Silkk the Shocker - Charge It 2 da Game

Silkk the Shocker isn't the most gifted of the Miller brothers (Master P and C-Murder are his siblings), either in his generic-as-they-wanna-be lyrics or in his lumpy-like-day-old-oatmeal flow. Yet the hits keep coming, as the solid if uneventful Beats by the Pound production crew provides enough bouncy loops and catchy choruses to keep Silkk's head above water. Most notable are the down-tempo stories related on "Give Me the World" and "Mama Always Told Me." But when it comes to No Limit, an ounce of bounce is worth far more than a pound of gloom; it's "I'm a Soldier," the token posse cut on the record, that achieves its purpose best. Laced with a quick-paced, raw funk, it reaffirms the universal particularities of the NL sound. --Jon Caramanica Amazon.com

More saying UHHHHH (3.5/5)

Silkk the Shocker's 1998 sophomore effort "Charge It 2 da Game" is a showcase of No Limit Records in its prime. No Limit became extremely popular during the late 90s and was notorious for producing frequent, overblown albums with great singles and lots of filler. No Limit's cheap, by-the-books gangsta rap really can be incredibly appealing though, and it's easy to see why they had so many platinum selling records. When the formula works, it works very well, and much of "Charge It 2 da Game" is no exception. Silkk is not quite the MC his brothers Master P and C-Murder are, but he's got a unique flow and can display some very good lyricism. Like all the No Limit releases, this album is thick with guest appearances, only four of the songs are not posse cuts featuring the other assorted No Limit soldiers. That, and there's a whole lot of saying "UUUUHHH!" The Beats By the Pound team provides all the production, which overall is pretty average, a lot of the beats sound similar and only a few stand out. The running time of the album and individual songs is bloated. Silkk does perform pretty well and there are some excellent cuts scattered, but overall there's just too much filler to make this a very cohesive album. No Limit fans should pick this up, but I wouldn't consider it a must have.

The first song is the No Limit anthem "I'm a Soldier," where over a simple, hardcore beat, ten of the label's rappers deliver representing verses, including all three Miller brothers, Fiend, Mac, Mia X, Mystikal, and others. This is a very memorable song, showcasing exactly what made No Limit so popular during this heyday. I like the epic-sounding "Give Me the World," which showcases the ridiculous materialism of Silkk and his label, but still lyrically is pretty strong. "Throw Yo Hood Up" is a decent Snoop Dogg collaboration over a standard upbeat Beats By the Pound production. "Just Be Straight With Me" is a highlight, a catchy and fun song. On "If I Don't Gotta," Silkk and Fiend dig deep for some heartfelt lyrics, it's one of the better cuts. I find "We Can Dance" to be a little monotonous and boring. "Mama Always Told Me" is a very average No Limit song, you'll feel like you've heard it before all right. "You Ain't Gotta Lie to Kick It" is more skippable filler material. I really like the gangsta slow jam "Thug `N' Me," this is some No Limit at its finest. I really like the production and the vocals are great. "All Night" is average and forgettable. "Who Can I Trust?" is lyrically and musically one of the better songs. "It Ain't My Fault" is okay, a Mystikal appearance improves it. The catchy and upbeat "What Gangstas Do" has great vibes, it's a highlight for sure. The bouncy "Let Me Hit It" is okay, but "How Many" is an anthem, a hardcore song that despite being generic is very appealing. The last three songs are all solo cuts, the best being the deep and well-produced closer "Me and You."

"Charge It 2 da Game" is now out of print, but keep in mind that this was a #1 album less than ten years ago, so it's still pretty easy to find. I recommend this album to fans of the other No Limit material, there's some fun music here that's quite enjoyable. It's very inconsistent, but "Charge It 2 da Game" definitely has its moments. May 14, 2007

Getting better...

When you look up the word "versality" in the dictionary, you'll see Silkk the Shocker's portrait right o tnext it. Charge it 2 da game, Silkk's second album, proves without a doubt that he's not a one-hit wonder and is able avoid the sophomore jinx that has plagued many artists in the music industry. His flow is unpredictable and varies from track to track which keeps the listener curious on what Silkk might to do next. For example "Give me the world", we find Silkk to be aggressive as his desire for money and power continue to intentsify while "Who can I trust?" has Silkk in a state of confusion as he uncovers the truth on whether the person he knows is really a friend or foe. Then there's "All night long" where he's laid back and chillin', which is ideal for party or while you're cruising in your ride. Being honest with him is important in "You ain't got to lie to kick it" proving that you don't need to be rich and flashy to be his friend. It doesn't stop there, a West Coast and Ditry South collbration is put together as Silkk teams up Death Row artist Snoop Dogg in "Throw yo hood up" and outcome that turns to be Silkk's best track out of the entire album.

With all that talent in Silkk, his album is by far from flawless, tracks such as "If I don't gotta" and "How many?" are pure fillers and do nothing to enhance the album's quality. "We can dance" is a long, boring, uninspiring track that will surely put the listener rather than party. Also, The skits here are short and pointless which makes me questions why Silkk would include such material like that into his album.

Aside from all that, Silkk shows a lot of potential and no signs of slowing down. August 28, 2006

sECOND BEST SOLO ALBUM.

IF YOU GET THIS ALBUM.....YOU GOTTA GET HIS FIRST ALBUM "THE SHOKKER" ITS LIKE WATCHING BLADE TRINITY WITH OUT SEEING THE FIRST TWO.... AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WOULD EVEN WASTE MY TIME BUYING THIS CD UNLESS I ALREADY HEARD AND OWNED THE FIRST ONE. YOU GOTTA HEAR NUMBER 14 ON THE FIRST ONE... July 15, 2006

good

i liked the album. im just glad hes not on every song by himself. he must be the absolutely worst rapper i have ever hurd. wack garbage everything in the book but i liked the album. May 21, 2006

3.5 star 2nd solo album -- his best solo effort

A year and a hlf since his debut, Silkk returns with his sophomore effort, and unlike most 2nd albums, it is his best one. Like all No Limit releases around that time, guests are all over the album, but this is better as Silkk probably couldn't carry the whole album himself, and only 6 don't have guests and most of these aren't too good. Packed with 18 songs, it has 1 - 3 almost classics songs, 6 I skip, 6 ok ones, and the rest are good. Production is great on some songs and so so on others and is handled all by the Beats by the Pound Crew. Craig B & Mo B Dick each do 5 songs, O'Dell does 4, and KLC & Carlos Stephens each do 2. A good album to have for his fans or fans of late 90's No Limit music.

#1 - 9 (f/ Master P, C-Murder, Mac, Fiend, Mystikal, Skull Duggrey, Big Ed {R.I.P.}, Mia X, Gotti Gambino)
#2 - 5.5
#3 - 8.5 (f/ Snoop Dogg -- nice beat)
#4 - 9 (f/ Master P, Destiny's Child, O'Dell, Mo B Dick -- nice upbeat track)
#5 - 6 (f/ Fiend)
#7 - 7
#8 - 7.5 (f/ Master P, Eightball, C-Murder)
#9 - 7 (f/ Mia X & Big ed (R.I.P.))
#10 - 4.5 (f/ Master P, Mo B Dick, Peaches, O'Dell --- slower song)
#11 - 8 (f/ Mo B Dick -- good beat)
#12 - 8 (about who can u trust)
#13 - 7.5 (f/ Mystikal)
#14 - 9.5 (f/ Kane & Abel, and Mo B Dick -- great beat)
#16 - 5 (f/ Mystikal)
#17 - 7 (f/ Master P, C-Murder, Mia X, Mystikal)
#18 - 7
#19 - 4.5
#20 - 6

Vyshonne King Miller -- b. 6/1/76 -- New Orleans, LA
check all my reviews
August 21, 2005

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