Project Pat - Layin Da Smack Down
Reviewed By: ULTIMATECDLINK
Album Rate: 4.25 out of 5 Stars
Project Pat is back with his highly anticipated 4th solo album. He is joined by his regular HCP crew of DJ Paul, Juicy J, Lord Infamous, Crunchy Blac, LaChat, Frayser Boy, and newcomer Lil Wyte.
1. Still Ridin Clean-- this is one of the tighter tracks on the album. Project Pat drops a couple of nice verses as well as doin the hook "still ridin clean, making cheeze, and gettin my dick sucked". Juicy J closes the track out with a very tight verse. The beat will have your trunk rattlin if you got a decent sound system in your ride.
2. The Porch 3-- just a skit with a bunch of talkin
3. Fight-- this track is about whoopin some ass. Pat lays down all three verses in what seems like a different style of rap each time. It's an all right track.
4. Weak Niggaz-- this is one of the best tracks on the album. Project raps the hook on this one. DJ Paul drops the first verse and he comes tight on the mic. Project Pat is next and he comes with some tight azz flows as well. Very tight production on here.
5. Make Dat Azz Clap (f/ Juvenile)-- being from the Memphis area, it seems like this song has been playing on radio for over a year. It's a club favorite that few people other than Pat could pull off. Juvenile lays down an all right verse. The song isn't that bad of a track but it's just really played out from my neck of the world.
6. Choose U-- this track samples the Willie Hutch classic song (of the same name) for the beats and hook which gives this song an old school flavor. This is actually the current single from the album. It's an OK track. Nothing really special about it.
7. Smokin Out-- the title to this track tells you all you need to know about it. The beat is a little slower and actually has a little reggae flavor to it. Not that bad of a track.
8. Show Dem Golds-- the beginning of the track sounds like some of the underground stuff you'd hear from Three 6 Mafia. The beat on this one has a dark, eerie feel to it. DJ Paul lays down the first verse and comes pretty tight. Juicy J is up next with a tight azz verse. Project Pat finishes out the track with a nice effort. Tight song.
9. This Pimp-- the beat on this one sounds like slight variation of "Don't Save Her". Project Pat lays down some verses about pimpin. The hook sounds like it could have come straight from the mouth of Pharell of the Neptunes. Overall, it's a tight song that's bumpable.
10. On Nigga-- this track is about the niggas who are doin their thang, makin their chedda, etc. Pat lays down some nice verses. Pretty tight track.
11. That Drank-- the intro to the track kinda surprised me because it is screwed but Pat does give a "RIP DJ Screw" shout-out. The beat on this one is slow as hell and tight as fuck. Certain parts of the song are chopped as well but the main verses are just rapped really slow. The track is all about syzurp and could have easily been called "Sippin On Syrup Part 2". The production and Pat are both tight as hell and makes this easily my favorite track on the album. One listen and you'll be bumpin it over and over.
12. MC Flyjo-- this is a radio skit with local Memphis Hot 107.1 FM DJ Michael "Boogaloo" Boyer and the fictional "MC Flyjo" who claims to have made Three 6 Mafia and even claims that Three 6 stole his style. You can take a guess as to who they are talkin about on this track but personally I think they are taking shots at Nick Jackson from Phatidef.
13. Posse Song-- this is the typical HCP song that we expect on each album and it is one of the tighter ones that they've done. The production on the track is a little slower than what we usually see on the HCP songs but it's still very tight. Project Pat puts down the first verse and it sounds like an older verse because he sounds different than what he sounds like at the end of the song. Crunchy Blac is up next and does his usual attempt at rappin. DJ Paul comes tight on the next verse and rips into his former labelmates who hate on Three 6 Mafia but continue to place their name on their album covers to try to sell records (aka K-Rock). LaChat is up next and she drops a pretty tight verse as well. Lord Infamous lays down a decent verse next. Juicy J comes tight on his verse. Frayser Boy is next and he also lays it down nicely. Project Pat closes the track out. Very nice song.
14. 90 Days-- this track is about gettin locked up in the pen for some bullshit charges. Pat raps about how 90 days ain't shit especially for some weed and weapons charges. Tight track.
15. Shut Ya Mouth-- the beat on this track has a slower tempo but the hook is more get crunk with it's chanting of "shut ya mouth bitch". Project Pat drops the first verse and does a nice job. DJ Paul continues to rip his former labelmates and claims that he is the reason that they had to resort to their old style of rap. Juicy J is up next and he drops a very tight verse. Crunchy Blac steps to the mic next and sounds horrible doing so. Frayser Boy closes it out with a tight verse. Overall, a very bumpable track.
16. Take Da Charge-- this track is a slower track that sounds like an R&B song because of the Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway sample from "The Closer I Get To You". Pat raps about the ghetto chick who will take the charge for you if you get caught by the law. Not really feelin this one.
17. Smoke & Get High-- another track about getting smoked out. The hook goes "I'mma drank, I'mma ride, I'mma smoke and get high". Decent track here.
18. County Jail-- what else can you say about this track. Only Project Pat would try to cut a track like this one. The hook is corny as hell and I'm not feelin the track at all.
19. I'm Mo-- this is one of the best tracks on the entire album. Tight ass production and some pretty tight lyrics. Lord Infamous is up first and he does a decent job reppin South Memphis. Project Pat is up next and comes tight while representin North Memphis. DJ Paul also drops a tight verse while representin Blackhaven. Frayser Boy closes out the track with the tighest verse in my opinion while reppin Frayser. Definitely a bangin track.
20. Outro-- the typical Three 6 Mafia advertising outro. This time, DJ Paul tells us that they are breaking into the porno business with the new DVD "The Camcorder In The Closet" which was footage filmed backstage at their concerts. Funny shit when DJ Paul says that they'll film a Choices 2 even though everyone dies because niggas wanna buy another one.
If you were one of the ones who went out and got a Project Pat early, you're CD also contained an 8-track Hypnotize Minds bonus CD. Actually the CD only has 4 actual songs of which only 2 are new. The other 4 tracks are different intros. The 2 "old" tracks are the first singles from DJ Paul's and Juicy J's latest projects. Lil Wyte has a great song called "Crash Da Club" which has a both a laid back and a get buck feel to it. Frayser Boy also has a nice track called "Mouth Write A Check".
Overall, I am definitely feeling this album. I wish they would have added "Gel & Weave" on the album but the bonus CD added more bang for the buck anyways. The production is very tight and most of the tracks on here are very bumpable.
If you are a fan of Three 6 Mafia and Project Pat, you'll love this album.
Project Pat - Layin Da Smack Down