producers: swizz beatz, p.k., shok

Another album to hate. But another album to listen and suddenly enjoying. An album that starts with an enormously animated "Intro" that sets the tone for half of the tracks on here. Like the first track, the babbling, back and forth rhyming, very energetic track, featuring Drag-On to who belongs the tightest moment, during his last verse, when there's all the 'hey, hey' shouting in the back. And things shift to a melodic beat on "Gotta Man", where Eve talks about what she'd do for her man, the loyalty she has for him: "I'm playin' it smart, court dates in other cities / there I'm playin' my part, wifey, in you life see / forever be us, passenger side of a Bentley / or the number 2 bus". The song itself is somewhat a pop tune, with a hook that you will not be getting out of your head in a while.

Next up is the hometurf repping track "Philly Philly", a slow moving, piano sparkling enhanced track, that has a chorus that sounds like done by some guys that were pretty drunk. However Beanie is heard rapping "how you think they gon feel seeing us Grammy night / let me tell you, a bunch of if, and's and mics / Billboard charts, Source ad and mics / and if I say so myself 'goddamn we tight' / fuck being humble ain't no other way to end this / we ain't open up the doors, we knocked that bitch up off the hinges". Then there's "Stuck Up" where Eve does all the best to portray herself as an ignorant gold digger, spitting "you ain't breakin' off none, you stash is limited / I see it insufficient funds / mad cause I don't speak but why should you disrespect / so until ya pockets swells speak to the back of my neck". Next.

Swizz put a lot of sound effects to "Ain't Got No Dough" that features Missy. It has a little stop and go again thing to it, and is one of the beats fellow producers should study. Then there's the second pop tune, namely "Love Is Blind", with a guitar and a sultry chorus, while the rhyme attacks another messed up knuckle head in a proud female stance, that holds a lot of weight in today's society. "Scenario 2000" is the obligatory posse cut, with all the Ruff Ryders showing up. It's also the unofficial "Jigga My Nigga Remix". It's an adrenaline loaded cut, that this click is so good at. But the lyrics are way too violent on here. Then following that is the second DMX featured cut "Dog Match". The track is again full of energy, actually very simple, not even good, but the end result is somewhat moving, if played at the right volume.

"My Bitches" is another somewhat proud but also strange female manifest. And "Maniac", with it's energy shows, why the Ruff Ryders are of the first to be asked to contribute to a Wrestling compilation. What wasn't necessary was Eve's fast rhyming style on "My Enemies". And if you wonder by now, how she hooked up with the Roots, listen to "Heaven Only Knows", another spiritual pop tune. The lyrical content, over a summer vibish guitar and a hidden piano, let's us conclude, that if the album would just be about things like that, and not about the flossing, then we'd be so very happy about it. Finally there's "What Ya Want (Remix)", with Eve spitting her best pop flow. And this, as well as the content, should never be considered dope, because it's just senseless babbling. And some person with power should finally get up and say: 'damn, this is crap we are spitting'.

This album should have been releases as a group of which Eve and Swizz are members, because this might really suck with other beats. And so it's as much an Eve effort as a Swizz effort. And while his work sometime sucks, he did save some of the better beats for this album, and we still wanna know why he calls himself 'Swizz'. Now if Eve would get a black afro and get rid of that stupid blonde hair, we might will declare her vice-leading female rapper after the untouchable Lauryn (then again, there's also Apani B-Fly Emcee, Rah Digga,....hmmm). But with her lyrics not being as dope as a lot of people make us believe, this is energy wise were happily appreciated, but on an inspirational and thinking level not.