Ludacris comes out swinging in his Sophomore album. The intro track, while reminiscent of BFTFTs intro track "U Got A Problem", "Coming 2 America" could psych anyone up with it's production and lyrical prowess. In fact, the title track summarizes my thoughts of this album quite perfectly being reminiscent of Back for the First Time but Harder and Better. The reason for this is that many songs on this album remind me of the first album in concept, which is understandable for Ludacris' lane, but the delivery of these concepts are at tip top shape.
I'll admit i said a couple of times that songs like "Area Codes" connects to "Ho" or "Go 2 Sleep" to "Stick Em Up" and obviously the title track "Word of Mouf (Freestyle)" to "Mouthing Off", but i feel like that was the point. To take a concept and expand on it further and better. Like when i start the album i auto connect to Back for the First Time without any complaints since he made good songs great but then he completely destroys my parallels by including tracks like "Growing Pains", "Saturday (Oooh! Oooh!)", and "Freaky Thangs". And these aren't the only tracks that separates the two albums as very unique entity's.
Ludacris lyrically came with his A game, dropping dope verses left and right with impressive flow and his notorious word play. Every song comes across unique in it's approach while still showing that charismatic Ludacris, toning it down when necessary like "Cold Outside" and "Growing Pains". This being said the 18 track album doesn't feel that long at all.
To help keep the album up to pace are the creative and memorable chorus' that go along with each track. Even by my second listen of the album i was hooked and singing each chorus, which is fantastic his ability to get the fans involved so quickly. I'll admit they're simple but i'd be lying if i said i didn't enjoy yelling "MOVE BITCH GET OUT THE WAY" every time the infamous track came on.
The only time the verses and chorus' didn't do it's effects were the two tracks "Keep it on the Hush" and "Freaky Thangs". The problem i had with "Keep it on the Hush" featuring Jazze Pha, despite him doing a good job on the chorus and intro/outro, was how boring it felt in comparison to the rest of the album. I understand that it's a track for the ladies, and marks the beginning of Luda's love songs, but i just could not get into it. It's a lullaby of "What's Your Fantasy" that just feels slow for me. Similar with "Freaky Thangs", the verses from both Twista and Ludacris were great but the chorus, sung by Jagged Edge, just felt so awkward to me. Once again i couldn't get into it and found myself avoiding the track.
The only other track that i found myself questioning is "Growing Pains". First off, while i love it, i truly believe this should have been on Fate Wilson's album. He dominated the track and made Luda feel like a feature. That being said the song sends mixed messages. The chorus, sung by Keon Bryce, feels so deep and heartfelt while the verses by Luda and Fate don't deliver the same emotion. While it does match concepts in the reflection aspect, the verses feel more like general narratives of their pasts rather than emotional retrospectives. While Luda came the closest to matching the emotion, he eventually drops it and follows Fate's example of casual narrating.
The thing that confuses it even more is the Skit that precedes the track. While it matches well with the verses it once again does not fit with the chorus. This, however was the only skit i even had a slight problem with. Every other mini skit that accompanied a song, or individual skit in general, either did a great job connecting or preparing one for the upcoming song or was just plain hilarious, a lot of times both. Each one was perfect length and very well placed, rarely ever disconnecting songs. It even aloud for Luda's personality and charm to shine even brighter.
This all being true, Luda wasn't the only one to shine on Word of Mouf. Also apart of the album was a wide array of well placed features. The first feature was on Track 3, "Go 2 Sleep", A battle between the DTP squad and Three 6 Mafia that proved that lyrically Disturbing Tha Piece is the better of the two groups.The next feature was "She Said" featuring Fate Wilson, a track calling out women who lie about their sexual experiences. Another feature was Nate Dogg, on the single "Area Codes", who did a great job balancing out Ludacris by singing the chorus and his own verse. Skipping over "Growing Pains" is the Infamous jam "Move Bitch" featuring Mystikal and I-20. Each rapper on this track brought their own diversity and energy that makes this song great. The next feature was Sleepy Brown on the weekend anthem "Saturday (Oooh! Oooh!)". Honestly, the only thing he did, that i could tell, was say 'It's Saturday' which sounds good but not much of a feature.
After that, skipping "Keep It On The Hush", was the title track "Word of Mouf (Freestyle)" featuring 4-Ize. First off, I prefer the original "Mouthing Off". Lyrically both artists are killing it and Luda has a better verse than last time but it was shorter and not as much fun as the first. This doesn't change that this combo is still incredible. The next track is "Get the Fuck Back" featuring the DTP cast of Shawnna, I-20, and Fate Wilson. This Posse Cut is fantastic, each artist plays well off each other both in the chorus' and in the verses. One thing you may not know about me is that i love songs that have the artists switching verses off like old Souls Of Mischief, in tracks like "93 'Til Infinity" and "Batting Practice",and Bad Meets Evil, in "Fast Lane" and "I'm on Everything", and while they didn't flow off each other they transitioned very well from artist to artist with straight bars. The last sung feature i want to mention is Chimere on "Cold Outside", a track dedicated to survival despite how hard and harsh the situation may be. While she basically only had backing vocals, it added this extra emphasis that the track didn't necessarily need but simply improved nonetheless.
There is one last feature i need to mention when talking about Word of Mouf, and that feature being Faizon Love, a comedic actor who has starred in Friday, Elf, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as well as other movies. His commentary added some extra humor to various songs and skits. Honestly it's not that big of a deal but pure actors have yet to show up in these reviews and i thought i'd mention it.
Other people that need to be mentioned are the various producers in this album. The production was great across that board and fit Luda perfectly with some loud in your face tracks, like "Get The Fuck Back" and "Move Bitch", Some funky tracks, like "Keep it on the Hush" and "Area Codes", and just some straight up fun tracks, "Cry Babies (Oh No), "Saturday (Oooh!Oooh!)" and "Word of Mouf (Freestyle)". Returning producers include, Timbaland, Mr. Bangladesh, and Organized Noize. Alongside them were new producers Shondrae, Swizz Beatz, Jazze Pha, P. King, KLC, Chaka Kulu, and Jook.
Before i get into the negatives there are two last tracks i must mention. One is the Bonus, "Block Lockdown" and the other is a hidden track "Welcome to Atlanta". "Block Lockdown" is a fantastic in your face song which should completely be Luda's Track, except for the I-20 feature. This track is also produced by Bangladesh but Funkmaster Flex for whatever reason is the lead on the track. The Hidden Track occurs right after "Block Lockdown" where Jermaine Dupri and Ludacris collaborate again, the first being the Dupri produced track "Get Off Me" with Pastor Troy. Jermaine also has his own verse to this bouncing track. The reason i bring these tracks up separate is that they would have been great as stand alone songs instead of receiving that "Bonus" title. Despite this, their position in the track listening fits perfectly.
I actually only have one complaint for this great album. The problem is, although it doesn't feel that long, is that this album has 15 musical tracks with 3 skits. By the end you still feel like you've been doing something for a long time, or longer than necessary. I mean it's great to have a large catalog of good music and you definitely feel like you're getting your money's worth but there's not much i can do with that length of an album without having to start and stop it constantly.
There's not much else to say about this album besides that it's Great. A lot of things work in this album that give the listener a great experience and if you're a Luda fan there's no reason for you to have not heard this album.
Rating: Classic
Stand-Out Tracks: Coming 2 America, Roll Out (My Business), Go 2 Sleep, Cry Babies (Oh No), Area Codes, Growing Pains, Move Bitch, Saturday (Oooh!Oooh!), Word of Mouf (Freestyle), Get The Fuck Back, Freaky Thangs, Cold Outside, Block Lockdown, Welcome to Atlanta
After Thoughts: I originally planned on making this merely a Classic In The Making until i realized that i listed almost every song in the Stand-Out Tracks. Every song feels different, fresh and great and although i didn't like "Keep it on the Hush" much, i can't deny that it's still a good song as a stand alone track, just boring in comparison to the others. There's very little i'd add or take away from this album and honestly i've been bumping it for the past 2 weeks as i've prepared for this review. It's not my favorite style of hip hop but this is definitely one of favorite albums.
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