Though Shawty only recently dropped his debut solo album, he's no newcomer to the game. Much to his apparent dismay, Shawty may forever be known as the founder of D4L. People will recall, whether they wish to or not, the trio's brush with fame thanks to the 2005 track "Laffy Taffy." While thumbing through a copy of XXL Magazine a few weeks back, I came across an interview with Shawty Lo in which he all but damned the group, namely because of the mocked reception "Laffy Taffy" received. He's quick to point out how he wasn't even part of the song, since he was incarcerated at the time. For all the mudslinging Shawty does about his musical roots, you'd figure his solo content would be of a higher quality. No dice.
Graced with a celebratory horn arrangement, Shawty's lead single "Dey Know" stumbles the moment he drops the first verse and never stops tripping over itself. Now, Shawty Lo and dudes of his cut are not really expected to be lyrically gifted. Their work lives and dies by the quality of the beat they're putting their crappy lyrics on. That said, Shawty comes off like a buffoon given all his recent boasting about how people are finally going to see what he's all about. He sounds over-matched by the bombastic production and at times, it's tough to decide if he's spitting lyrics or simply making odd noises. Shawty doesn't seem to think so, however, declaring at one point: "I don't need B I can rock it achapello." And that's not a typo; just Shawty manipulating words to make it fit the rhyme scheme.
While not even the most innovative beat to grace our ears in the young 2008, Balis Beats' production is quality enough to make some heads shake that it was wasted on a dude like Shawty Lo. And this is where the mixtape circuit plays an almost superhero-like role in saving the day and the beat by having a more competent emcee work with it. In this instance, we've got The Re-Up Gang.
The quartet, headlined by Clipse, dropped their third mixtape offering, We Got it for Cheap Vol. 3, on Super Bowl Sunday. As the name suggests, "Dey Known Yayo" lifts Ballis' beat and lets the VA boys do their thing with it.
Clipse has rightfully carved their niche in the coke rap genre. You'd think two LPs and a handful of mixtapes with little more than the brothers boasting of their narcotic conquests would get stale. The duo's clever wordplay and relaxed, but confident delivery prevent that the majority of the time, though. They don't veer from that formula on "Dey Know Yayo" and wind up doing the production justice.
Pusha-T alludes to his non-rap activities right off the bat, declaring: "Push a ton or you can call me Ziplock / Yellow with the blue make green when the coke drop." He caps off his verse with a subtle acknowledgment of Shawty Lo reassuring the listener that "Your price is low, but I bet my numba shawty lower."
Malice's verse is more straight-forward, but dripping with the self-assurance that commands attention. Referring to the emergence of The Re-Up Gang, Malice boasts, "Now look how I got it, some cars in the crib / I done signed on the dotted line, Re-Up is a partnership. The four of us and we come as the apocalypse / Hands down we the best, I'm a narcissist."
I don't think you'll find many arguing Shawty Lo can outdo any of the four Re-Up members in the mic, but the night and day difference between "Dey Know" and "Dey Know Yayo" is staggering. It's unfortunate the former is the one that's getting the airplay, while the latter will go mostly unnoticed. But such is the life of a mixtape-only track.
