The transition from executive to artist and artist to executive is nothing new. Some do it well and others…not so much. Unfortunately, Diplomat Records president Freekey Zekey’s debut album, Book of Ezekiel (Diplomat/Asylum) is far from a smooth transition. When an album holds 18 tracks you get the idea that the artist has something to say. But when everything that is said is saturated with misogyny, gratuitous sexual references and bad production it’s not really worth much. Although you can’t blame Zeke for trying, it’s obvious that rapping is not his strong point. The beginning of the album is similar to a sinking ship and each song adds more heavy cargo to take it under. The track “Daddy Back” is more than a little vulgar contrasted with soft guitar strings and crappy lyrics. Fellow Dip Set artist, Santana adds his own flair but fails to make it worthy of a second listen. Despite a notable dedication to the chopped and screwed music style, on the aptly titled “Crunk’d Up” nothing can stop this downward spiral. Continuing to move in the wrong direction is the song “Hater What You Lookin’ At?” It does have a club worthy beat, so long as you don’t listen to the third grade lyrics “Hater what you lookin’ at? What you lookin’ at? Go and get some paper stacks.” Painful. There are a few slower tempo tracks that are definitely easier to stomach such as “Like This” and “Killem Killem” which features another solid, yet simple, performance from Santana. Then there’s “Bottom B####” a typical rapper’s equivalent to a love song describing the overdone Bonnie and Clyde theme. You know the type. She’ll transport your drugs over state lines, and so you trust her with your life. Though the topic is overdone, the delivery is a strong contender for one of the better songs on the album.Freekey Zekey may be a good business man, but a rapper he’s not. This album attempts to put him in shoes that just don’t fit. Mostly every guest appearance outshines him. Like any new artist, Zeke has work to do. Just for effort and for being smart enough to put Cam’ron and Jim Jones on the album, he gets kudos. But the lyrical content is lame and uninspiring. If he decides to step to the mic again, one can only hope that he finds a more comfortable flow that doesn’t hurt the ears.
