Few may have heard of him, but anyone familiar w/ No Limit has. Since leaving the No Limit Soldiers, he has collaborated with other No Limit members like Mia X, Mystikal, as well as Master P. Other collaborations and production credits include Scarface, DMX, and the Cash Money Millionaires. Hailing from New Orleans, Louisiana; Tre-8 is ready to drop his sixth solo album entitled: 2 Hot for TV. With all his experience, and exposure to quality performers, you would think that his sixth album would be remarkably strong. Unfortunately, disappointment is handed out in spades on this lackluster release from Tre-8, if for no other reason then its unbalanced sound.
The obligatory intro is followed by uninspiring songs, blahzay effort and production. The bright spot in the first eight tracks is “Lock it Down” that utilizes nice drums, and has a nice sound. A definite ear sore is Tre-8’s rendition of “Big Pimpin“. All that can be said aforementioned track is that you will not be confusing it with Jay-Z’s identically titled song.
A peculiar thing happens after the eighth song on the CD. The album actually takes a turn for the better. The first single released from this album entitled “Where You At” is hot. The beat invokes a sense of urgency in its pounding bass line. It becomes painfully obvious that a lot of work went into the sound and production of this particular song in relative comparison to the earlier songs. “I Can Tell” is another tight track in the second half of the album, as well as “Toss it Up” which adopts bongos in the beat, and “I’m so Tired” that has Tre-8 singing a song about strife. The sound on this one is more somber, and is laced with a serious, melodic chorus: “…this broke shit make a nigga wanna cry/ if yous was in my shoes you’d probably die/ see I can’t maintain so I stay high/ cuz I’m tired.” To round off the sudden transformation prevalent in the second half of the album, songs such as “We Don’t Play” with its double-time rhyme scheme, and “Take it Off“, a solid sounding Cash Millionaire-ish flavored song complete the package.
With the second half of the album so lopsidedly better than the first, the overall effect on the listener can be disorienting. Pick this up if you have selective hearing, or an audio deficiency disorder that will allow you to tune out the first half. Happy listening.
