Westside Connection - Terrorist Threats
Reviewed By: NOTORIOUS
Album Rate: 4.0 out of 5 Stars
Ice Cube, Mack 10, and WC reteam once again as
Westside Connection for the follow up to 1996's
breakthrough album, "Bow Down." Although it has
been seven years since their last release, The
Gangsta, The Killa, and The Dope Dealer's for the
left coast has not faded. "Terrorists Threats"
sports the hit single "Gangsta Nation" featuring Nate
Dogg. Also featured is Butch Cassidy and
Knoc'turnal among others.
1. A Threat To The World - Basic intro, similar to
the one on Bow Down.
2. Call 9-1-1 - Beat sports a shotgun getting
cocked. Ice Cube starts this one with a decent
verse. His skills have dropped considerably over
the years but he still possesses the talent to tell
street narratives. Mack 10 drops a very nice
verse. WC finishes it up with a solid verse. Nice
start.
3. Potential Victims - Gangsta content to this one.
Kind of like a warning to . . . well, the title
says it - potential victims. Ice Cube laces the
hook. WC is the star on this one.
4. Gangsta Nation (f/ Nate Dogg) - This is the first
track. Pretty solid effort from everyone on this
one. Good first single. "It must be a single with
Nate Dogg singing on it."
5. Get Ignit - This track is Ignit. Not feeling it
too much. Hook is terrible. Beat is OK though.
Overall, not too much going on on this one.
6. Pimp The System (f/ Butch Cassidy) - Track is all
about making money and pimping the system. Ice
Cube drops a nice verse followed by Mack 10 and WC.
The star of the track, however, is Butch Cassidy.
He could very well be the next big hookman to give
the King of Hooks, Nate Dogg a run for his money.
Nice track.
7. Don't Get Outta Pocket (f/ M-Mac) - Track has a
slight piano beat to it. Tight song. Everyone
drops nice bars including newcomer M-Mac.
8. Izm - Just too much goin on this track. Not
feeling it too much.
9. So Many Rappers In Love - Beat starts off like
it's an R&B track. Westside Connection is calling
out all the fake ass thugs? I wonder if they're
talking to anyone specifically.
10. Lights Out (f/ Knoc-turnal) - Pretty tight track
with everyone giving top notch effort. Star of the
track is Knoc who gives a killer hook. He will be
a big time star in the future.
11. Bangin' At The Party (f/ The Hood) - Nice east
coast sounding beat to this one. Pretty decent
track. The Hood, on the other hand, are not
decent. They definitely bring down this track.
12. You Gotta Have Heart - This is a great track.
Not too much gangsterism on this one. Heartfelt
track that works for the Gangsta, the Killa, and
the Dope Dealer. Tight track.
13. Terrorist Threats - Vicious beat on this one.
Great track. Don't mistake the Westsida for
Al-Queda says Cube. Tight ass track!
14. Superstar (Double Murder = Double Platinum) -
Pretty nice track stating that murder sales.
Either you rappin' about it or you murder or got
murdered yourself. Any of the three and you
selling records. Nice way to end this one.
All in all, I was pretty impressed with this album.
After waiting all that time for the follow-up to
Bow Down, I was not disappointed. I was very
pleased that they did all West Coast beats on this
one. The fact that there were not a lot of guest
appearances on this one impressed me as well. I
mean, when you are in a trio, there really is no
need for it. This album proves the West Coast is
not dead.