Gunplay, Torch and Young Breed help to make up the Carol City Cartel better known as the group, Triple C’s. Walking hand-in-hand with swagger and partnered in music with Rick Ross this quartet damn near O.D’s on the lavish life. It’s an introduction, a celebration and a coming out party and these rappers are gloriously in cahoots. “Custom Cars & Clips” is a show-off song, to do just that. It’s a big production for a big announcement, as a crescendo of harmonizing horns, bounding drums and tympani’s make your head bounce while marching and stomping through your ears.
Their monetary quest continues with, “We Gettin’ It.” As with much of the album, it’s all about flossin’, ballin’, shinning and letting the world know what you have. It’s a continuous celebration while livin’ life to an extreme excess. Mentally and musically, this song is an updated ode to The L.O.X.’s classic 1998 jewel, “Money, Power, Respect” as its dramatic strings are utilized to accent the musical build up and the crescendo behind the verses as they help to hype up the on going festivities.
Great production, a bouncy track and a quality hook reign on the song, “Erryday” featuring Young Jeezy. Strip clubs, throwing money and popping champagne are the theme of the song, and apparently Triple C’s live this life, as it’s the theme throughout Custom Cars & Cycles. Living the lavish life extends on “Go!.” It’s a big track with layers of production, horns and bigness. It’s already been solidly established that this group likes the best of everything and that they love money, but for me this is the track where Gunplay manages to distinguish himself lyrically from Torch and Young Breed to stand alongside The Boss. With pronounced vocals and a raspy cadence at times, one can hear similarities that evoke thoughts of DMX. Their debit card can buy your credit card, and broke is not on the Triple C’s radar. This is the song’s cry and the group’s credo.
“Trickin’ Off” featuring Gucci Mane is a mid-tempo beat with sinister horror movie type musical highs and lows lurking in the back ground. Is “Trickin’ Off” a trick or a treat? Well I’d say that the answer to that question is a synopsis for the entire album. The album offers a lot of treats with its captivating beats and production, but lyrically, the trick is that it really doesn’t offer a lot that is new or extremely inventive. Lyrically, this album is more like a well put together knock off or a redo. It follows previously structured rules, plays it safe by parlaying in the cut with offerings like, “Yams Pt. 2” and “Throwin It in The Sky,” but then it bounds out with strong cuts like, “”We Gettin’ It”, “Diamonds & Maybachs Pt. 2.” “Gangsta Shit” featuring Gameand “Go!” featuring Birdman that manifest both great production and lyrical savvy.
Individually, some members of Triple C’s are stronger than others, with Gunplay being the group’s breakaway star. As a group, they have potential if they step their lyrical game up a notch or two (or three) and diversify their subject matter. Few could have ever thought that anyone could lay a path that could almost make the P-Diddy shiny suit era dwindle in extravagance, but Triple C’s champagne, honey, getting money and spend it faster mentality annoyingly comes pretty close to pulling it off.
