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I-20 SELF EXPLANATORY

“It takes a man to do the shooting, anyone can get shot, so f*** the fact I had to grind or the fact that I did time, I should only be defined by the fact that I can rhyme..” - I-20, “Eyes Open”.

Decatur is in the building! Hailing from Decatur, GA (my old stomping grounds) it’s I-20 coming straight at ya with his debut album SELF EXPLANATORY. I-20 represents the crew DISTURBING THE PEACE that is headed of course by the Down South king they call Ludacris and he is actually known as Ludacris’ right hand rhyme man. But I-20 wants it also known that he represents the “Disturbed” in DTP and those who remember the song “Move B&&&&” can see what he means. Off the strength of that song I-20 was eventually signed to a major record deal as the song was almost the song of the year and everyone wanted to know who that deep voiced, hard-hitting guy was that rapped on the end of that song. I instantly became an I-20 fan when I heard his voice on that song even though at the time I didn’t know much about I-20. Sadly though, even today most of the world still doesn’t know much about him either. But I’m here to tell you that I-20 got skillz as he’s one of those true artists that actually tries to rhyme his best on every verse he does. This sounds like a simple concept until you turn on the radio and hear all the garbage rappers in heavy rotation. Hiphop is real simple: Hone your lyrical abilities, affiliate yourself with a tight music producer(s), then develop your image and album concepts and proceed to blow up. Well I-20 followed this pattern but for various reasons hasn’t become a superstar yet. One thing going against him is a lot of people are either turned off or terrified of his voice. His voice is heavy, deep, and distinct and that seems to scare the average female and turn off a lot of cynical males like that comedian Boima Freeman who jokes and says “I-20 sounds like he’s rhyming with a bowl of hot soup in his mouth”. But to me a rapper can’t start his career seriously until he perfects his voice to the point where no matter what song you’re on the public can recognize you and I-20 has done that. Why punish rappers for having distinct, eccentric voices? Whether it’s the high pitched Freeway and Ghostface voices or the heavy hitting I-20 or Bonecrusher voices, I love them all. And when you combine that distinct voice with production and skills like I-20 has then you’re well on your way to making good hiphop which this album shows us….

Most folks know the popular “Fightin in the Club” song which was one of the first singles off the album that dropped at the end of 2004. It didn’t become dominant in the club worldwide but it was a nice follow up for I-20 as the record company tried to capitalize on 20’s “Move B&&&&&” persona. Fortunately though that song (as solid as it is) was only a tease and you find that out right at the album’s intro. The song “Eyes Open” is where I-dub spits some of the best lyrics you’ll ever hear on an “intro” song. I had to practically pull my ride over when I first popped the CD in because I couldn’t believe how hard hitting his rhymes were on the intro and just kept hitting repeat. It starts off with a sample from the Spanish movie “Open Your Eyes” (and the English remake “Vanilla Sky”) and proceeds to blow you away. Then the hard hitting “Meet the Dealer” proceeds next and there is nothing you can do to prevent yourself from getting hooked to the album and to the idea of I-20.

Things really get jumping though when “The Realist” rotates in your disc changer soon followed by “Hennessey & Hydro” featuring the immortal 3-6 Mafia and then the incredible “Point ‘Em out” featuring Juvenile. The latter steals a super clever sample from Run DMC’s “Darryl and Joe” that was on the KING OF ROCK album but Salaam Remi just gives the track some added 21rst century bass as Juvy and I-20 proceed to murda the track. Equally impressive is “Hennessey & Hydro” produced of course by DJ Paul and Juicy J who never fail to bring that 3-6 Mafia music magic to other folks’ albums. Then the erotic “Slow F&&&&&&” comes on featuring fellow DTP member Shawnna and you realize this is a hell of an album. Shawnna and I-20 perform the perfect raunchy duet over a simple yet effective “In…Out..” chorus that really all blends together seamlessly. There are NO wack songs on this album and to show his range of talent, I-20 also gives you mellow introspective tracks like “May Sound Crazy” and women friendly songs like “Hey Shawty” that turns out to be a nice song due to the guest appearance of Devin the Dude. I stop just short of saying this album is a must have but make no mistake IT’S WORTH GETTING. It’s one of those “diamonds in the rough” type albums that enhance your rap collection and that you can pull out a year from now and still jam to it. It’s an extremely solid and well conceived album that should have gotten more press. Let’s hope next time DTP does a better job marketing this mega-talent they call I-20.

P.S.

Thanks to the dozens of fans who hit me up daily on the celly in response to my Mike Jones album review. Keep reading Benz0’s articles and keep supporting the organizations that publish me. Much love whether you’re cursing me out or praising me. I welcome it all!!

Benz0
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