Review: E-40 & B-Legit Display Vet Stripes On “Connected & Respected”

    Three decades since real-life cousins E-40 and B-Legit founded pioneering Bay Area quartet The Click, both remain regional OGs regardless of their individual career journeys.

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    Which makes their joint Connected & Respected project a welcome surprise blending tag-team hood sermons, trunk-rattling production and features leaning more toward local talent. However, the project is anchored by 40-Water’s signature other-dimensional approach to rhyme and Legit’s more direct techniques. Similar to most duet rap ventures, Connected & Respected limits its ambitions to the main unifier, in this case harnessing the Bay Area sound.

    For the most part, though, it succeeds by splitting time between sideshow adequate joints and putting the youth on game.

    For those soil loyalists looking to get hyphy, the P-Lo assisted single “Boy” or deep album cuts including “Carpal Tunnel” and “Straight Like That” featuring Ocky are words to live by. But it’s the bouncy “Whooped” (featuring Decadez) that serves as the pinnacle of the album’s turn-up moments. “I’m cut from a different fabric, not no vinyl or no plastic/I ain’t at the airport but I’m getting to the baggage…” spits 40 with his now classic flair before B-Legit joins with “Forever locked in with the Africans/On the frontline with a black stick/Military issue get to clappin’ them.”

    Connected & Respected‘s most redeeming qualities come when the music takes time to drop serious jewels between local party anthems. As Hip Hop’s continues the never-ending argument over generational disrespect, 40 provides a much nuanced context to that conversation on “Guilty By Association” with “Some of them come from broken homes/Some from foster care and group homes/Grew up without a father, it’s sad/Ain’t no uncles—see, an uncle is like a second dad…” as does B-Legit on the mid-tempo mover, “Up Against Us.” Things really become a family affair on “Blame It,” where The Click reunites, proving their ties still run thick after all these years.

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    Of course, for every scrappy certified banger like the ender “So High” (featuring Prohoezak), the 19-track project suffers from bloat. Then again, anyone who has followed these two O.G.’s careers long enough already knows lengthy albums has long been the m.o. That still doesn’t mean the under-utilized East Coast flavor from Uncle Murda on “Tap In,” “Fsho” featuring JT The 4th or the 4rAX-guested “You Ah Lie” were additions that strengthened the Yay Area festivities.

    Nonetheless, fans who have followed E-40 and B-Legit will undoubtedly be surprised there’s plenty of gas left in the tank and find much to like with Connected & Respected.

    31 thoughts on “Review: E-40 & B-Legit Display Vet Stripes On “Connected & Respected”

    1. All the songs sound the same! E-40 got the worst flow of all time he dont rap he just talk fast over the beat! Trash beats!

      1. Man shut yo ass up!!! Forty been in the game longer than your favorite rapper for a reason. It’s turf music. Show some respect! Listen and you’ll learn some shit.

        1. so E-40 been in the game longer than Rakim? lmao he’s trash and you know it! this washed up has been aint got bars fam

        2. GAY AREAAAAAA, LIKE THAT!!! TELL THE PEOPLE THAT 40 WATER IS GAYYY!!! TELL ME WHEN TO GO GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY

    2. fun album…nice to bang in the car on the way to work…not sure why people are getting so hostile about it?

      1. I got a right to be hostile!! Nah I agree, I suffered from E-40 saturation for a couple of years but that’s behind me and I’m enjoying this one. If people ain’t into it I can’t do nuthin for ’em man.

    3. Classic Bay area music. Those who dont know/dont understand shouldn’t speak on it. Haters gonna Hate!.

    4. Me and my spouse Bump 40 and B so much our young’ns are fans especially our oldest she 16 and our youngest he 9! We find favorites on every album 40 put out or B and or if they do it together it be dat real!!

    5. So pathetic these rappers are 50 years old and rapping about killing and selling drugs. Put down the mic. You embarress hiphop music. The both of you had some decent tracvks in the 90’s but were never great. Time to hang up the mic.

    6. I see the 40 haters putting in work in here. He ain’t rapping fast, y’all just listening too slow. I will say that a few songs do sound similar but that’s been the norm for his albums for quite some time now. B Legit puts it down on here too.

    7. Kinda disappointed . Too much childish lyrics and productions are average . Album cover is doper than the tracks

    8. What happened to the PRhyme 2 review???? Crazy y’all didn’t review one of the best albums of the year

    9. Man 40 water is in my top 10 of all time and b-legit the savage has one of the most important things in rap music to succeed and that’s the voice…. he got the type of voice where it doesn’t matter what he says it’s gonna sound tight as fuck…. been a click fan since tired of being stepped on and I was a little bitty boy then so yeah that should tell you something hahahaha

    10. Theres scores of real mafuckas in Australia NewZealand that bang the Bay sound, uneducated fools wreak of ‘lil’ ‘young’ ass mafuckas syndrome.
      could give a fuck about age, mate. 40 and the click safe

    11. Listen it’s obvious some of you don’t understand orvunder dig this history of Bay music. You look for an example on how many I say many rappers bit the fuck out of 40 language from snoop dog to JayZ think I’m lying ? Listen for yourself so to all you haters talking shit on the politely fuck you sucka 40 is an innovator , motivator Bay Area detonator fool watch yo mouth.

    12. 40 & Bila Spittin as usual! So high stays on repeat!!! It’s a Bay thang, y’all folks talking trash ain’t EVEN knowing & I wouldn’t expect you to understand ????!

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