Album Review- Fat Joe- The Darkside Vol. 1

So flying under the radar even more than usual, is Fat Joe who seems to feel the need to release an album every year. This time, it is titled the Darkside Vol 1., so this seems to be the first in a planned series. Unlike precious releases, Joe doesn't even have a big single to help at least get some promotion for the album.

Joe starts with the dark production to go in with the theme on the Intro were he does his normal bragging things about how ill he is, how he bags bitches, and how he moves crack and can rap. He does manage to take a shot at 50 as he says "We gonna throw a party when Curtis Die" to end his verse. "Valley of Death" has one of those beats I would like to see someone who is track-challenged like Joe Budden or Nas end up with. "Rappers are in Danger" is Joe's shot at proclaiming how ill he is but the song is stale as he says the same things on every other joint and every album and cop-outs like "You niggas more pussy than dykes is" are not convincing, I hope that wasn't in pun's rhyme book.


Neither was "Money Over Bitches" which also features some random ass rapper. The track on "Im Gone" rocks with a good East Coast sound and is an example of what his album filler tracks actually should sound like at this point but it is one of the few highlights. "At Last Supremacy" could have really been a hot track if Joe had done something in the past 6 years other than dick-ride Rick Ross and Lil Wayne where he could have really summed up some things. Having Busta on the 'hook' talking greasy makes it look even more cliche. "Heavenly Father" with Lil' Wayne on the hook is average at best, and "If it Ain't About Money" wastes a chance to have a Trey Songz hook.

Rico Love is on "No Problems" which of course has a banging beat but isn't about anything. "Kilo" might be the best song on the album and it features the Clipse and Cam'ron talking about that white. Now, let me say this, I don't ever expect Joe to stop talking about crack but the point is you cannot make 3/4 of 12 albums about selling dope, especially when you were going away from that until you realized other people were doing it successfully. "Slow Down" with Jeezy is an underground banger mostly due to the beat but Joe holds the track down.

You see Fat Joe still ahs the right to talk gangster, but he has been in the game way too long for the main subject matter of his album to be how real he is. I get it Joe, you've been screaming about your realness for years but by now it's boring. Fat Joe may be more lyrical than 50 Cent but he has less swagger than Ross and so get lost in the shuffle especially when you have guys like Fabolous and Red Cafe lurking around. To be honest if he could Executive produce a Red cafe album or a Fabolous album they would at least be assured of having banging tracks even if the subject matter would remain lacking. Once again, Joe doesn't even scratch a surface of his ability or his illustrious life and career and drops an album with great production but disappointing quality. For someone who is a veteran and should have reached legendary status, it's a disappointment.

Rating: 2.5/5

Comments

  1. Fuck this reviewer. This is a good ass album. Who the fuck is paying this guy? This album is like, all good ass bangers, and Joe is actually going in, and he actually talks about his career a lot. I'm Gone, I Am Crack, that one track with Too Short is crazy Short kills it, and i don't know I'm sick of people talking shit about Joe, he is actually making a great album and people just wanna jump on the fuck joe wagon, yeah he might not be the most legendary rapper at this point but at least he's still trying, i mean he's really got some hot shit on this album.

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  2. lol he'd got hot beats, but Joe has been around 20 years, talking about selling crack after all this time is lame point blank. No one is on the Fuck Joe bandwagon because no one really cares what Fat Joe does. Joe's problem is that he is too busy dickriding current trends to focus on how much in his life he could actually talk about.

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  3. Trust me, no one is paying me at all. Honestly his lyrics are all the same thing and I don't even believe him at this point.

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  4. LOL Rembrandt18 wouldnt say that to Joe face so believing Joe means nadas. Joe always got that hard shyt n since he dont wear tight jeans, sing on records, talk lubby dubby etc on records I guess these Gay Mafia niccaz really got a problem with him. Rembrandt, btw, from the Warriors was a funny dude and died of AIDS... lol AIDS is a gay disease.

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  5. That's nice but have never seen the Warriors so that means nothing to me. I would say that i don't believe his raps any more because they're the same and lame.

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