So enter Memphis Bleek, the young protégé tipped from the beginning days of the label to be the future of the Roc. The prediction seemed like it could be true with Bleek’s solid 99′ debut “Coming of Age.” By his second album, 2000’s The Understanding, it was widely assumed that he would establish himself as a heavyweight platinum artist. But even with the Timbaland-produced radio smash, “Is that your chick,” the Memph man never really caught fire. So after a long hiatus, numerous limelight stealing signings to his label, the recent retirement of his team’s franchise player, Bleek is back with his third album, MADE to claim his spot as the Roc’s H.R.I.C. (Head rapper in charge).
The first thing you notice after the first listen to the album is that Bleek is definitely trying to increase his fan base with this one. The track count comes in at 17, and out of these, there are tracks for all sorts; joints for the ladies ( “I wanna love you” & “Need me in your life”), joints for the thugs (“Murda Murda” and “Hood Music”), joints for the clubs (“Everything’s a Go”), joints for the dirty south(“Round Here” and ” We Balling”) and all of them pretty much get the job done without sounding like too much of a stretch on Bleek’s part. Surprisingly too, for a disc with seventeen tracks, there is very little filler material. Two joints that could have definitely been left on the cutting floor however are “War” – a song with a futuristic-sounding, blip-heavy beat that sounds like a Rockwilder track on helium, and “Do it all again” – a joint that features a boring, soul beat, and a very forgettable verse by Lil’ Cease.
The majority of the album is handled by Roc in-house production maestro Just Blaze, and for the most he brings the heat on each of the songs he laces. Check out the track, “Just Blaze, Bleek and Free” where Just freaks a beat that sounds like a 70’s Superfly soundtrack sped through a high-speed spin cycle. Freeway totally rips the track up too with a ferocious verse in his signature sing-song, off-kilter flow. The track “Hood Music” featuring M.O.P. is another keeper as well – Billy Danze drops the ill line “Ain’t no love lost, cos’ there was never none there” on a bass heavy tack that takes you back to the boondocks sounds of the EPMD era. But the most precious jewel on this album is the track “Hypnotic” featuring Memph, B. Siegel and Jay-Z. The three emcees leave the gun talk alone on this track and instead spit some thought-provoking, abstract lines over a breezy, jazzed-up beat. This song is definitely a contender for one of the ten best rap cuts released this year.
The shortcoming with Bleek is that even when he is paired with superior production, he lacks the lyrical arsenal and clever wordplay to make you ever say, “wow, he said that” after listening to any of his tracks. Even though the album is definitely a dope listen, it’s still a couple of leagues below albums released by East Coast dons like Jay, Nas & Big – the company of emcees Bleek eventually wants to be mentioned in the same breath with.
Maybe after intensive studies in lyrical calisthenics, the fourth time around might prove to be the greatness charm for the Memph-man.
