Ali - Heavy Starch
Reviewed By: ULTIMATECDLINK
Album Rate: 4.25 out of 5 Stars
Ali from the St. Lunatics becomes the first artist outta the camp other than Nelly to drop a solo release and he doesn't disappoint. "Heavy Starch" features the likes of his fellow St. Lunatics as well as some of the underground STL artists.
1. Intro--intro with a little kid talkin about how he knew Ali and the St. Lunatics before the "Country Grammar" album. The end of the track just got a bunch of people saying "Ali" and "Heavy Starch."
2. I Got This--this track gave me an east coast feel. This is an OK track. Not really feelin this beat.
3. Crucial--this track got a nice laid back feel to it and nice lyrics. He rapping about fuckin new hoes.
4. Ore-Ore-O-- has to be my favorite track on the whole album. It has that "E.I." feel to it. As soon as the beat started on this track, I knew this track was gonna be tight. Solid track beat-wise and lyrically. The hook may be annoying for some but I think coming from the St. Lunatics camp, it works.
5. No--the St. Lunatics rap over heavy bass beats. Not a bad track. Nothing stands out on this track except for the heavy bass. Nelly probably drops the weakest verse of all the Lunatics on here.
6. Boughetto-- this is the first single from Ali and it features Murphy Lee. Nice beats, nice lyrics, and just a solid track.
7. 360--Ali just flows over a track with a nice beat to it. Nothing really stands out on the track though.
8. Wiggle Wiggle--as soon as the beat starts on this track, I knew the track was gonna be crunk. Nelly does the hook on here and I'm kinda surprised that this wasn't the first single because it's kinda a club track and features a lot of Nelly. But I can handle this track since it's the first club type track I've come across on the album.
9. Drop Top--those of you who have read my reviews know that I am not a fan of the R&B hooks (especially female R&B hooks which this track has). Ali drops a verse that basically plays off one of Nelly's verses on "E.I." Gonna hit skip on my remote for this track.
10. Collection Plate-- I still haven't figured out what this track is supposed to be. It's a 5 minute skit about a blunt smokin preacher. That's right...over 5 minutes.
11. Passin Me By-- this track features Toya who does the hook. It's an OK track.
12. Bitch-- now this is a tight track. This is a laid back track over a solid beat that has a really nice Southern feel to it. One of the best songs on the album.
13. Beast-- another solid track from Ali. Again, this is just another laid back track with a nice tempo to it.
14. Cool As Hell-- all the St. Lunatics contribute on this track. This is one of the tighter tracks on the album. Each one of them drop solid verses. Nelly drops a couple of nice verses and really stands out on this track.
15. Serious-- this has an up tempo west coast feel to it. Ali raps about how everyone is in his business now that he's made it. It's a nice track overall. Something I could bump over and over.
16. Walk Away- this track features Ms. Toi. Ali raps over a drum beat with a electric guitar playin in the background. This is another solid track.
17. STL Almuni--this track is a chance to give some of the STL underground artists to shine. Ali talks about how there are a lot of artists outta STL besides St. Lunatics and he gives each artist a chance to drop a verse. This is an almost 10 minute track with no appearance from Ali and the St. Lunatics on it. Kinda unheard of to give other people a chance to shine on your album.
Overall, I really liked this album. Ali came through with solid beats on almost every track. There wasn't an overkill of Nelly and St. Lunatics' appearances on the tracks either. I also liked how they placed the skits onto the end of the tracks so we don't get any wasted tracks. Pick this one up if you like the St. Lunatics because I think this one is way better than "Free City." This was a solid debut effort from Ali.
Ali - Heavy Starch