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| Wednesday, December 20, 2000 |
| Outlawz Album Reviewed by Vibe |
This is the review of the Outlawz album Ride Wit Us or Collide Wit Us from Vibe:
The Outlawz make their first official ride without Tupac with their debut release, Ride Wit Us or Collide Wit Us. After riding shotgun with Pac on such classics as "Hit Em Up" and "Trading War Stories," E.D.I., Young Noble, Kastro, and Napoleon remain in unison despite Pac's untimely death four years ago and deliver pain-driven lyrics that anyone caught up in the struggle can feel.
On the inspirational anthem "Black Rain," Kastro spits, "It's war on the streets / Now gangbangin' done went East / Now the city that never sleeps will never see peace / Bad enough we still killing each other over ducats / Now it's more of us willing to die over colors / Man it's insane / Black Reign." The assault continues on tracks like the haunting "Nobody Cares," which could easily be called "Keep Ya Head Up 2000."
Ride Wit Us or Collide Wit Us features collaborations with T.Q., Spice 1, and Bad Azz, as well as production by Rap-A-Lot's veteran producers, Mike Dean and Mr. Lee. The album also features Geronimo Pratt, who gives a black history lesson by explaining the origin of the infamous "Ride or Die" policy used by the Black Panthers to monitor the police. The same ideology was also instilled within Pac.
However, like all armies who carry on the fight after the loss of a great leader, the Outlawz slip a few times by covering familiar ground on such songs as "Fuck With Me," which could have easily been written in the same studio sessions as "Just Like Daddy" and "Baby Don't Cry." Nonetheless, they quickly redeem themselves on "Good Bye" where they discuss death, child abuse, poverty, and uplifting black women.
Ride Wit Us or Collide Wit Us is not the polished diamond in a Cartier watch, but the Outlawz still have what Pac first introduced to the world when they called themselves Dramacydal. Although the death of their leader was a heavy blow to them, the Outlawz ensure that the spirits of Makaveli, Yak, and Thug Life live on.
Posted by: tewpac
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