Despite the immense popularity of Death Row Records artists in the 1990s, history has not been as kind to The LBC Crew. Once a bubbling group that had residency on Snoop Dogg’s imprint label Doggystyle Records, the core trio of Bad Azz, Lil C-Style and Techniec were deprived of their own debut album in 1996, and soon after took their chances on solo careers before reuniting recently. Relinquished from Suge Knight’s dictatorial grasp, the new overseers of Death Row have emancipated that album, Haven’t You Heard, from the vaults.
Providing an emphasis on cars, chrome and cliques, The LBC Crew sound right at home over production that substantially displays the G-Funk era during its most concentrated time. Closely affiliated producers Soopafly, Sam Sneed and L.T. Hutton lace the album with beats worthy of Snoop’s simultaneously-recorded Tha Doggfather, and The LBC Crew waste no time in delivering their braggadocios rhymes over tracks like “Dippin In My Low Low” and “Out The Moon.” On the former record, Lil C-Style earnestly relays a decree for his home city while referencing ’90s sketch comedy In Living Color in the process; “If you come to Long Beach, you better come for real / ‘Cause homies don’t play dat, the homies play to kill.” The latter track, “Out The Moon,” features a summer time vibe while the trio lyrically shoots the breeze about their hood.
As executive producer, Snoop Dogg’s inclusion varies throughout the album with some performances standing out over others. Alongside former Eastsidaz member Tray Deee and Lil C-Style, Snoop graces the track “Feels Good 2 B DPG” with an old-school, mellowed-out flow that meshes perfectly with the haunting yet seductive melody created by him and DJ Pooh. On the other hand, the relatively eccentric-sounding “I’ll Smoke To That” is nice enough, but the overall execution from rhymes to chorus leaves it feeling more like a filler track.
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With limited subject matter, Haven’t You Heard begins to waiver on quality and uniqueness under a short period of time. Initially starting out with upbeat synth and sparse drums on “Gangsta,” the enticing production soon becomes a sound bed for an obligatory street life record that staggers, while a pedestrian hook from the Doggfather certainly doesn’t help the cause. Similarly, “Jacca’s Reunion” is full of trivial gun talk that falters due to little direction in each verse. The inclusion of South Sentrell’s serenading ode to a loved one on “Baby Come Home” is a nice break from these stale records. However, though slightly relevant in content, the track adds a dynamic that is conversely disjointed from the album as a whole.
Haven’t You Heard may generate buzz from The LBC Crew’s long-standing fans that respectfully never would have imagined this project becoming available. With that said, its less than stellar results won’t translate into new followers of the former movement to move with. Consequently, this reaffirms the fact that certain styles were popular at a certain time period for a reason. Had this made its formal debut in 1996, it surely would have sold based on its connection to other noteworthy west coast albums. In 2011, it’s just another album released on a Tuesday.
