3rd solo overall) is as good as "Street Gospel" (but longer!)... I was a bit dissapointed with "The New Testament", which sounded a bit uninspired to me, and even Quik's beat weren't his best ones... On "Just Add Water" Suga Free bounced back to release another banger! It's one of those perfect albums, you can listen to, without skipping a track. It's Suga Free at his best - catchy funky West Coast beats (courtesy of mostly unknown producers, other than Mannie Fresh and Saccs), great (and catchy) RnB hooks and of course classic Suga Free rapping! Suga Free is at his best and you can see he improved as a rapper. I don't have to tell you about Suga Free - he's his usual charismatic, easy-going, crazy, funny, intelligent Pomona pimp. You know that his favorite subject is pimpin', but Suga raps a lot about other issues as well - especially women and relashionships... And whatever he raps about it's got that unique Suga Free humorous twist to it. Musically the album is West Coast to the fullest, without any Dirty South influences. It's melodic, funky, and the sound is very rich. The beats are usually complicated (so different than all those Lil Jon or Dr. Dre or Scott Storch beats...), and it's actually music, not just bumping beats. The producers (Freeze, Saccs, J-Steez, J. Classic, Mannie Fresh and a few others) really did a tremendous job on this one. Much much better than most of "The New Testament". Suga Free didn't use many guest rappers (other than Snoop Dogg and Knoc-turnal) and most of the guest artists are singers (and they all do an amazing job on those hooks!).

Overall, Suga Free proved that he can do it even without Quik, and he put out one of the best albums in 2006, for sure! It's so different, so authentic, it's just a must-have for any West Coast fan. Suga Free's approach to pimpin' is much different to other pimps turned rappers (such as Too Short, Eightball and MJG, Dru Down) - it's less serious and tough. Suga Free is a laid back, easy going, fun-loving person - and it also shows on the DVD that comes with the album (although it's as usual in very bad quality, both visually and it terms of the Sound). Suga Free is being himself and he did an amazing job on this album, proving he's one of the most creative rappers out there. Although Just Add Water is only the third album from rapper Suga Free in nine years, it is clear that he has lost none of his game in the time that's passed. The premise behind the record, as explained in the "Intro," is that it's a kind of guide to being a pimp. And while Suga Free is more than ready to give his share of advice about dealing with nosy and ungrateful women and his love for his job ("U Know My Name," for example, where he says over a smooth jazz beat, "Cuz all I really like is pimpin'," and "I only love what she do for me/I ain't getting married"), he is also willing to get a bit more personal and express some genuine emotion. "I'm Gone" and "Peace of Mind" are both about relationships that have gone wrong and that have hurt him, and in the guitar-driven "The Ranger" he's the most introspective and honest he's ever been, showing the maturity he's gained since his 1997 debut, Street Gospel. He explains his reasons for pimping in a Prince-esque falsetto over reverby, melancholy electric guitar chords, then moves into a modern rock-inspired chorus of "I don't want to be like the Lone Ranger/Traveling through the world just like a stranger." These moments of reflection are a nice complement to the rest of the album, with songs about sex and women and money, and bring a little humanity to the persona Suga Free has worked so hard to create. In terms of production, Just Add Water is as good as any G-funk record. Its beats are all smooth and clean, but there's enough diversity in instrumentation and style (the aforementioned rock found in "The Ranger" and also in "Suga Cain," the pure James Brown funk of "What U Want," complete with grunts, and the Spanish guitar in "If You Feel Me") to keep things from growing either boring or predictable. However, lyrically Suga Free's misogyny gets a little tiresome, and his rhymes have always been kind of hit or miss, which unfortunately doesn't change on this record. Although he has too many lines that involve him trying to extend single-syllable words into four or five, he makes up for this by focusing more on his singing, which has a cadence reminiscent of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. It sounds good, and ties the musical elements of the record together nicely. Just Add Water may not be the complete handbook to being a pimp, but it certainly is a kind of missive on the life of Suga Free, and is definitely worth checking out.



Bottom line - Don't you sleep on this one, or Suga might slap you like you're one of his bi***es!!"