 |  | Definite Classic 5 Stars Fo Sho |  |
New Orleans born and raised, and Texas bred, Big Mike from the Geto Boys puts it down in 1997 fior his second album, Still Serious. He keeps it playa and smooth here and it works very well. Using many of the same producers from 1994's Somethin' Serious (Mike Dean, N.O. Joe, Mike Banks), and a few new ones like Lorenzo Samuels, Big Mike does it big. The beats are simply fantastic. With that syrupy southern funk, Big Mike kills the mic with awesome flows. "Southern Comfort (On & On)" with Mystical puts it down for N'Awlins over a gumbo pot of funk by Mike Dean. "Still Serious" shows Mike ain't fell off and that he's still here over an airy N.O. Joe beat. Big Mike shows an upbeat side on "It's Alright" with a bouncy G-Funk beat and faster rhymes by Big Mike. Mike gets it playa in "Black Lacquer" and makes it smooth for the hunnies. "Southern Dialect" is where Mike shows how he rose above and got his money on. The beat is twangy Mike Dean funk so you know it'll slap while you roll. "'Burbans & Impalas" is a hot rider song with a Mtume "Juicy" sample. Mike Banks adds his own funk to that song, very melodic and sunny. Whether he is playa, hustler, socialist, Mike's lyrics are good. Productionwise, it is fantastic. Rap-A-Lot doesn't play with booty beats and busta lyrics, and this album testifies to that fact. Pick this up along with "Somethin' Serious" for some trillness and some thump'n funk fo ya trunk.
April 23, 2007I'm just catchin up with all the Rap-A-Lot Classics....finally copped "Still Serious", and f'n A! Mike goes HARD on this cut! I'm a huge fan of the Convicts record & his first solo "Somethin Serious", this record didn't let me down a bit. And of course..with Mike Dean on the production team, no doubt ish would be hott. Pick this 1 up
March 20, 2007 | | Another good album for his 2nd solo | |
Almost 3 years since Big Mike dropped his solid debut, he returns with another 4 star album, slightly lower in quality then "Somethin Serious" but still 4 stars (I'd give his "Hard to Hit" 4.5 stars). Only 12 songs with guests on 5 of them, you still get enough of the man from the Swamp to get you by after a 3 year drought. It has 1 almost classic song, 5 good ones, 3 ok ones, and 2 I skip (1 he isn't even on). Production is good and handled by mostly the same people that did all 3 of his albums. Mike Dean does 5, Mike Banks does 4, Lorenzo Samules, N.O. Joe, and Dent all do 1. His lyrics are on point as always and I'd recommend this for fans who want to hear a real southern rapper (not any of these fake cupcakes on the radio nowadays) or fans of Big Mike.
#1 - 9.5 (about coming up -- nice beat)
#2 - 8.5
#3 - 8.5
#4 - 8 (f/ Ill)
#5 - 7.5
#6 - 8 (f/ Ill)
#7 - 7.5 (f/ Ill)
#8 - 6 (Ill solo)
#9 - 8
#10 - 6 (f/ Mystikal)
#11 - 7 (f/ Lester Tone)
#12 - 6.5 (slower song)
Mike Barnett -- b. 1971 --- New Orleans, LA
Check all my reviews
July 30, 2005| | | This is a tight record that you need.... | |
Big Mike is hittin hard and deliverin knockout punches with quality anthems such as 'Burban and impalas and All a dream.I think this is solid record that rap fans need.Almost every song has bright spots even the so called not good songs,The reality is that even the not so good songs are better than most...in the flooded rap community.
March 2, 2000Almost every song on this album is good. This is one you can just put in and listen to the whole thing without ever changing the song (Unless you repeat one). A must have for your rap/hiphop collection.
May 9, 1999More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(5 reviews)