11/17/08

Back To Firm Biz



It's like 1997 all over again. As I reported a few months back, two members of long defunct super-group "The Firm" are back with some brand sorta new projects for the streets. Although everyone knows whats going on with Nas & Foxy, it's the two quietest members; AZ & Nature who have struggled over the years to remain relevant in the game with varying degrees of success. Even though AZ has never managed to truly achieve mainstream success as a solo artist, he's remained relevant in the game throughout his career by putting out plenty of critically acclaimed albums that cater to his loyal fan-base of underground hip-hop heads. On the other hand, Nature's career pretty much started and ended in the late 90's when The Firm disbanded and he released two albums to a lukewarm response. Nonetheless, both cats are 'bout to drop some retail releases.

First up is AZ's "Final Call (The Lost Tapes)" which is an unreleased album that was originally supposed to drop in 2004. The album was completed and even leaked online, but ultimately ended up being shelved indefinitely after the massive bootlegging and the subsequent falling out with his label as result. I for one wasn't really impressed with the album as it featured some weak, generic production and some throwaway mainstream pleasing tracks that stood out like sore thumbs amongst the rest of the album. Now don't get it twisted...there are still some ill, must hear tracks on "Last Call" that feature AZ in tip-top form...including "Seems That Way", "Omega", "Live Wire" and one of my now favorite AZ tracks of all-time; "Magic Hour" featuring CL Smooth. The album features production from Tone Mason, DJ Absolut, Buckwild, Baby Paul and more...


AZ - FINAL CALL (THE LOST TAPES)
01. Freedom (Feat. Lemon)
02. Talkin' Gangsta (Feat. Tony Sunshine)
03. Quiet Money Anthem
04. Seems That Way
05. I Am AZ
06. Gangsta MC's (Interlude) (Feat. Lemon)
07. Live Wire
08. Magic Hour (Feat. CL Smooth)
09. Girls R Free
10. You Know (Feat. Rell)
11. Omega
12. The Truth
13. Mo Strings
14. Side 2 Side (Feat. Ron G)
15. Let Me Know

Next up is Nature's latest effort "Pain Killer". As far as I can tell, this "album" is more like a collection of miscellaneous tracks that duke has recorded over the past several years. It was put together and is being released by Scram Jones' "Beast Music" label and features a few tracks produced by Scram as well. As far as I can tell, there are more than a few cuts that I've heard on mixtapes that are well over 4-5 years old, but were never really officially released. I've never been a big fan of dude, but he can spit some serious bars and his flow is most def on point on more than a couple tracks off "Pain Killer". The album also features solid guest appearances from: Prodigy, NORE, Doo Wop, & Kool G. Rap...


NATURE - PAIN KILLER
01. Intro
02. Live Wire
03. Nobody Else But Me
04. Gotta Get It
05. Cold Blooded Killer (Feat. N.O.R.E. & Prodigy)
06. Everyday
07. Ya Homie
08. Small Talk
09. The Sermon
10. Flashback Freestyle (Feat. Doo Wop & Scram Jones)
11. Overnight Affair
12. Thought I Told You (Feat. Prodigy & Kool G Rap)
13. Public Enemy #1
14. One Shot
15. Never Slip
16. Runnin' Out Of Time
17. The Countdown

Posted By: JV