![]() ![]() Just around the corner, in fact, as the Krayzie Bone-featuring, Nico D-produced “Ho’Lat” can’t help but be a real let down after hearing Krayzie tear up features on A$AP Ferg, Freddie Gibbs and Chip tha Ripper tracks recently.įrom then on, Andre Nickatina quickly becomes one of those albums from a fan favorite that finds fleeting strides throughout its 57-minute runtime, but ultimately feels like an artist making music for little other than being known for making music. It’s a beautifully nostalgic moment for someone who hasn’t thought to listen to an album of his in years, even as the Traxamillion beat and Richie Rich feature struggle to avoid the age-related pitfalls lurking in waiting. Rather, with a pounding low-rider beat and locomotive momentum, it’s a classic example of a fairly plain song being elevated to repetition status just because Nickatina’s anchoring it. “Break Bread” isn’t a great song, but then one could argue the Andre Nickatina experience was only ever so often about “great” songs. Initially, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Unfortunately this man barely exists on Andre Nickatina for a variety of reasons, most of them likely chalked up to little more than the open of this paragraph: it’s been 20 years since Dre Dog helped put the Bay Area on the rap map, and his lyric sheet has run mighty thin. Namely, the deftness with which he could twist complex syllables into simple stories, the way he could barely rap about anything and make it sound just as substantive as “Train With No Love”. He changed his name to imply an addictive quality for a reason. But there was a time when it wasn’t enough for Nickatina to simply sound cool. 20 years removed from his debut, The New Jim Jones, his inimitable baritone has barely been altered. The first thing one notices about Nickatina, from Dre Dog to present day, is that voice. Andre Nickatina is one of the many California rappers who maintains a loyal international fan base that grew up on and to his music, but if Andre Nickatina is any indication, the man hasn’t had what used to make him magic in a long while. ![]() ![]() Unfortunately, this review isn’t about any of the artists leading that charge, even if a few of them appear early in the proceedings. Whether it’s the New Aftermath sound of Top Dawg Entertainment or the trunk-rattling chord experiments of DJ Mustard and League of Starz, West Coast artists are grabbing more ears than they have since the world briefly flirted with pretending to understand what made hyphy interesting. Anyone with an ear to the mixtape circuit or You Tube trends should be well aware by now that the West Coast is experiencing a renaissance the likes of which few could have expected. ![]()
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January 2023
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