Artist: Various ArtistsTitle: Grand Hustle Presents In Da Streets, Vol. 4Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Serge Fleury
Getting into the music business is one of the hardest things for a person to accomplish. You are more likely to achieve a perfect score on the SAT exams than landing a solid and lengthy career in music. But for those that do make it, the cardinal rule appears to be the same; let your homies come through the door too. And that’s been the primary objective for the self proclaimed king of the south, T.I. Even with a decent catalog of albums, it wasn’t until the releases of Urban Legend and King that T.I garnered mainstream attention. With his celebrity status soaring (Justin Timberlake album cameos, an upcoming movie with Denzel Washington, etc.), Tip seizes the moment to place his Grand Hustle movement on a higher plateau with In Da Streetz, Vol. 4 (Grand Hustle/Atlantic)
On the In Da Streetz, Vol. 4 compilation the rubber band man showcases his pack of confederate soldiers. The album starts off with a remix to T.I.’s “Top Back” featuring ‘Naw Leans representative B.G., the below average rhyming Young Jeezy, T.I., and his proteges Young Dro and Big Kuntry King. “Grand Hustle Mafia” features Young Dro for self over a guitar laced sample; who is still going strong after his solid debut effort.
Xtaci appears on “Take Me To The Mall,” a useless song that perpetuates the stereotype that female MC’s having nothing to talk about except designer clothes rhetoric. T.I. shows up on less than half of the songs, giving his camp their own individual time to shine. B.G. aka B-Gizzle drops in again on “I’m Out Here,” delivering over piano keys and drum loops, as he narrates of typical ‘hood life. Newcomer to the crooning scene Rashad, fresh off his appearance on “Favorite Drug” from the “new” Styles P album Time Is Money, borrows a bass line reminiscent of “The Whisper Song” and serenades females with compliments on “Tell ‘Em Want They Wanna Hear.”
There aren’t too many misses on this volume, with everyone playing their roles and not trying to one up each other. With steady efforts like this, T.I. and his Grand Hustle cohorts will only keep cruising on the road to success.
