It's been 10 years since Paul Wall dropped his classic "Sittin Sideways" hit, and a lot has changed since then. Eminem dyed his hair black (then back to blonde again), Lil Wayne became a hot commodity in the later 2000s and early 2010s, and then Drake suddenly became the (not so official) face of what people thought of when people thought of Houston's hip hop scene. As much as that may or may not be true, Paul Wall took a few years off from the mainstream music scene, but stayed making music for die hard listeners. He made a point for his newest album Slab God to be a big release when it hit; do you think it's measured up to it's hype?
Paul starts off the album on a slow, chilled out note with "Swangin in the Rain". Some heavy bass, jazzy piano and quick high hats help this track set the tone for the rest of what's to come on the album; heavy hitting, slow moving (heavy "drank" and syrup inspired) bangers that make it easy to move to. Other stand out tracks of this nature are the Curren$y and Devin The Dude assisted "Crumble the Satellite", "Ridin Homie" featuring Houston's own Trae The Truth, and "R.I.P Act" featuring C. Stone. Paul featured a wide variety of rappers while staying true to his Houston roots.
Mr. Wall has never been one to NOT shine on these hoes, either. "Shine on Fo's" is a great example of Paul's shining and his ever so enviable glistening lifestyle. The grills, the girls, the syrup and the jewelry all come along with that Houston rapper lifestyle, and Paul makes it sound as good as it ever has on Slab God. You can also hear about Paul's "checklist" of fancy things on the song "Checklist" (who would have thought?).
Paul also pours his heart out into a couple of songs on Slab God. On "Steady Mobbin", Paul discusses a fallen comrade and you can tell by the start of the song which direction Paul is going to take the song in; "This for all the fallen soldiers in the game. Sip in peace. We gone ride for your memory. We steady mobbin." Paul also gives quite a chilling, yet thought provoking line on shootings and the people's perceptions of them; "I wonder if it was worth, whatever they were shooting fo', and to be honest if the cops would had did it we'd be protestin' and lootin' bro." Surely makes you think, doesn't it? "R.I.P Act" is also a nice, slow, soulful jam dedicated to a fallen comrade (or former girlfriend, it's hard to tell).
(*I do not own these songs, or the rights to them*)
So overall, Paul Wall's album proves that he just might be the true "Slab God". Slab God bangs, has some great features that fit in well where they're asked, and makes you want to "swang" with some "Muddy Cups on Sunset" and "Shine On Fo's" (I thought I was pretty damn cool already, I might just have to move to Houston and check out the scene). Houston's rap scene remains somewhat underground (maybe not underground, but not so much commercial), but Paul's album proves that not only is Houston's hip hop scene timeless, but it proves that Paul Wall is another one of those rare rappers who's music can withstand the test of time.
It seems like whenever a girl is on the come up in rap, they're never taken seriously at first, if ever. Few chicks in rap today get the attention they deserve (at least because of their music). For whatever reason that may be, this particular femcee (yeah, that's a twist on the phrase "female emcee", do you like it? I read it somewhere and I'm using it from now on) could be the one to change that. Her name is Snow Tha Product, and if you don't know who she is, you're about to. I had been introduced to her briefly (one feature verse) before, but the Latina femcee definitely earned my attention.
So obviously if you tuned into the BET Awards, and you're like me, the only reason you really watched was because of the cyphers. Of course it's depressing knowing no cypher will measure up to the 2011 edition featuring the monstrous Shady 2.0 cypher, I watch every year just to see if anyone worthy of watching is participating. This year was certainly another disappointment, but there's always that 1 or couple of verses that you hear and you're left wondering: just how in the hell have I not heard of this artist before? Well, now knowing Logic is as underrated as it gets, the other verse that caught my attention was Snow's. This chick got on spitting ridiculous, keeping up with the best of the best, even had a point where she got off some Spanish bars! After I saw this I knew she was the real deal and like a drug, I needed to have more.
And I certainly wasn't disappointed in what I'd found. A datpiff.com search came up with 3 mix tapes, and like the thorough researcher I think I am, I checked out all 3. Her first effort, Run Up Or Shut Up, was the typical first mix tape you'd hear from an artist on the come up. Iffy production, an over saturation of party tracks, and talks of haters and "shwag" (another new word, but one I like to think I've created, it's pretty much the parody of "swag" and the realization of how dumb the word "swag" really is). Her second mix tape, Good Nights & Bad Mornings, was exactly the potential I believed Snow could reach put into musical form. She comes with a more aggressive style, better production, a better quality in music including more topics and subject matter, and her competitive and confident attitude takes full swing. It's safe to say Snow found her voice on this project. Her third mix tape, Good Nights & Bad Mornings 2: The Hangover, is certainly a continuation of the great music she made on the first edition of the series, the only difference being the addition of some big name features including Ty Dolla $ign, Dizzy Wright, Trae The Truth, Cyhi The Prynce and Riff Raff.
So looking into her music, I was certainly impressed (and I'll be downloading some key tracks from those mix tapes, I'll admit). I cant say I had expectations going in, but if I did Snow has far exceeded them. She definitely made an impression on me with her mix tapes, but an impression being made on me in terms of lyricism, flow, and proving that you're a good rapper is a completely different story. You can make good music without being the "kill you on your own track" type of rapper. To me, this sort of thing shows true ability and the aspect of competitiveness that takes a rapper farther than their abilities alone, and if there was one track I needed to hear to have Snow prove her abilities to me, this would be it.
Ummm... alright. Ms. Tha Product, is it? You have my full attention. Normally any one rapper (man or woman) being featured on a Crook song doesn't get my attention because, well, I know what Crooked I can do. He's Crooked I. What else need be said? No other verse I've ever heard on the same song as Crooked I having a verse has come even close lyrically, but if I had to pick one, this one certainly takes the cake.
So who is Snow Tha Product? If you asked me, I'd simply reply "the best female rapper you haven't heard of yet." The rest of the game has it's Nicki Minaj's, you have your Iggy Azalea's (and people will claim Iggy isn't hip-hop, though it's hard to argue at this point), you even have the proven greats like Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Lil Kim, etc., but Snow is unlike anything you or I have heard before. To say it isn't hard for a female to come up in the music industry (especially rap) would be a straight up lie, but obviously for the ones that have made it, you give props to them because whether you like their music or not, they've earned that come up. Snow isn't quite there yet, the main reason being she has no studio album out yet, but I believe Snow is the next Nicki Minaj. No, scratch that. I believe Snow has potential to represent every woman in America with strength, dignity, and an unrivaled ability to spit with the best of them all, period. If you haven't seen it yet, check out Snow's cypher verse, spitting alongside Vic Mensa, Treach (Naughty By Nature), King Los and David Banner in the 2014 BET Awards below.
(*I do not own any of these videos, or the rights to them*)
