[an error occurred while processing this directive]

▪ LONE STAR RIDAZ "40 DAYZ, 40 NIGHTZ" ALBUM REVIEW

Reviewer: Darth Malefic Rating: Click Here To Order This Album [an error occurred while processing this directive]   Exactly one year from the release of 2001’s compilation entitled “Wanted”, which was among the best CDs of 2001, the Lone Star Ridaz and Happy Perez return for the third installment of their Houston-bred sounds, entitled “40 Dayz, 40 Nightz”.   It should be understood from the very beginning, this is a very different release than should be expected out of a Dopehouse release. The hardcore edge that defines the company is gone from this album, and from the very beginning this fact should be understood. This is the “softest” album to ever come from the company, period.   While that sounds bad, it’s not. Lone Star Ridaz, although off of South Park Mexican’s Dopehouse Records label, is more of Happy Perez’s project than anything, and not only does he put his stamp on this album, but he shows versatility behind the boards the likes of which haven’t been seen before. This is without a doubt the most musically diverse album he’s ever produced, and he’s been a very credible producer for many years now. He produced every song except for “3-0-4” and “Time”.   Because there is so little wrong with the album, the bad should be addressed prior to the good. The principal problem with this album is that Happy’s beats overpower the artists, and regularly on the album. On more than one track, (“City of Houston”, “Gotta Luv Gangstaz”, and “Count Your Blessingz” come to mind, and especially the Russell Lee produced “Time”) the artists are severely overshadowed by the beats, that don’t necessarily fit them extremely well. While this may not bother diehards, casual fans could be put off by this, and it’s possible to take away from the album for some. It also should not be lost that much of the base of Dopehouse listeners want the hardcore, and that is absent from this album, save for the Fat Joe/South Park Mexican collaboration, “South Park/South Bronx”. And finally, there are only a few songs that will make the listener go crazy and play fifty times in one day, most of the songs are simply good.   With that said, the positives here are many. The worst song on the album, easily “Gotta Luv Gangstaz”, is average at worst. It’s very easy to play the album from start to beginning without skipping a track, and the album has a very mellow feel to it. The album kicks off with Grimm’s “If You Feelin’ This”, which was a short track checking in at just over 2 minutes, but was among the best on the album. The guitar on this track was reminiscent of the guitar in Grimm’s “In One Day (Lifetime)”, which appeared both on his album “Before My Time” and on the Lone Star Ridaz “Wanted” album.   An interesting thing to note about this album, is that on the back of the CD, they printed the record date of each song, and the song “Lone Star Rida” was recorded on October 18, 2001. This is interesting because Maxminelli said in the first verse, “I make muthafuckas sick like that anthrax”. For those who keep up in the news, the anthrax scares that were sweeping the nation were really big news around October 18th, so that shows that Max has been keeping his head up to what’s going on.   “Hola/Holla” was one of the highlights of the album. Happy really lent a Latin flavor to this track, using a lot of horns. This song sounded very much like “I Wanna Know Her Name” Part II, a sequel to the song that appeared on SPM’s “The Purity Album”, and features Happy himself putting down a verse, along with Baby Beesh and Low-G.   SPM appears on the album for the first time on “City of Houston”, which would sound like a 60s hippie song if it weren’t for the rapping on it. Though that description sounds bad, the song is pretty good, though it suffers from a shortage on verse size, due to the fact that seven people rap on it.   The Russell Lee produced “Time” features a beat that sounds more like it belongs in a jazz club than on a Rasheed, Maxminelli, and Grimm track, with some really good piano playing on Lee’s part. They do a pretty good job with a beat that clearly overshadowed them, however.   Other highlights included “3-0-4” and “South Park/South Bronx”, which were the top tracks on the album along with Grimm’s “If You Feelin’ This”. While many may criticize the soft nature of the album, it represents the versatility that Happy Perez has a producer and that the rappers have as artists in order to make an album like this, and while casual Dopehouse fans and hardcore fans may be put off a little bit, those who are into more mellow tunes and more diehard fans won’t be disappointed with another strong effort from the Lone Star Ridaz. It doesn’t quite measure up to “Wanted”, but “40 Days, 40 Nightz” stands well on its own.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]