Click here to view all of Benz0's reviews

THE DIPLOMATS ALBUM REVIEW: DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY 2

"Excuse the dip[lomats] please, but [we're] the TRUTH, [we're] the proof, our MOVEMENT is SICK, that's a fact...have a nap and get used to this..." - Juelz Santana, "Get Used to This".

DIPSET! DIPSET! DIPSET! The Diplomats aka Dipset are definitely in da building with their latest mixtape called DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY 2. Except for perhaps the whole 50 Cent, Eminem, and Dre crew affiliations you'll be hard-pressed to find a hotter rap crew than The Diplomats who have all of a sudden become almost my favorite rap crew. Releasing non-stop underground mix-tapes along with platinum selling commercial albums thanks to Cam'Ron, the Diplomats have put their stamp on hiphop already. Their breadth of work in such a short time is impressive with solo commercial releases of Juelz Santana and Jim Jones already in hot circulation as well and several underground solo releases by hot shots such as J.R. Writer circulating too. What is Dipset? Dipset is short for "The Diplomats set (crew)" and represents a Harlem based "movement" of MCs that are putting Harlem back on the map. The crew boasts a diverse collection of talent.

We all know Cam'Ron who is the undisputed leader of the crew and the most famous by far. Hailing as probably the 2nd best lyricist out of the Diplomats is J.R. Writer, "the writer of writers". Next in line is Juelz Santana who most are familiar with already and who calls himself "Human crack in the flesh" in reference to his lyrical dopeness. Then you have Jim Jones "the ryder of all ryders" pushing his thuggish nature and Tupacish melodic tones to the masses (Another unique element for a NY based and very pro-NY crew). Adding more realness to the crew are Hell Rell and 40 Cal Both are ultra-hardcore with their rhymes with Hell Rell recently coming home from a jail bid for added hardcore authenticity. Then bringing up the rear is the currently incarcerated Freekey Zeekey and the Miami influenced Jha Jha - the lone woman in the crew with some original flavor of her own. Together they all form an impressive and daunting combustion of energy, creativity and diversity. But make no mistake about it. NONE are near the skill level and insightfulness of Cam'Ron who is steadily approaching Jay-Z type notoriety as he slowly takes over the "Roc". But his crew nonetheless are flavorful and very entertaining when put all together.

The most impressive thing about The Diplomats is that their production crew is among the best in the business anchored by various producers like Stay Gettin' and Heatmakerz.. RARELY does any member rap over a wack track (Unless it's one of the Dipset's patented semi-corny makeover of some pop hit) which lets me know this crew is serious about being a dominant rap crew as of course 85% of hiphop is all about the beat. No beat no happy consumer. So it's no surprise the album starts off with "Stop-N-Go" which is an incredible song with an incredible track.

The way it's arranged is pure genius. First Cam'Ron comes on and sets the mood to the song by explaining how the crew is ready to take off and names every member of The Diplomats. Then right on cue comes J.R. Writer sounding off the chorus. J.R. teases us a bit by going into his rap then pausing explaining how he's just warming up and then he let's us have it. Honestly I've become a HUGE fan of J.R. Writer in a minimal amount of time because the very first verse I heard from him blew my mind last year. The self proclaimed 'Ethiopian" is a lyrical acrobat playing on words almost as good as Killa Cam. As an added bonus to this song, Cam'Ron closes the song out in a lyrical flurry; even rapping in Spanish at times to get his point across as this 6 minute plus long song finally ends. It took me a while to get to track 2 as I kept repeating this one but eventually I moved on to find more outstanding Dipset collaborations in the songs "Family Ties" (this version is different than the one on Cam'Ron's PURPLE HAZE), "Crunk Muzik" (Also featured on Jim Jones Solo album), "Aayo iight" and "Push It".

"Push It" actually jacks the famous Salt-N-Pepa track of similar name that at first seems like it would be corny until you realize they flip the script and are talking about "pushing" illegal product. But of course being the most gifted of the crew, Killa Cam'Ron steals the show with "Dead.." and "Bigger Picture". "Dead..." has been in circulation for a while on previous Dipset underground mix tapes and is one of the songs responsible for me converting to a Dipset fan due to the dopeness of the track and due to me realizing how crazy Cam'Ron gets with his rhymes with lines like "[I'll} s&&& in your car, pop a squat in your drop, take a drop in the drop...I'm the s&&& just call me Pepe Le Poo Poo". Killa is loony with the play on words. But "Bigger Picture" turns out to be the best song on the album as Cam'Ron reflects over a seriously flu-ridden, sickly track that almost evokes tears from you because it's so powerful.

Benz0
Contact Benz0: BenzWritings@Hotmail.com