Fat Joe "The Darkside Vol. 1" Review

When you think of Fat Joe you think of Big Pun, Terror Squad, an obese Bronx NY native screaming "CRACK!!" in the beginning and during every song that you hear from the 39-year-old rapper. You think of gaudy "TS" pendants, and most recently you might even think of Miami FL. Fat Joe has come a long way since "Jealous One's Envy" and in the end you're talking about a man that is no stranger to the spot light. Having albums under his belt as disappointing as "All or Nothing" & "Loyalty" with his dwindling career under the microscope only makes matters worse. Since the death of Big Pun he's had his own joy ride of ups & downs in the musc industry. Number one hits such as "What's Luv" and the pioneering dance song "Lean Back" makes you wonder why he's had such bad luck with record sales. You would think that those songs alone would develop a loyal fan base. But any real hip-hopper will be the first to tell you that record sales have nothing to do with respect amongst your peers in the rap game. In the end, it seems thats what Fat Joe is out for. Fat Joe's latest offering is reminiscent of the "Don Cartagena" days when you had songs like"The Crack Attack" & "Bet Ya Man Cant" blaring in your ear phones and boomboxes.



Joey Crack wastes no time in setting the tone for this ominous extravaganza on the intro with a gloomy choir, echo affect on the drums and offensive lyrics. Its easy to tell Fat Joe has turned a different leaf with a line like "half the bodies in the lake, the others I'll burn em/ stuff a apple in his mouth and over fire I turn em". He keeps his momentum on this song by cementing his lyrical skill over the beat, but makes it painfully obvious towards the end that he's still feeling the after affects of beef with rival 50 cent. It's a borderline confession, but bitterness does have its perks. Especially when he puts in such a way by ending with "We gon' throw the biggest party when Curtis die". I don't know who will attend this party, but I'm sure party hats and T-shirts with a profile picture of the elephant in the room will be provided.

Sustaining the pace with the Cool & Dre produced song "Valley of Death", this is a sample induced track with smooth bass that is not to be taken lightly. Fat Joe accomplishes success with creativity on the Just Blaze produced track "I Am CRACK" by personifying the addictive drug crack cocaine while speaking in third person. He takes a run down of the affects of the drug from start to finish over a heart pounding beat with a subtle guitar element.

"Kilo" is where the album hits a bumpy part in the road mainly because of an unnecessary verse from The Clipse and the beat. Cam'ron actually saves the song with an almost perfect performance, but fat joe lags behind the pack from the beginning to the end of his verse.

It wouldn't be a surprise if he lost the crowd with songs like "Rappers Are in Danger" and the Trey Songz assisted "If it Ain't About Money", but he makes up for it with the lead single "(Ha Ha) slow Down" while accompanied by Young Jeezy. Now, im not one for Jeezy, but he did his thing on this one. The drums, chorus, sample, bass line are an almost perfect harmony.

Other songs to highlight on this album would be "How Did we Get Here" where R. Kelly proves that he hasn't missed a beat, and "Money Over Bitches" that has an unnecessary verse from old-timer Too Short which is another song that was almost perfect. "I'm Gone" Takes you back to Jealous One's Envy because of DJ Premier's soulful samples and rugged drum beat. Joe makes it sound like a farewell song almost, but still keeps it hip-hop. Though songs like "Heavenly Father" & "At Last Supremacy" aren't really worth mentioning, they're still necessary for listeners with an acquired taste for lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes, & Fat Joe's once again journey down memory lane through regret, redemption, beef, and his glory days.



Ultimately I think Fat Joe got it a little mixed up. Its not that we don't want to hear records like "Aloha" or "I Wont Tell", its that we don't want records like "Aloha" & "I Wont Tell" to sound corny. The concepts are fine, but doing things like riding the wave of a one hit wonder like J. Holiday on your lead single was corny in it self. Fat Joe blames the industry and lack of attention for his "dark side", but in the end its Fat Joe that has failed to find a medium between "Valley of Death" and the Akon produced "One", or between "Whats Luv" & "My Conscience". It makes you wonder if his "dark side" is a mere cry for a resurrection of his career or a genuine awakening into abetter brand of music. "The Darkside Vol. 1" gives you hope & a breath of fresh air though. It gives you hope because you see Joe incorporating creativity, better choruses, & overall better lyrics. It's a breath a fresh air because you see a New York bred MC sticking to his roots and not trying to ride the dissipating wave of the south. Once you finish the album you can't help but wonder what Fat Joe has up his sleeve for the rest of this "Dark side" series. I for one am waiting anxiously to see the out come. DSV1 by far is his best work since Don Cartagena.

1.) Intro – 3.9/5
2.) Valley of Death – 3.7/5
3.) I Am CRACK – 4.2/5
4.) Kilo (ft Clipse & Cam'ron) – 3/5
5.) Rappers Are In Danger – 3.1/5
6.) (Ha Ha) Slow Down (ft Young Jeezy) – 4.3/5
7.) If It Ain't About Money (ft Trey Songz) – 3.1/5
8.) No Problems (ft Rico Love) – 3.4/5
9.) How Did We Get Here (ft R. Kelly) – 4.4/5
10.) Money Over Bitches (ft Too Short & TA) –3.9/5
11.) Heavenly Father (ft Lil Wayne) – 3.2/5
12.) I'm Gone – 3.9/5
13.) At Last Supremacy (ft Busta Rhymes) – 3.6/5

}Beats{    }Lyrics{    }Overall{
  3.9/5        3.9/5        3.9/5