Young Cash/ Scared Money Don’t Make Money It should be noted M.O.E. Entertainment that this project was allegedly released without Young Cash’s consent, because it doesn’t sound like his best work. “The World Is Yours,” “She Ain’t Scared,” and “Freeze” are arguably the most notable tracks, but subpar beats, hooks sung by Cash himself and singers that don’t sing well, along with Cash’s limited rhyme skills, make this album a lukewarm effort. Hopefully, T-Pain’s Nappy Boy signee will have a better showing on his forthcoming major label debut. — Randy Roper
D-Boyz/ Life of a D-Boy 404 Music Life of a D-Boy is exactly what you would expect from the D-Boyz, stories about moving work from here to there and blowing money on clothes, cars, and women. “Ballin’ In My City” is a definite party anthem for all balling dope boys. On the soulful track “Streets Keep Callin’ Me” the D-Boyz explain the struggles of trying to get out of the game that any hustler should understand. Features from artists such as B.G., Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, and Jazze Pha gives the album’s creativity and sound an incredible boost. As lyricists, the duo could use some help. — Jee’Van Brown
DJ Drama & Ludacris/ The Preview On The Preview, DJ Drama provides just that, a preview to hold over fans until Luducris’ next album. This duo keeps the entertainment and laughs coming with witty punchlines and hilarious skits like “The Vocalizer,” where they take a stab at your favorite rappers that use the “Robot Thing” on their voice. The Preview offers some notable tracks such as “So Thoro,” the controversial “Politics As Usual” and “Throw It Up,” featuring Lil’ Wayne and Busta Rhymes. This mixtape is a winner; what else could you expect from a Drama and Luda collabo? — Jared Anderson
DJ Scream & Gorilla Zoe/ I Am ATLanta Gorilla Zoe and DJ Scream bring everyone I AM ATLanta, a mixtape which unfortunately doesn’t do much to live up to its title. While the tape has plenty of bass laden beats, Zoe falters in creating memorable records with them. Even guest appearances by Shawty Lo, Rocko and Jody Breeze don’t elevate this mixtape. Zoe fails to step aside from the standard Hip Hop formulas at a time where he could’ve really set himself in a league of his own by establishing his own style. — Rohit Loomba
Curren$y/ Fast Times At RiDgemont Fly Another solid effort from this New Orleans native, Curren$y keeps the music coming with his swagger and flow in full effect. With enough references to rename this mixtape Jet Muzik, Curren$y provides a track to what appears to be his favorite football team’s newest player on the song “Brett Favre.” This mixtape has an interesting combination of beats but Curren$y holds his own, proving why Weezy signed him in the first place. “Modern Day Hippie,” “Navigation Pimpn” and “Jets Muzik” stand out on this 15-track offering. While this mixtape has its ups and downs overall, it’s consistent to what we’ve come to expect from Curren$y. — Jared Anderson
Charlamagne Tha God/South Crack: The Album /SDM Instead of waiting to for someone to hit their state with a magic wand, South Carolina emcees are staying true to the Southern independent Hip Hop spirit by dropping their own music on this 22-track compilation. While hunger and personality can be heard on most of the tracks, too many of them sound like dated Crunk music, overshadowing the rappers’ talents. Fortunately, the songs turned in by SC vet Mac-A-Don stand out the most, making the album worth at least one more listen. The album ends with a strong outro from the Charlamagne, but unfortunately, the music that precedes it doesn’t fit with his message. — Maurice G. Garland
DJ Drama, Gucci Mane & Yo Gotti/ Definition of a G Here, DJ Drama offers up a new edition to his mixtape catalog, joined by both Gucci Mane and Yo Gotti. Although both Gucci and Gotti offer a handful of quality verses, some tracks fall flat like the duo’s interpretation of “Put On.” Memphis native Gotti outshines his counterpart on some tracks, but the two complement each other nicely and offer fans a healthy dose of their music. — Rohit Loomba DJ Smallz & Jackie Chain/ Fear The Future Jackie Chain’s latest DJ Smallz endorsed effort is a well-produced mixtape that deserves to be called an album. Featuring production from J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and future stars BlockBeataz and Kids With Machine Guns, Chain doesn’t disappoint, floating over the tracks spitting his own brand of playa ish. Although at times he’s guilty of sounding like he’s giving his best Pimp C impersonation, Chain still manages to keep enough of his own personality in the music to make himself a burgeoning star. — Maurice G. Garland
DJ Laz/ Category 6 VIP Music/Limp-A-Lot Category 6 is a tropical storm full of different sounds and genres. The overall album is basically a mix of reggaeton, pop, and Hip Hop music. If you had no clue where DJ Laz is from, as soon as you press play it’ll be clear that he’s representing South Florida. “Move Shake Drop” will definitely get the reggaeton fans out of their seats and “Morena 08” will get the girls bouncing to the beat. The storm does start to die down on some tracks, making the album not worthy of a category six. But with a little more thunder and lighting it could reach serious hurricane status. — Jee’Van Brown
OZONE MAG // 79