A woman, three warlocks, a dog with a serious chip on his shoulder, a dragon, a serious second generation crew and a mechanicial prodcuers equals double R, also known as Ruff Ryders. And they are collectively back with their thrid compilation album In The ‘R’ we Trust.
17 tracks, with production handled by Swizz beats, Timberland, Irv Gotti P.K, and Mike City, to name a few and guest stars such as Petey Pablo, Bubba Sparxxx, Tha Eastsidaz, Fiend, Ludacris and Ruff Ryder honourary member Yung Wun.
Swizz Beats hits on the intro and it jumps straight into Dirrty featuring Drag-On and Petey Pablo, who still sounds like Mystikal. but Drag-On is a saving grace as his fire like flow and adaptable words work well on the track. U, Me and She featuring Evey Eve has some high pitched instruments and a nice thumping beat. Also, Eastside Ryders featuring Styles and Tha Eastsidaz has a nice beat with cool hand claps, which are synonomous with the West Coast sound.
But unlike the previous two compilations, there aren’t that many stand out tracks that beg you to listen. They Ain’t Ready featuring Jadakiss and Bubba Sparxxx, produced by Timberland, is a little tired and could’ve been made around the time of Aaliyah’s death as the production doesn’t sound like Tim’s usual. But Bubba Sparxxx does grab a bit of attention with his lyrics.
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“I’m white by chance/And country by God’s graces.”
Other bombs include Rock Bottom featuring Fiend, Street team, Shoot ’em In The Head and Friend Of MIne featuring DMX, which doesn’t stand up to his previous Ruff Ryder entries. And the two tracks We Don’t Give A Fuck by Drag-On and Fiend and Some South Shit by Fiend, Ludacris and Yung Wun are the strangest tracks ever. Listen to them and you’ll know why.
But special props go out to Parle with their only track Can’t Let It Go, which comes across like Sunshine Anderson’s ‘Heard It All Before’.
In hindsight, Ruff Ryders seem to have their fingers in other pies. DMX with Bloodline, Eve with films, Jadakiss with Beenie Siegel and this album sounds like a single meeting and not a family affair. A good attempt but not as good as the previous albums.
