Success has always eluded veteran L.O.X./D-Block emcee Sheek Louch. Yet when news broke that Sheek would follow his Yonkers brethren Jadakiss to Def Jam Records, fans saw a new chapter in his criminally slept-on career beginning to unfold – that is, until they caught a glimpse of the cover art to his latest effort Donnie G: Don Gorilla.
While it truly isn’t fair to judge a book by its cover, the Pen and Pixel-quality art of Sheek’s fourth studio album speaks volumes about the LP. Although Sheek gives a valiant performance on the mic throughout the majority project, the paper-thing song content and unimaginative production make Donnie G: Don Gorilla a wholly disappointing experience and one of Def Jam’s flimsiest releases in recent years.
Sheek has always been the bluntest of the three members of The L.O.X. While Jadakiss and Styles P pride themselves on intricate wordplay and lyrical gravitas, Sheek aptly counters their performances with a raw ferocity that established him the veritable B.A. Baracus of the crew. And as the album’s title intimates, little has changed with regards to Sheek’s delivery; he’s as hard-edged as he’s ever been, for better and worse. Songs like “Out of the Ghetto,” “Ready4War” and “Dinner Guest” find the Silverback Gorilla at most rugged, spitting no-nonsense bars on like “My mama had no choice, was surrounded by crack spots / So yeah I’ma floss these canaries and black rocks / Drop-tops, flying down the alleyway, hammer on my right side / Black and white chain on, Africa, apartheid.”
Despite his penchant for bullet-blunt rhymes, Donnie G’s standout cut “Nite Falls” finds Sheek exhibiting a depth and expert level of wordplay that critics tend to overlook. It’s a thoughtful look at the grind, as Sheek spits, “I’m painting this vivid picture / My Bible, lyrical scripture / You thugging? Whatever fits ya / These bullets’ll come and get ya.” While Sheek is far from shaking his thugged-out veneer on this one, the song’s chorus reveals the rapper’s conflicting views on the industry as he meditates on “the women and the drugs and the cars and the jewels and the bodies on the news / I ain’t playing with these fools.”
Unfortunately for the listener, however, Donnie G is no Donald Goines novel, and whatever profundity “Nite Falls” achieves is quickly lost in translation. Although there are a few real gems deserving of inclusion in the D-Block rhymer’s canon – including the Fabolous-assisted “Make Some Noise” 
and the Jamrock-tinged D-Block anthem “Dinner Guest” – the majority of the album is packed with shoestring budget club bangers devoid of soul and wit. While the Jeremih-assisted single “Party After 2” finds Louch achieving the same level of radio-friendly amusement as ‘08’s “Good Love,” other songs like the unlistenable ”Picture Phone Foreplay” and the insipid “Club Jam Packed,” featuring the inexplicably still-employed DJ Webstar, kill whatever fun the listener was having. Even a number Sheek’s harder-edged tracks fall limp, as songs like “Get It Poppin’” and the hackneyed “Ol’ Skool” (featuring a surprisingly tame Bun B) add little to the standard that bangers like “Dinner Guest” and Jadakiss-assisted “Clip Up (Reloaded)” set.
Even more disasterous than the mediocre content is the bottom-of-the-barrel beats over which Sheek is forced to rock. Despite some bright spots from Statik Selektah’s Prog Rock-inflected“Nite Falls” , and Red Spyda’s menacingly dubbed-out “Dinner Guest,” Donnie G’s production is a floundering poor man’s attempt to mimic Fabolous, a particularly mystifying feat given the Def Jam budget behind the album. From inoffensively bland jams like Y-Not’s “Ready4War,” the Futuristiks Team Ready’s “Get it Poppin’” and J. Cardim’s “Ol’ Skool,” to the shrill mess of noises that make up Bangledesh’s grating “Picture Phone Foreplay,” the album is as uninspiring as it is irritating.
Although Sheek Louch proves himself to be an artist worthy of their consideration on numerous occasions on this album, his debut release on the historic label is underwhelming, marred with half-hearted attempts strike a balance between the streets and the club.
waste of time and money
neeext
yo, jada
d-block
Shit ain’t that bad.
I think the album is a 3.5
I really am a D Block fan and a fan of good music but both Redman and Sheek Louch album are way less entertaining then their last mixtapes.. How can a record label sink this low. Nowadays they only sell and promote R&B and Rick Ross. Kanye does his own promotion.
F-U-C-K D-E-F-J-A-M
I really am a D Block fan and a fan of good music but both Redman and Sheek Louch album are way less entertaining then their last mixtapes.. How can a record label sink this low. Nowadays they only sell and promote R&B and Rick Ross. Kanye does his own promotion.
F-*-C-K D-E-F-J-A-M
FUCK DEF JAM
You gonna trust a review from a critic who doesn’t even proof read his own article?
This guy writes paper-thin as “paper-thing”. Watch him change it after my comment.
I am so tired of these fickle ass critics assuming that lyrical content is all about writing material that’s palatable to THEM!
Ever think that maybe this material isn’t written FOR YOU?
Do you honestly think that Sheek’s fans checking for their man wanna hear about what YOU deem as “paper-thin” lyrical content? Kinda condescending of you, isn’t it?
Let Sheek live and make music his way.
I’m giving this review 0 stars.
Gonna wait till Xmas to listen to my copy, but I’m confident enough in Sheek to get this as a stocking stuffer for my friends and fellow Sheek Louch supporters.
1. calm your gay-ass down about typos and shit, what are you a fuckin teacher?
2. “paper-thin” would be EXACTLY how i’d describe this album, especially after ‘silverback gorilla’. this album as WACK. every song on here was either a club song or a street song, nothing else. even fab’s last album had more diverse content, and dude ONLY does club/street songs.
plus the beats on this jawn were fuckin atrocious.
2.5/5
Silverback Gorilla was way better than this.
I understand the view of this being some what of a disapointment under the def jam label but this critic’s credentials obviously isnt worthy of writing an article on any of D-Blocks music let alone anything from from the streets.
You straight trashed one of the games realist street soldiers. Sheek has been doing his thing since Big’s early days. Sheek has suffered through out his career mainly due to the under handed politics of the industry, but through all of that he still stands out as one of Hip-Hops finest and most under rated Mc’s. Let the man enjoy his induction to Def Jam and let the streets do the judging.
^ Co-sign! Sheek cam a LONG way considering him being overshadowed by Styles and Jada, and he has progressed to a rapper that can handle making albums and stay in his lane.
Overall I’d give this CD a 3.5/5. His mixtapes are good listens but this has some “label quotas” written over it which doesn’t best suit Sheek.
I give the cover a 4 stars for making me laugh without fail. I mean c’mon, how did his boys ALLOW him to go with that lmao.
garbage, he’s gettin worst every year ,sadly it ain’t only happening to him
its not even that bad. Calm yur tits
been a sheek fan for a long time. walk with me is quietly the best solo album from the entire LOX catalog. but this album is fuckin trash. sheek fans like sheek talkin shit on street bangers. nobody likes sheek tryin to play rap star rapping for hoes. sheek needs to go sign to an indy, do a project with a gutter producer, and he’ll drop a better album. too many pop corn beats, too many bullshit hooks. LOX throws out allll these projects, that dont do shit. but cant put out ONE LOX group album. it’s amazing.
damn sheek, this album was a disappointment. i would be confused how def jam let this turd slip out if i was sure they told him to make a carbon copy fabolous LP on a smaller budget. same with reggie. fuck l.a. reid, fuckin slipper-wearing ass-clown
A Solid 4 Stars, get rid of the Webstar bullshit and we straight
if sheek puts more singles out this project would be alot more successful.
the songs on here are straight bangers. i’m all for deeper content and all but these short attention span, trend following youngins wont buy deep content
my main problem with this album are the hooks. alot of them are either weak or sheek is tryin to hard for that pop/club appeal, “club jammed pack”, “make some noise”, “blood and tears”. if the hook isn’t weak sheek has some soft voiced fag singing the hook (that seems to be a new habit he picked up), it’s kinda off-setting.
it’s a pleasant surpise though, on the female geared tracks he didn’t sell out all the way out. they’re actually enjoyable and he isn’t talking complete non-sense. “party after two” and “pic phone foreplay”
do we need an obligatory south track, nigga tryin to sell some records so…
trust me he didn’t sell out, UGK STATUS, nuff said
if you a hardcore, d-block, murda music, fan like i am there’s enough on here dinner guest “ready for war” “clip up”, “nite falls” and “get it poppin”.
i dont know what else to say bout this album, production is tight.
DEF JAM DONT JERK MY MAN (pause) PUT OUT SOME MORE SINGLES, SOME FLY VIDS.
all ya’ll so called 90’s lovers, hardcore fans support this.
I happen to agree with this guy. Review is to negative, almost like he expected this to be a Big Budgeted Product. This is just N.Y. street rap, with a couple pop singles attempts, but he doesn’t overextend himself.
sheek fell off..
this album sounds like some dirty south album with those horrible beats
His first solo album (decent) flopped way back, so this latest flop is just following the timeline of Sheek’s career.
5,000 copies though? Holy shit. LOX album is where the money is, but they’re too stupid to figure it out. LOX biggest losers in the game. been out how long, so talented, yet consistently force bullshit in hopes of getting a hit. How’s it treat em? 5,000 copies, first week. Damn! numbers aren’t end all be all, but when it’s 5,000, you’re die hards think it sucks. Styles book flopped, his album with green lantern didn’t even sell 2,000 copies. These niggas are helpless. Been a fan a long time, they haven’t learned anything from their failures though. Sheek gonna come back hard, or keep trying for the hits?
That cover is a fuggin’ shame!!! We fought so hard not to be stereotyped as fuckin’ monkeys and yet this sambo mothafucka thinks its cool to mold his face to the likeness of one. Niggas will party and bullshit, but got dammit they were right, NIGGAS ARE SCARED OF REVOLUTION. If you niggas can’t see this, I don’t know what to think? Still got love for black people…ya’ll my peoples, but damn! I’m just sayin yo…
1. rhyme animal intro- straight 1:30 intro.
2. Get it Poppin- Sheek wrecks this whole song.
3. Club Jam Packed- Obvious Club attempt, sounds like the rest of the terrible club songs at the well, club. meh… very unoriginal
4. Out the Ghetto- One of the best songs on the album. Great Track.
5. Make some noise- More East Coast Street Rap, you either like it or you don’t, Fab Helps
6. Blood and Tears- Oh God, Terrible no thanks, so unoriginal Sheek almost got personal, then just didn’t. Bad Track.
7. Nite Falls- Personally like this a lot. Great Track, could crossover to radio or a soundtrack. Cool Sample
8. Party After Two- Finally a successful unoriginal Club Attempt.
9. ol’ Skool- How dare you hate on this, oh ur right ain’t that good. At least he got the Bun B co-sign.
10. picture Phone- Should get radio spins, not good though, catchy
11. Dinner Guest- This go Hard! Classic D-Block!
12. Ready4war- More Great Street Rap
Closer to 4 then 2 check it out.
Got the album, I think It’s a nice project. Now people will see that Sheek is a dope mc.
hott
wicked
dinner guest, clip up, ready for war, nite falls!!!!!
weak album , theres like 2 or 3 ok songs with good beats , raps are average and he aint saying nothing big ,
2 stars dissapointing album cover is wtf?
Good album not great but it is d block muzik for the streets
To us 5,000 copies or lest anything under a million is a flop because of the label bitchen about how an artist owes them money but do the math $10 or more for one cd niggas that are independent is gettin paid
I am a huge d block fan but this shit is just garbage, Sheek comes out with a decent tape and then THIS??? Hes weak, I only liked the features. Hes only good for choruses. Jadakiss nd Styles P are legends, whithout them Sheek is garbage. Terrible lyrics, nice flow, nice voice, terrible meaning, terrible beats, terrible cover art, and annoying shouts donnie don don whatever. 0/5
Fuck u G ay
Bitch!
Good album from Sheek.This will sell in the geto. Street music. If this only sells 20 000, then it whoud be 20 000 real people bying this shit.
Co-sign homie. I’m defenitely gon’ cop this D-Block shit…I said “fuck reviews” a long time ago, one of ma favourite gangsta rappaz out wit’ some shit=collection, even if I feel it after a month or so. Go ‘head DX & keep givin’ Pop-rap some support, pussies!
worst cd cover ever !
no offense
…should be fitty’s album cover….cuz he reps and looks just like a damn gorilla lmfao
d-block
d-block fo real.
street is calling