Trick Daddy - Finally Famous: Born a Thug, Still a Thug Review
Posted by Michael James on 09.30.2009
Trick Daddy has taken his Miami pimp game independent. That can be a good thing or a bad thing-- how does it play out for Trick Daddy Dollars?
Over the past few years, the music industry has changed, with many artists deciding that they have little use for the major label system. Instead, artists like Radiohead have gone their own way and released their records independently. In hip-hop, the “independent movement” has often meant signing with E1, formerly Koch Records, where artists were able to take advantage of its vast distribution network to free albums that would otherwise still be buried in the bureaucracy of the majors. However, some artists have gone an even more independent route, including Trick Daddy, who having left Atlantic Records after 2006’s Back by Thug Demand, recently released his 8th (!) album< Finally Famous on his own Dunk Ryders Records.
1. Only 1 Mayor-Rayzor (Skit)
2. This Tha Shit That I Live
3. Da Realest (feat. KC)
4. Gangsta Music (feat. Ice “Billion” Berg and Fella AKA The Dunk Ryders)
5. The Collection Call- Kanesha Curry (skit)
6. Every Day Struggle (feat. Janet Lawrence)
7. What Dey Do (feat. Bad Guy & Desloc)
8. Count My Money (feat. Murk Camp)
9. Bitch Azz Niggaz (feat. Ballgreezy)
10. Macking Jean-Rayzor (Skit)
11. I Can Tell
12. Chevy (feat. Ice “Billion” Berg of the Dunk Ryders)
13. What They Jock (feat. Ice “Billion” Berg)
14. The Mayor’s Office- Benji Brown (Skit)
15. That’s How We Do It (feat. Betty Wright)
16. Homie Song
17. Strong Woman (feat. Jackie Henton)
18. The Pick Up- Benji Brown (Skit)
19. Ghetto Supa Star (feat. Erin Lynn)
20. Tears of a Grown Man (feat. Shonie)
Unfortunately, Finally Famous demonstrates one major downside of moving off a major—no budget. A hip-hop album doesn’t absolutely need bold named guests and producers, provided that the unheralded MCs and producers putting in work on an album are blessed with creativity and talent. However, the various participants on Finally Famous, lack as much in those departments as they do in name recognition. Most of the contributors to are too obscure to even have an entry on Wikipedia—while I know that’s not the best barometer, it does show exactly how far off the radar these artists are.
Their obscurity is well-earned-- The Dunk Ryders, made up of Ice “Billion” Berg and Fella, who appear on three tracks are little more than T.I. and Rick Ross sound-a-likes, respectively. Nothing about their being unrated is the slightly bit criminal. Their vocal similarities to more successful artists prove distracting and detrimental on the lead single “What They Jock” and “Chevy,” and their B-level impressions weaken the otherwise strong “Gangsta Music.” “Chevy” is even more derivative, as its beat is little more than another straight jack of “A Milli”.
Much of the production is of a similarly low wattage. Tracks like “This Tha Shit That I Live,” “What They Jock” and “Count My Money” feature thin synths which don’t sound far off from the pre-programmed tracks on an old Casio keyboard. “Ghetto Supa Star” is all tinkling keyboards, ‘80s percussion and an annoyingly sugary hook courtesy of Erin Lynn (who? Exactly), and could have easily been cribbed from an old freestyle compilation.
Even though the production is fairly simplistic throughout the album, there are a few tracks where it works. “Everyday Struggle” features dramatic tones which are perfect sonic bed for Trick Daddy’s trademark combination of street life reminiscences and ghetto politics. The prominent low end “What Dey Do” is well suited for the foreboding posturing of Trick and generic rappers Bad Guy and Desloc (again, who? Don’t worry, no reason to find out). “What Dey Do” also features Trick’s best lyric on the album: “So much for loyalty/but how loyal could a n***a be/when he ain’t gotta a lawyer fee/see, that’s why I stay busted free.”
Lyrically Finally Famous is exactly what you’d expect from a Trick Daddy album: equal parts gangsta and pimp, with a sprinkling of social consciousness, all slurred in Trick’s typical “I can’t be bothered to fully open my mouth when I speak” style. The requisite sex rap “I Can Tell” is trite, unoriginal and so predictable, it doesn’t even work on a sensationalistic level. Unless of course you are intrigued by the following bizarre lyric: “It runs in the family/ they rarely where panties/the aunts, uncles, and cousins/all of ‘em fuckin’” Thankfully, he doesn’t explain why homegirl’s uncle would ever be wearing panties? That’s a different story, for a different album I hopefully will not be listening to.
The album’s more “serious” tracks are more of a mixed bag. The melancholy tone and production of “Homie Song” is unexpected for what is essentially an anti-snitching song. On the other hand “Strong Woman” is entirely predictable and notable only for Jackie Henton’s subpar Mary J. Blige imitation on the hook. The album ends on a high note with “Tears of A Grown Man,” a sequel of sorts to Trick’s standout hit “Thug Holiday”, which finds Trick flexing his mind on topics as varied as education and global warming.
If you’re like me, most of your music ends up in an endless .mp3 “shuffle.” In order to preserve your valuable disk space, here’s what’s Ipod-worthy from Finally Famous:
“Everyday Struggle,” “Tears of a Grown Man”
The 411: I caught a lot of flak when, in my very first review for 411mania, I gave 50 Cent’s War Angel LP mixtape a 2.5 rating. I’m going to retroactively raise 50 Cent to a 3.5, so Finally Famous can stand alone as the worst album I’ve heard this year. Simply put, there’s nothing at all that’s interesting about this album: The production is weak, the lyrics are uninspired, the guests contribute nothing. The whole affair is so lethargic, I can’t come up with one reason to recommend Finally Famous . Well, except for the cover- dude photoshopped himself on to Mount Rushmore.
