If music videos could outline the evolution of a true west coast star from slangin’ mixtapes out of the trunk to making hot R&B chicks like Cassie go star-struck, the DVD, The Best of E-40 Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow: The Videos (Jive/Legacy) defies the theory that rappers don’t grow. Beginning with a blast through the past the DVD rounds out the set of fifteen gangsta, rhyme-spittin’, ebonics laced mini-movies that for the longest time only 40-water could decode is a light weight masterpiece.Bay Area heavyweight E-40 takes us back beginning in 1994 with joints like “Captain Save A Hoe”, “Carlos Rossi”, and “Sprinkle Me”, featuring Suga-T. Watching the DVD is like watching music video documentary. You see the initial videos that sparked the buzz that is still a flutter with Flashin’. The guns, mayhem, and gangster themed videos like “Sideways,” featuring B-Legit and Mac Shon, show just how far the game has gone in a different direction. Many may attribute E-40’s success to the constant creativity in his delivery and saucy lyrics, and that is apparent when witnessing the evolution of a true Hip-Hop superstar. The vibe of his music throughout the years remains consistent. Even the throwback hit “Automatic” featuring Fabolous struck a chord and just when you though 40 couldn’t get any hotter you see the true essence of creativity with his more current contributions, most of which unfortunately are left off of the DVD. In a career that has spanned over ten years one would only ask why did they cutoff the videos at 2004 when some his hottest tunes (i.e. “Tell Me When To Go”) came immediately afterwards? Nevertheless, The Little Richard of rap music does it again for his loyal fans. The Best of E-40: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: The Videos serves as Hip-Hop history worth seeing.
