Crooked I – Apex Predator

    Crooked I is no newcomer to this Rap thing. Before Royce Da 5’9 was getting mainstream love, or Joe Budden released “Pump it Up,” Crooked I was signed to the legendary label, Death Row and making appearances on “The Wake Up Show.” So when he declares Apex Predator his debut album on “Vegas On Biz,” it may be true based on the connotation of the word “album,” but he’s definitely no rookie. Apex Predator provides a lot of what Crooked I and Slaughterhouse fans have respectively come to expect from the Long Beach emcee.

    The album opens with “YODO (You Only Die Once).” Of the six million ways to die, Crooked breaks down a few. For those questioning Crooked’s ability to deliver content of substance, a couple tracks later, he delivers “Does Anybody Care.” Crook raps, “You could be fighting hunger / Not the Ghandi type, hunger strike / Fighting for something right / I mean fighting the type of hunger a little girl in a third world / Fights every day, ‘till her stomach is nothing but something that her spine is hiding under / Only been alive five summers / Hunger pangs, her heart beating like some live drummers…” The beat provided by Tabu is simplistic and mellow, with a basic drum pattern that allows Crooked to paint vivid pictures of harsh realities. On “A Lady Fell In Love” Crooked opens up about temptations, and the issues cheating can create.

    Tech N9ne makes the only appearance by another rapper on “Let Me Get It,” which showcases both emcees spitting upbeat bouncy flows. Crook spits, “Tongue full of dung, they shit talking / Niggas want me dead? Fuck it, I’m still walking / Enemies in the club? Fuck it, I’m still parking / The coup, first put the roof on a milk carton / Walked in, they hand me the mic / Told baby girl, it gotta be tonight / My bed, or yo’ bed, yeah I’m thinking with both heads / You know great minds think alike…” On “Sumthin’ From Nuthin,” which features Crooked I tapping the mic and beat boxing as the backing track, he shows it doesn’t take much to make a dope song. In contrast, when Crooked I links up with Mr Porter, on “Crook N Porter,” he shows that with good production, he’s just as much of a factor as the instrumentation.

    On occasion, Crooked swings and misses with punch-lines. On the title track, he admittedly reaches with “Real niggas don’t die / We like that shopping center bag full of tissue / We mall two ply…” On that same song, he also raps “You cross us in the street, nigga you’re done / Like a child support judge, we hold court son…” Additionally, on “Tell Them MF’s We Made It,” he raps, “You dudes Hollywood, say what? / I call you virtual sex, you fake fucks…” The production can be forgettable on some tracks, as “Crowns” sounds ripped from an 8-bit Nintendo game, with extremely basic keyboard synthesized electric guitars and digital blips punctuating the high-hats. “No Sleep Gang” is a similar offering, as it appears to have been made for the sake of adding bass to the album for people’s speakers.

    At times, Slaughterhouse as a whole has been accused by some of not being able to write a good song. If there was any doubt Crooked I can’t as an individual, Apex Predator, should erase any such doubts. Unfortunately, Crook doesn’t display that ability consistently throughout project. Potential is a word seldom used for someone as experienced as Crooked I, however, with this being his proper debut album, you can definitely see the potential of what Crooked could accomplish for his next go round. While a decent project, Apex Predator falls short of what Crooked I is now clearly capable of releasing.  

    56 thoughts on “Crooked I – Apex Predator

    1. I’ve been listening to Crooked since Hip Hop Weekly days. Lyrics have always been fire but production lets him down. Dude can craft songs but he’s not consistent with it.

    2. only gave it 5 stars because its crook… it’s not what i want to hear to be honest…but based on previous material he deserves to be known as a top 5 so ill always support for the material i have previously been given for free.. C.O.B

    3. I don’t listen to a lot of straight punch line type rap except like Big L and Redman, but you gotta respect it. That’s tough when you get called out for every single questionable bar.

      1. don’t know what the f this moron is talking bout. obviously, limp biscuit and kid rock r your favorites smfh

    4. I’m not a Crooked fan but I listened the album. It deserves a 4 stars. It’s a really good album !

    5. sometimes u gotta listen to an album urself cuz what you and an album reviewer value in an album can be different

    6. This guy is 15 years in the game and did not make one great solo album:

      – beats suck. Probably some B producers
      – Lyrical he is dope but gets boring after a few songs.
      – flows are here and there lacking.
      – hooks are horrible.

      Conclusion: nigga has skills but not the skills to make an album. He should stick to Slaughterhouse.

    7. Its a good album problem I had was 11 tracks is far to short n sum the beats were not the best. But Crooked is such a dope mc best in slaughterhouse IMO I bought it anyway cause u gotta support real mc’s especially with all the trash that gets play these days

    8. because he is so consistent with soooooooooo many mixtapes and appearances, the ‘album’ felt like a side project of universally ‘accessible’ tracks. It was by no means a bad album by current standards-it just wasn’t a surprise or special. I guess I kinda wanted crooked to re create hip hop to specifications no one could predict BUT it was not wack at all

    9. “…I think i knew some nigerians who used to counterfeit” Even crooked I recognizes we nigerian hustlers. #419 #yahooplus

    10. Crooked I , an emcee with so much potential , such a shame he wasted his time making this piece of tremendous mediocracy , Produced by half ass fucks who don’t know shit , it feels like a rushed album , quickly put together and this is the result

    11. For once the review is bang on, i give it 2.5 as a few weak tracks and with only 11 tracks in the first place they all count

    12. A lady fell in love, crook n porter, nobody cares, let me get it, YODO, Apex predator(my gun go), no sleep gang, these are all dope as fuck, i really appreciate the album, hope crooked drops some more new material ASAP… I Hope for the next album to be longer with some more rap features… #HOUSEGANG

    13. he is a really dope spitter, but should never do a hook.NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER!!!!!!3.5 is just being nice. who the fuck did he consult with before he released this album; crunchy black or paul wall lol. where was the slaughterhouse input. why cant slaughterhouse take notes from the black hippies. and have input on each others albums. ???????????????????? this is why crooked i finally released an album becuz this iz all it would amount to. its okay to ask for help crooked. i gave it a 5 though.

      1. Prolly coz he’s around fucking idiots like you, dumb fucking yes men

        albums wack in YOUR opinion but you still give it a 5

        retarded fuck…

    14. the album is fire crooked i is real hip hop so support it not like this shitty review picking 2-3 lines on a whole album and hating like a fag
      “no sleep gang” is a fucking banger and they call it cheap production…go look at the video on youtube fucking clown

    15. I love crooked I. I am a fan. this album is terrible. bad beats, subjects are boring. he is just rapping words, it goes no where. this is an abortion album. Crooked is a beast but releases this piece of garbage.

    16. Why was everyone saying this fool and his team could lyrically murder Canibus on a track? I call bullshit. The only mic this guys rocking is a Radio Freestyle.

      1. Cause Crooked I is wayyyyyyyyyy better than Canibitch in all aspects of the game. Crooked would rap circles around that anorexic bitch nigga. Any member of slaughterhouse>>>>CaniBitch

    17. Most disappointing album since Slaughterhouses

      I was expecting BARRS, I was expecting insane DELIVERIES

      I got this bland shit dumbed down shit over WACK BEATS

      where the fucks Pig Face Weopon Waist at when you need him

      2 STARS…

      1. Most disappointing album since Slaughterhouses

        LOL! That tells you something right there. Out of the 4 members Crooked is the worst at crafting songs. As a group they really don’t synch well. Crook can freestyle all day and spazz over other people’s beats but can’t make songs for shit.

    18. I luv the album but it feels like its lacking production and tracks…. Coming from Crook you would expect a bigger tracklist, but this still has hotter tracks than Jay-Z’s Magna Carter!!! Lol

    19. Fuck Yeah. Crooked I is taking rap to a whole new level. Im sick of hearing shit from fake rappers thinking there hard and half of them are fucking pussy. But fucking oath this is the bomb

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