Audio By Carbonatix
Beanie Sigel’s rough-and-ready new CD stands in direct contrast to his onetime mentor Jay-Z’s latest. While Hov reminisces about his pre-posh days on American Gangster, Sigel is still living them on The Solution. Since his last album (2005’s The B.Coming), Sigel was acquitted of attempted murder and spent some time in prison on a weapons charge. Little surprise he sounds so raw and inspired. The beats, largely provided by Dre & Vidal, are consistently strong and often great. But the real star is the rapper’s gruff, angry flow, which bounces off his funny and cocky wordplay. “You can bury me face down with an open casket/This whole world can kiss mine/Tell me what this life got to offer?” he asks in “Dear Self.” And in The Solution‘s best cut, “Rain (Bridge),” Sigel, Scarface, and Raheem DeVaughn rhyme over a heartfelt jazz-piano ballad. Don’t laugh — like almost everything else here, it works.
When news happens, Phoenix New Times is there —
Your support strengthens our coverage.
We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If New Times matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
