Thirty Three Jones | Desktop Site
When Young Chris showed up on the scene with his Young Gunz partner Neef a few years ago, I initially had some big expectations for him based on the shoutouts that Jay-Z had given him on the Blueprint. The fact that he was following in the footsteps of another Philly rapper, Beanie Sigel, only increased my expectations. Those expectations were soon deflated, however, when I heard the first Young Gunz single, Can't Stop Won't Stop. Though it received tons of spins on the radio and MTV, the single suffered from one of the worst beats in recent memory, sounding like a bootleg Timbaland beat produced on an entry-level Casio. Though Chris had a reasonably smooth flow, his lyrics on the track made it clear that he wasn't joking when he boasted that he and Neef had written the song in under twenty minutes.
The promise of free music was enough to get me to give him a second chance, though. Partnering up with DJ Noodles, representing Buffalo, NY, Young Chris recently put out a free mixtape, Hired Gun, in advance of his solo album due out this summer. As with most free albums, this one has its fair share of highs and lows. Chris certainly sounds focused on this one -- as he should, having taken a year off from rapping -- but he has a style that's hit or miss. It comes off sounding a lot like the breathless rapping that Jay-Z overused on Kingdom Come, though Chris has always sounded that way, so perhaps he was Jay's inspiration. That's not to say that he's a bad MC -- he's not -- but his lyrics, which cover the same ground as every other Roc-A-Fella artist circa 2003, aren't going to keep you listening if you aren't feeling his flow.
In any event, there are some decent tracks on here. If you're a fan of the Young Gunz, this mixtape is probably as good as getting an official album from them. A couple of the tracks:
Young Chris and Junior Ried - Things I've Done In Life
Young Chris - Coming of Age
Click here to visit the official Hired Gun site, where you can find links to download the mix. For more of DJ Noodles, hit up his website. Under "Media" there are a bunch of remixes he's done that you can grab for free. Be sure to grab his remix of Tupac's My Block.
2/21/2007 8:15:10 PM posted by Fresh