Camp Lo – Black Hollywood

    Camp Lo’s interesting, aren’t they? Their debut, Uptown
    Saturday Night
    is dope as all hell, and five years later, their sophomore
    joint Let’s Do It Again is fit to be used as a frisbee. Despite this
    50% success rate, people still love ’em. It’s what I like to call Method
    Man
    syndrome – you know they’re dope as fuck, but they’ve
    released some wack shit.

    Continuing with the tradition of releasing an album every five years, Camp
    Lo’s
    back with Black Hollywood. If you’re expecting Uptown
    Saturday Night
    , you’d be wrong. If you’re expecting Let’s Do it Again,
    you’d be wrong as well. What you’ve got with Black Hollywood is
    something in between. The album begins the very funky “Posse From the Bronx. The track
    dripping with swag, as is the next one, “82 Afros,” which features some really
    trippy guitar-fueled production. Things continue to go well with “Soul Fever,”
    which features a soulful (as the song title indicates), laid back sound, as Geechi
    and Sonny’s lighthearted lyrics go hand in hand with
    the production.

    The first misstep in the album is “Pushahoe. Lazy rhymes coupled with
    uninspired production and an extremely annoying chorus make this one a snore.
    The album quickly gets back on track, however, withJack N’ Jill. Easily the
    darkest track on the album, it is also far and away its best. A very gritty
    tale, the song is performed over an unsettling musical backdrop with amazing
    storytelling: “Here’s a story about a kid named Jack/He roll around the
    city, he thinking that he da mac/Mix a little cess with a little
    smack/When he sees a little dress, he gotta attack/Prefer little girls, wanna
    lick on they pearl/Give ’em a little liquor then he take their panties
    down…/Kinky nigga, chokin’ ’em that’s how he sex ’em down.”
    It’s a
    difficult decision which story is bleaker, Jill’s or Jack’s; one thing’s for
    sure – the apathy with which they are told will send chills down your spine.

    The rest of the album is far more lighthearted. “Material” and “Money Clap”
    are both fairly entertaining odes to the more physical pleasures the world has
    to offer, while the stereotypical “Ganja Lounge” falls flat due to
    predictable production. The title track is refreshingly soulful, and would’ve
    been an excellent point to end the album. Unfortunately, Camp Lo chose
    Sweet Claudine”
    – possibly the corniest track to ever grace this writer’s ears. Elementary
    lyricism that leads nowhere, combined with Howdy Doody-sounding production
    makes this possibly the worst track on the album.

    If you considered Camp Lo’s 50% success rate, you could
    really chalk this up as a win for them. However, you and I know that the
    majority of Hip Hop fans judge an artist by what they’re capable of. In that
    sense, this album is underwhelming. It’s certainly not a loss, as Black
    Hollywood
    features several gems, but hardcore fans are unlikely to be
    satisfied by this offering.

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