The 20-year history between Pistol Pete [click to read], government name Pete Torres, and fellow Bronx native Fat Joe [click to read] dates back prior to Joey Crack‘s music career. Aligning with Terror Squad in the mid-’90s, Pete has adopted the same nickname as Soundview‘s Sex Money Murder (SMM) Bloods gang leader Pete Rollack.
Over the years, Pistol Pete has been featured in numerous films and music videos, with his name being dropped by such artists as Nas and The Diplomats [click to read]. Joe Crack & Pistol PetePresent K.A.R. introduces four artists handpicked by Pete himself. Coming from different sections of New York, each artist brings a unique intangible to the group. Representing the eastside of Harlem, Rob Cash was originally slated to be the first artist signed to DJ Kay Slay‘s Streetsweepers crew. However, a three-year prison sentence prevented the signing from ever occurring.Washington Projects native Onez piqued Pistol Pete‘s interest with his raspy tone. Discovered by former Terror Squadian Tony Sunshine, Leader represents the Bronx’s Yonkers and is viewed by Pete as the future “star of the group.” Although featured on the album, Brooklyn native Mike Beck split from the group shortly before the release of the album, due to creative differences with Pistol Pete. It should be noted that neither of K.A.R.‘s first two singles feature Beck.
Despite high-profile guests and production, the album kicks off with a series of mediocre tracks. The first of which being K.A.R.‘s Cyndi Lauper/Cam’ron-inspired second single, “Girls Wanna Have Fun,” featuring Ace Hood. Despite “club friendly” production by The Team, uninspiring lyrics, like Leader’s “I’m in the hood like a Honda,” and the hook’s usage of Auto-Tune undermined what ultimately could have been a better track. Unfortunately, the track is followed by another vocoder-laced hook on “Hustler” as well as “They Hate Me Man,” featuring Dre’s nonsensical lyrics like “What it take for me to make a half a million? / Two words, ‘This is’ / I just made a half a million.”
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The Tony Sunshine-assisted “Getting Money Money” attempts to break the monotony, with K.A.R. members engaging in a faster-paced flow. However, mediocrity reigns supreme with rhymes like Leader’s “And you know that I’m a baller Holmes / And I leave niggas all alone / Real quick, in the jeep, with the heat / Go to sleep like I’m messing with chloroform.”
The group’s first single, “Oh Baby” [click to read], K.A.R. fans are given what they ultimately wanted to hear, Fat Joe. In addition, L.V. & Sean C‘s [click to read] electric guitar-based track features a relatively standout lyrical display from the otherwise bland Onez. The Washington Projects native drops sensual wordplay such as “Back shots make ya ass drop, hit it from the rear / Pipe game good, make that pussy shed a tear / I’m just trying to get up in it, and hit it until mañana / And have all of my niggas beat it up like a piñata.”
Butter Beats-produced “You Could Tell I’m From New York” [click to listen] is reminiscent of Ja Rule‘s 2004 song and ironically even features Jadakiss [click to read]. In light of the recycled concept, Jada spits lukewarm lyrics, while collaboration between Mike Beck and Layzie Bone [click to read], “From The City,” provides a closer look at what K.A.R‘s former member. However, given his lyrical display, not much will be lost. With Mike Beck spitting unsatisfying rhymes like “They say to get money, you have to be a bad man / So, I got a whole team full of bad men / But we good men, good plan / Checkbooks, a new look / I ain’t an ordinary crook, man.” “Serious” is another example of K.A.R. being outshined, with Sheek Louch spitting sinister lyrics like, “I’m delirious, I’m so serious / How long would it take to suffocate a bitch nigga yo? I’m curious.”
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With K.A.R.‘s members being interchangeable, the loss of Mike Beck will ultimately have minimal impact. Despite “the star” Leader’s claim, “I’m so hot that my single is acappella” (on “Get It Right”), weak rhymes like “Y’all niggas sweeter than ocean sex” (on “Get Your Money Up”) undermine his ambition. Moreover, K.A.R. is by no means “the elephant in the room,” but rather a wallflower, with the feeling that this vanity project worked better as a mixtape.
