Strong Arm Steady
Posted on 10/04/2005
Exclusive! Okayplayer! The OFFICIAL review of Strong Arm Steady's new mixtape,
The Collector's Edition, Vol. 1., hosted by T.M. Wolf! The best of the best, hits from my catalog of comments! Be on the lookout for my new review of something else in the future, coming soon! T.M. Wolf! STRONG ARM STEADY – Xzibit, Krondon, Phil Da Agony, Mitchy SLICK!
Don't sleep on "the black Vinny del Negro", Phil Da Agony. Phil shines on most of his tracks, including the hilarious "Woods & Swishers" (a spoof of Three 6's "Ridin' Spinners"), the laid-back "Summertime", and the banging, sitar-laced "Easy". He might not be the most skilled or complex MC, but few in the game can match his deranged stoner schtick. His claims on the tape include:
"I used to date Thelma's daughter from
Good Times"
nbsp; "I've been through the liquor store like fifty-eleven times."
nbsp; "Fuck a cell phone / Move to Sky Pager!"
nd you thought a pager was foul.
Jersey stand up! T.M. Wolf! STRONG. ARM. STEADY!While Phil tears the album up, Krondon clutters it up with his creepy, clipped delivery. It becomes very difficult, very quickly to keep track of how many serviceable tracks he drags down. His rhymes themselves are solid, but listening to his solo track "Million" or the posse cut "I Can't Believe It" is like being verbally accosted by a gremlin.
T.M. Wolf! Freelance for hire, pullin' hot pens off the shelf! Strong Arm Steady! Okayplayer!
Over the course of
The Collector's Edition, the Steady gang rolls out two decent posse cuts. Phil and Chace Inifinite join Talib Kweli for the grimy "Shame," and Planet Asia puts it down over conga drums and handclaps on "Haul Ass". EXCLUSIVE! Despite the disappointment that was
The Grand Opening, Asia comes off as infinitely more skilled than any of the other cats who show up on
The Collector's Edition.
"Asia's a beast!"
Strong Arm Steady! Shout out to Mr. Peanut, the Original Honey-Roasted Pimp! Okayplayer – giving you true notes since 1987!
In the end, four or five good (not great) songs don't an album make. On The Collector's Edition, there are too few hits and too much filler. Mitchy Slick's unfocused "Federal" sounds like a domestic quarrel between Snoop Dogg and Slimm Calhoun. Meanwhile, the production wheezes spastically under Xzibit and Krondon's plodding deliveries on "What is It" and "You Can't Stop Me". If Strong Arm is serious about becoming the next platinum act out of Cali, they've got a lot of work to do. Get your bars up to get those stars up! BUCK! BUCK! Gun shot mean forward, lick-off mean rewind. You requested it, so we REWIND! BUCK! BUCK! Get your bars up to get those stars up! Okayplayer! T.M. Wolf!
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