Cee-Rock "Bringin' Da' Yowzah!!!" Album Review

The first full track ("Kill Da Killin'") on Cee-Rock's Bringin' Da' Yowzah!!! album is a perfect example of his steelo: funky, grimey samples over tight drums, a positive message (him daring MCs of today to stop writing rhymes about killing), and crafty, imaginative rhymes. Cee-Rock kicks the "true school" style of Hip-Hop, keeping the intellect of MCs like KRS-One, the lyricism and some of the humor that J-Live possesses, and just an overall feel of the late 80s/early 90s classic sound.

"Yowzah!!!" (the track) brings the classic sounds; the looped, dusty breaks, the jazzy, upright bass sample, slick hi-hats running under Cee's cool, calm flows, and to top it all off, a subtle DJ bit in the chorus. The hilarious "Phat Albert" skit updates Albert having a pretty nice flow… even throwing the "Hey hey hey" to the lil' beat. "Spitfyre" has Cee flowin' on a radio show, which then flips into the actual track. The beat is a nice, Diamond D sounding thing. Deep basslines, with a string/chime sample answering the piano and bassline combo. The drums hit about as hard as Cee's rhymes, but on here his style is a bit more laid back, with him just letting loose with his truly remarkable flow.

It'd be hard to pinpoint 1 or 2 slick lines on here, because Cee's craft is writing ill lines to spit over phat beats, period. I hate saying that Cee is rocking the "old school" styles, but compared to the ultra futuristic, exquisitely mastered turds that new artists churn out these days, it's a breath of fresh air to hear someone who sounds like a new throwback; Cee is cleaner than a crisp pair of Nike Air Jordan V's. He also has a plethora of cats on the help out; production wise, DJ Erase is a big help out, either helping out on the production or scratching on a large number of the tracks.

Cee is joined by a number of cats, from Looptroop's Promoe to Late & 10Shott of Wolftown Committee, Mikey D of Main Source and many other heaters on the mic. The posse cut, "The Perfect Storm" murders it with ill, almost eerie guitar strums, far off horns, and thumping bass tones met with a neck-snappin' boom bap. The flows are hot mercury, setting the instrumental ablaze, full of braggadocio and sorely-needed quality. Cee's "No One Has Yet…" is a slower tempo track, with piano stabs bouncing over a concrete beat. The rhymes on this one are very clear to hear, and are some of the best on the album: "Candyman bringing the honey and the bees/and if you dare say my name 5 times/I appear and decapitate your mind with live rhymes" is just a sample of his intricate rhyme structure and wit. And as he says, no one has yet to duplicate his pattern.

For a man from Queens who is reppin' on a company that is from the other side of the US, there is no sickness lost. Nothing gets watered down: you want to hear tight rhymes, Cee has those. You want some thick beats and samples, Cee has those as well. Is this scene ready to hear this? Probably not, but that's how all revolutions start: a new entity comes in and scrambles the original, skewed image. Cee has the confidence, skill and company to take this game to the next level. Do yourself a flavor and come see what the Yowzah!!! is all about.