C-Rayz Walz - 1975: Return of the Beast (CD)

All Music Guide

Treading the line helped made sturdy by MCs like MF Grimm and Jedi Mind Tricks' Vinnie Paz, CRayz Walz blends braggadocio with social consciousness and violence, using dark, ominous RZAinspired, guitarheavy beats to emphasize and reinforce the intensity of his rhymes. On his third fulllength, 1975: Return of the Beast, written and recorded shortly after his brother's death, these themes weigh heavy and dictate the pace and direction of the album. As a lyricist, Walz is skilled and literate, able to move from the love and hate of the Addrisi Brotherssampled "Addiction" to the angry boasting of "Lifetime" or "Classic" to the importance of hiphop in "Drug in My Vein." Guest MCs, few of whom are credited (or identify themselves), are scattered across the album, and provide nice contrast to Walz's nasally voice and steady delivery, and the beats, supplied by a few littleknown producers, are generally simple but engaging and appropriate. Unfortunately, there are a number of problems in the m...ixing, with poor transition or abrupt midsentence cutoffs between tracks disrupting the overall flow of 1975, and giving the record an almost mixtape feel, despite the fact it's a proper release. The MC's intricate, witty rhymes help make up for this ("Scanning for gardening tools, rake in the dough/With the whole world watching my back like J Lo," "Smoke and suck butt, no pun intended/And I'm trying to get big in the Bronx, Pun intended,"), but other times, like in the corny (if anger and spite and indignation can be corny) JudgmentDayconversationwithGod closer, "The Last Cypher," the mistakes only ring clearer, a regrettable way to end an otherwise powerful album. Because it's clear CRayz Walz has a lot to say, and that it can't be covered up in technical (or occasional lyrical) errors; for all its faults, 1975: Return of the Beast shows this off well. - Marisa Brown, All Music Guide Read more Less