Webbie - Savage Life 2 (CD)

All Music Guide

In 2008, putting a "2" on the cover of your album meant little in the world of hiphop. The implication that it meant "sequel" had been abused by long line of albums where "2" just meant "we hope it sells as much as the first". Webbie's followup to the first, very successful Savage Life should have dropped the numeral altogether because here the rapper sounds much sharper and significantly more mature. His mouth is still foul, his ego is still huge, and his allegiance to the game plus all the misogyny that comes with it is still strong, but there's little doubt that Webbie wants more than just hit singles. In an effort to balance the album, the usual hooky club tracks like the horribly infectious "Independent" mixes with deeper, more ambitious numbers like "Just Like This" where the paradox of hood stardom is explored. On one hand there's the sleeping with beautiful women and the stacks of money. On the other there's the shotgun under the bed plus the mean streets to which millionaire... Webbie must remain connected in order to stay credible. While a top shelf MC could add insight and answers, Webbie is at least able to offer vivid, eyelevel views of his situation now that he's upped his lyrical game. Executive producers Turk and Mel waste none of this progress and enlist an Alist set of guest stars Bun B, Rick Ross, and the late Pimp C, just to name a few plus beat makers with Mannie Fresh and BReal supplementing the work of the Trill label's own Mouse on tha Track. - David Jeffries, All Music Guide Read more Less