Styles P – Time is Money

    Styles has made quite a name for himself in Hip Hop – on and off the mic. So
    when he says Time Is Money, we know
    that he knows just what he’s talking about. He’s spent a good portion of
    that time on several iron vacations and also in a musically stagnated state due
    to label disputes with The Shiny Suit
    Man
    himself. Regardless of these setbacks, The Mighty Mighty D-Block has managed to persevere and remain to be
    one of the most lyrically ferocious and respected crews in today’s Hip Hop
    world. Panero takes his time on
    this joint to show us why there’s more than one member of his crew that should
    be considered top five, dead or alive.

    On Time, Styles attempts to
    please all audiences, which can be good and bad. The album jumps off in
    classic D-Block style with “G Joint,”
    which finds the elder, P, and the
    younger, Hood, spitting it just like
    the day you fell in love with their style. On “Testify,” the unlikely
    pairing with Reflection Eternal‘s
    own Kweli with Hi-Tek on the beat provides a pleasant surprise of instant chemistry. On
    tracks like this, it becomes evident that Styles
    is setting himself apart from the rest of the so-called bang-bang-shoot-em-up
    cats by doing what is also being done by fellow New Yorker Saigon, and spitting
    street and knowledge…not just street
    knowledge. 

    “Real Shit” features the
    late great Gerald Levert on the
    hook, and is pretty self explanatory. Next, we move on to “Who Want A
    Problem,” where The Lox join Swizz and take us back to ’99 in the
    post-Bad Boy era. Kiss gives everyone a run for their
    money with lines like “I’m comin, the
    fourth quarter/So I’ma just give you the summer to tread water/Way they wrote
    it down in the paper it said slaughter/Found him in the tub with nothin but red
    water
    .” “Favorite Drug” flips a much grimier version of the “Crystal
    Waters” sample used by T.I. last
    year. While this song adds another chapter to the :Ryde Or Die Chick” saga
    “Kick I Like That” is more of an attempt to grab the mainstream with stories of
    conquests of the opposite sex. The Akon-featured, Lil Jon-produced “Can You Believe It”
    is definitely a stretch and is way outside of the realm of Holiday Styles. These few blunders definitely put a damper on the
    album but do not completely rain it out.

    There are a few songs where
    the tracks don’t exactly bring the best out of P, (“Fire and Pain” and “Burn One Down”) however; the lyricism is
    as always undeniable. The jewel of this album has to be Havoc‘s creation, “How We Live.” Here,
    he gives us another quotable that is top five worthy, “The cash ain’t right there, the mask is right there/Niggas try P I’ma blast em right there/You don’t
    want your right ear/next to your Nike Airs/Send em from the dark side bringin
    em light here
    .” These are exactly the type of bars that keep us checking
    for The Lox and which made 50 Cent (before he got pissed off)
    proclaim that “All the other hard niggas,
    they come from Yonkers.

    Overall, Time Is Money is a solid album and will
    satisfy the die-hard fans, of course not without a few exceptions. Styles has managed to drop a solid body
    of work this time around and has not compromised his lyricism even though some
    of the beat choices are in question. It’s difficult to really assess this
    album considering that some of the material is a couple years old now; it isn’t
    his fault but it does affect the album in negative way. So how do you call
    it? I guess it depends on how you look at it, we definitely want to see him win
    this time, and he’s doing everything to make sure he does.

    One thought on “Styles P – Time is Money

    1. This is how we Live.

      [Verse 2:]
      Die once you live twice die twice you live once
      Get the shit confused so I’m puffin on the big blunts
      Kick it wit the kid that be deep in the zone
      It’s the ghost, I got to go to sleep just to get home
      I’m spiritually outta this world
      Meet my lyrics on the darkside come back when the dutchie get twirled
      I’m the alpha and omega of nice
      I’m the messenger sent by the force at the head of the light
      But satan’s ridin my back in the dead of the night
      I be doin some crazy shit for some bread and some ice
      God I’m tryna focus with my third eye lens
      I smoke haze to see my brother when he blow that wind
      And I’m a grown man so I know my sins
      And niggaz don’t get the picture so do Kodak win?
      The shit’sover their head and under their nose
      Not a star cause I’m a sun when it come to a flow
      Ya Know

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