Gangsta Grillz: The Album [Edited]

Performer: Drama
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Additional personnel: Yung Joc, Marsha Ambrosius, Willie the Kid, Big Kuntry King, 8Ball, Freeway, Jadakiss, Kim Jones, LA the Darkman, Lil' Boosie, Lil Jon, Lil Wayne, Lloyd Banks, MJG, Nelly, OutKast, Diddy, Project Pat, Rick Ross , T.I., B.G., Tony Yayo, Twista, Yo Gotti, Young Buck, Young Jeezy, Mister Porter, Webbie, Devin the Dude, Young Dro. In the same year that he and label-mate Don Cannon became fall guys for the mixtape hustle, DJ Drama dropped his first official album under the GANGSTA GRILLZ moniker. Bringing together MCs and producers representing all coasts and virtually all hip-hop subgenres, GANGSTA GRILLZ: THE ALBUM features contributions from Busta Rhymes, T.I., Lil Jon, Chamillionaire, Diddy, Young Jeezy, La the Darkman, the Clipse, Pharrell Williams, Jadakiss, Tony Yayo, Jim Jones, Slim Thug, Eightball & MJG, Outkast, and Nelly, among many, many others. Capping off a year where he truly lived up to his name, Drama ended 2007 with Gangsta Grillz: The Album, a winning collection of hard street music with one of the most powerful guest lists imaginable. Drama made all these friends back when he was officially known as DJ Drama, the name he used on his underground Gangsta Grillz mixtape series, which, it turns out, wasn't underground enough. Drama lost his "DJ" prefix due to legal threats from another DJ, but more importantly, he lost 81,000 copies of Gangsta Grillz mixtape CDs when he and his Aphilliates partner Don Cannon had their Atlanta office raided on January 16, 2007. With the two facing charges of racketeering, the "Free Drama and Cannon" T-Shirts hit the streets in big numbers, thanks to the widespread respect the DJ and his associates earned with the Grillz series. Those lucky enough to cop them can tell you, Grillz seemed to fire out one well-done release after another, most hosted by names as big as Lil Wayne or Young Jeezy. All this respect, hard work, and hard times pays off on Drama's first aboveground release, as most everyone who gained some street cred on a Grillz mix returns, and not with the usual B-list stuff they give to official DJ comps, but with prime material. Take OutKast's "The Art of Storytellin, Pt. 4," an amazing track with the duo in top form, rapidly spitting killer lines like "I started out starvin'/Now they got me out here Brett Favre'n/Tryin' to see if I still got it." Just as good but for completely different reasons is the all-star "5000 Ones," which could get any party started thanks to Jazze Pha's rousing production and good-time rhymes from everyone involved. Devin the Dude and Twista are at their smoothest during the soulful "Beneath the Diamonds" while producer Lil Jon stuns with his minimal joint "Grillz Gleamin." "Cheers" with Pharrell and Clipse is up to their usual high standards, and T.I. is welcome on all three of his tracks as he tries hard to pay back his boy Drama for becoming Grand Hustle's official DJ. It's interesting to note too that Gangsta Grillz: The Album really lives up to its title by offering a true collection of tracks instead of mimicking a mixtape. Skip the Diddy interlude (but not the hilarious Katt Williams one) and the intro "The Setup" (it wastes three minutes reenacting the January raid) and you've got Drama showing every other comer how the DJ album is done. ~ David Jeffries

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