What's In The Backpack: We Are Young Money Album Review

With the dropping of Young Money Entertainment's "We Are Young Money" it is now official, YME is the new Bad Boy! The Super-Label who sports artist that reaches across regions, genres, and age groups has released the labels first official showcase of the new Young Money Team. Similar to any good sitcom, each individual has their own character and the individual uniqueness is what allows their show to be so entertaining. From the beautiful bombshells of Nicki Minaj and Shanell to the young talents of Lil Chuckee & Lil Twist to the N.O. hard spittas Gudda Gudda & T Streets. Add in the TX Screw of Houston's Short Dawg, the New York State of Mind from Jae Millz and the West Coast Rider Tyga and you have the basis for an extremely solid supporting cast. Then you consider the CEO/Rapper/Singer Mack Maine and The Rookie of The Year Drake and you easily see why Lil Wayne is easily one of the most influential individuals in the music industry. The new album only serves as a means of publicly staking their claim of power in hip hop.

As an album, one might venture to think that all of this talent would clash and that the music would not live up to the hype. In reality, the album is an amazing collection of great production and crazy wordplay which ends up providing something for everyone. For those who need a more commercial hip hop sound they have tracks like "Every Girl" and "Bedrock" which have both been smash sensations since being released as the first two singles. There are plenty of memorable lines from everyone in the camp be it Nicki saying "I'm In The Collard Green Six Cornbread In The Guts/ Halloween Kicks Trick Or Treat'N Tha Clutch" or Gudda spitting "But Neva Mind Them Hoes. I Got All Kind Of Flows/ I Switch Em Up So Quick I Got A Timeless Flow" to Drake flaunting "They Say I'm One Of The Illest That's Just Off A First Impression/ And My Cards Always Accepted/ I Don't Deal Well With Rejection". There is certainly no shortage of quotes. Another point is that essentially there are two types of formats utilized amongst the tracks which allows each artist to not only shine individually but builds the overall appeal of the collective group. One such type is the traditional verse hook verse approach that most hip hop songs use. Examples of this are "Streets Is Watchin'", "Play In My Band", and "Gooder". However, this approach is complemented by the album's use of another, more raw, style which is the Hip Hop Cipher. Examples of this are "F*** Da Bulls", "Roger That", and "Finale". What this more lyrically-focused approach does is focus on the talent of the label rather rely on production or concepts to gain appeal. The balance between these two contrasting styles makes the album constantly feel fresh and sets a standard for what is to be expected from the camp.

The "We Are Young Money" album is a very big album in many ways for hip hop and music period. With individual projects slated for Nicki Minaj, Drake, Mack Maine and Wayne already slated, the possibilities are mind boggling. The success that the group is already synonymous given their youthful age in the game can mean only one thing, Young Money Entertainment should be on the minds of many for years to come. Here is the numbers breakdown:

Production: 4 out of 5
Concept: 5 out of 5
Lyrics: 4 out of 5
Re-playability: 4 out of 5
Features: 5 out of 5
Overall: 4.4 out of 5

Track Listing:

1. Gooder (Jae Millz, Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda & Mack Maine) [Brizzy Blaize]

2. Every Girl (Lil Wayne, Drake, Jae Millz, Gudda Gudda & Mack Maine) [Tha Biznezz]

3. Ms. Parker (Lil Wayne, Mack Maine & Gudda Gudda) [Tha Bizness]

4. Wife Beater (T-Streets, Lil Wayne, Jae Millz & Tyga) [Kane Beatz]

5. New Shit (Gudda Gudda, Lil Wayne, Jae Millz & Mack Maine) [Chase N. Cashe & B. Carr]

6. Pass The Dutch (Lil Wayne, Short Dawg,Gudda Gudda, & Drake) [Chase N. Cashe]

7. Play In My Band (Shanell & Lil Wayne) [Willy Will]

8. Fuck da Bullshit (Nicki Minaj, Gudda Gudda, Lil Wayne & Drake) [Andrew "Papa Justifi" Wansel
& Warren "Oak" Felder]

9. Bedrock (Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Tyga & Jae Millz) [Kane Beatz]

10. Girl I Got You (Lil Chuckee & Lil Twist) [Infamous]

11. Steady Mobbin (Lil Wayne) feat Gucci Mane [Kane Beatz]

12. Roger That (Nicki Minaj, Tyga & Lil Wayne) [Phenom]

13. She Is Gone (Lil Wayne, T-Streets, Jae Millz & Gudda Gudda) [Kane Beatz]

14. Strees Is Watchin' (Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda, T-Streets, Jae Millz & Nicki Minaj) [David Banner]

15. Finale Young Money [Infamous & Angel "OnHel" Aponte]

Official Every Girl Music Video

Young Money - Every Girl [Official Music Video]

Lil Wayne | Online | MySpace Video

Official Bed Rock Music Video HD