Life After Cash Money [PA]

Performer: B.G.
Artist: Ying Yang Twins; Soulja Slim; Ziggler The Wiggler; Gar; Hakim; Sniper; Big Gipp; Six Shot; T.I.; Conrad; Real
Producer: KLC; Dani Kartel; Michael Crooms; Sinista; Hush; Base Heavy; C Los Beats; Law; G Sta; Speedy; Jeanie Perkins; Johnny Kidd; Crack Tracks; Jeffrey Johns; Carlos Stephens; Kidd; KLC; Hush; Michael "DJ Smurf" Crooms; Dani Kartel
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Personnel: B.G.; Nathan Hughes (percussion); Conrad, Gar, Hakim , Real, Soulja Slim, Ying Yang Twins, Big Gipp, Ziggler the Wiggler, Six Shot. Audio Mixers: KLC; Base Heavy; C Los Beats; Zone; Quentin Dennard. Despite the title, this is the second album B.G.'s unleashed since leaving the Cash Money label, and whenever he's rapping about the split, his skills shine. The other topic that sets B.G. on fire is the rapper's late homey Soulja Slim, who B.G. portrays as fool, friend, and legend being disrespected by Cash Money -- all in the same album. You'll need a crash course in Cash Money and New Orleans rap history to figure out all the references on the album, but if you're hip to it, Life After Cash Money is fascinating. In B.G.'s eyes, Slim got punky and pushy, overstepped his thug-life boundaries, and paid for it hard. It's tough love and a rare warning from the street's inner circle, a place where one brash night at the club can earn you a price on your head. B.G.'s slow and lazy Southern style might make him seem flippant about Slim's untimely death, but longtime listeners can school you. B.G.'s role in the game leaves him no time for tears -- he's too busy "trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents," according to the excellent "Geezy Were U Been." He gushes out the respect for the man in the liner notes, and the party jam "Like That" is an excellent collaboration with Slim that wouldn't sound nearly as good if the duo weren't like kin. His comments on Juvenile's return to Cash Money are just as fascinating since he has absolutely no beef with the rapper. B.G.'s just too busy building his own Chopper City empire by any means necessary to care what Juve is doing, although he wishes him the best of luck. They're all refreshing viewpoints and proof B.G. is one of the most insightful rappers in the Southern thug scene. Too bad the production is often trashy or unimaginative and the rapper is way too high in the mix for most of the album. Outsiders might hear it as another cheap album from the South, but followers of the B.G. story couldn't really ask for more lyrically. It's like cracking open his -- most likely nonexistent -- diary and one of the most vivid examples of "don't hate the player, hate the game" on CD. ~ David Jeffries B.G.'s rapping skills made serious revenue for the legendary Cash Money label before he was a teenager (and before there was much of a Cash Money label of which to speak). On 2004's LIFE AFTER CASH MONEY, B.G. sounds like someone who's moved beyond his origins, with easy vocals gliding over magnificent Dirty South beats. Although he makes it clear that he's no longer affiliated with the record company with which he was practically synonymous in the 1990s (this is his second record for Koch Records), B.G. still brandishes a hard-edged style that doesn't break for a second. Like many rappers in the southern states, B.G. blends a sense of humor with a darker worldview, and occasionally leans towards the violent landscapes of the Geto Boys. Nowhere do the two sides mix with more awesome chaos than on the anthemic "Factory." B.G. displays his prowess both in lyrical potency and dizzying swagger while throwing in a shout to his past on the crawling "My World I Want It.'" He also proves he can change gears effectively on the semi-lewd, '70s-inspired, funk-infused ballad "Bust a Move." B.G. doesn't miss a beat as he slides into his new existence on LIFE AFTER CASH MONEY.

Rolling Stone (p.120) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[T]his disc bounces along as effortlessly as a typical Hot Boys record..."

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