I’m sure you’ve heard it all before. “I ain’t no one hit wonder.” “This is a movement!” “We not in it for the ringtones.” Images of Laffy Taffy, Chicken Noodle Soup, and other disposable cannon fodder come to mind almost immediately. Enter Hurricane Chris and the Ratchet Movement. The ingredients are all familiar. Catchy club banger. Under-aged rapper. Regional anthem. Obligatory remix. Sound familiar? With an upcoming release entitled 51/50 Ratchet, Hurricane Chris attempts to give you a full plate of food rather than just the candy. With bottom heavy beats mainly powered by Mr. Collipark, and some backup from the Ratchet movement, Hurricane Chris blows away any notion of being a one and done wonder. Seriously.
Getting Money (Feat. Nicole Wray, P###. By Phunk Dawg Co- p###. By Mr. ColliPark)
Over a tight bass line, and buffeted by Nicole Wray on the hook, the album opens with the right energy. A heartfelt song with a driving rhythm (a recurring function of the album)
A Bay Bay (P###. By Phunk Dawg)
You already know. It dominated the summer, and the season before that. Admit it. You was A Bay Bayin’ when your homies weren’t looking. It’s aight. We all were.
Doin’ My Thang (Feat. Big Poppa of RATCHET CITY P###. By Phunk Dawg)
The first purposely dance/ clubby song. This song is the anthem of Ratchet Homie Big Merk. He’s the inspiration of this song like Bay Bay is for A Bay Bay. Everybody got that homie in the crew that’s full of energy in their own world with their own style making up dances. Merk is that dude for the Ratchet Movement. Not tuff, not fluff. You might shake your ass to it.
New Fashion (P###. By the Package Store/Co-Produced By Mr. Collipark)
Hurricane Chris gets his tough talk on over a bass-powered, hard-charging beat. More gritty than you would expect from the kid. Not bad at all.
The Hand Clap (Feat. Big Poppa of RATCHET CITY and Hollywood Bay Bay)
Another club banger. Bouncy rhythm. Good flow. Not groundbreaking but you can dance to it. Solid refrain over a hard bridge. I’m a New Yorker so the Big Poppa thing kinda irks me, but it’s a solid song.
Walk Like That (P###. By Mr. Rogers and Stunt N’ Dozier)
Club/ bang in your whip track. Manny Fresh-like beat. Blah. Would be okay in a vacuum but there are better versions of the same type of song elsewhere on the album.
Touch Me (P###. by The Package Store/ Co-P###. by Mr. Collipark)
Obligatory ladies song. The less said the better. Not a fan of the forced female track but someone somewhere is in the corner trying to mack to it.
Leavin You (P###. by Phunk Dawg)
Slow mo. Solid flow. Good timing. Continuous rhymes with no breaks. Good album song. No chorus.
Do Something (P###. by Phunk Dawg)
Mid album track. Tough talk. Gun record. Filler.
Bang (Feat. Big Poppa of RATCHET CITY and Big Redd. P###. By Big Redd)
Anthemic loud kinda song. Filler. However it will blast your speakers to Kingdom Come…or be a Magic City favorite.
Beat in My Trunk (P###. By the Package Store/ Co-Produced By Mr. ColliPark)
Big beat. Definite whip banging material. Dope breaks. Play it loud. You won’t really catch the words just the flow. Title is very appropriate.
Playas Rock (Feat. Boxie. Produced By ColliPark)
This is it. The exact moment when you realize that this album could have some serious legs and this is the single that’s gonna do it. Powered by an Earth, Wind, and Fire sample, and opened up juuuust right by Mr. Collipark, this song is every thing that’s good about Hip-Hop at its core. It’s a mood record. A feel good record. You’re gonna see this video. You’re gonna hear this on all the stations. And you won’t be mindlessly beaten to death like Cochise from Coolie High over it. It’s infectious and even your parents will love it. I guarantee it. Background singing by newcomer Boxie is the perfect complement. Towards the end of the song, the Hurricane goes into warp drive and rips the track to shreds. I’m not given to hyperbole. You’ll see.
Momma (Feat. Nicole Wray P###. By Phunk Dawg)
Not as powerful as “Dear Momma” not as sappy as “Hey Momma”. It’s a little slow in the bpms compared to the rest of the album, and it throws off the high of the previous song. My suggestion is to move it to an earlier point in the album and break up the glut of similar energy songs.
A Bay Bay-The Ratchet Remix (Feat. The Game, Lil’ Boosie, Baby, E-40, Angie Locc, Jadakiss. P###. BY Phunk Dawg)
No, that wasn’t his momma on the remix. This regional lovefest is the cherry on top of a solid first strike from the Ratchet movement
In conclusion, while some circumstances surrounding Hurricane Chris’ entry into the game reminds you of the Ring(tone) Kings, other elements we’ve seen before such as in-house production, sparse collaborations with his own crew members without sounding like a compilation, and a surprisingly credible album evokes names like No Limit, The Hot Boyz, Dipset, and other recent movements. I’m not saying it’s the greatest thing since bread, bacon, booze, or ice cream, but you could do a whole lot worse than checking out the first salvo from the Ratchet Movement. If 51/50 is any indication, we’ll be seeing much more of Hurricane Chris in the future. Believe it…or not!
