Instant Hits Empire are an underground label coming from the Bay Area in California. As such, the tracks on ‘Independence with Elegance’ are highly influenced by the west coast, thug rap styles. The album is a compilation of beats from peeps on the label, such as 10sion, Exo, Messkaleen, Young Choppa and I.V.A.N. The Terrible. When I started listening to the album, I was very impressed. I was expecting what I had though was the usual for underground productions – slightly tinny vocals with drowning basslines. Fortunately, I was surprised by the amount of effort ‘Instant Hits’ had put into this compilation. The production was good, with only one track I can think of where the bassline gave me a bit of a headache, and all the vocals were well done.
Bay Area Rap to the fullest. Instant Hits are definetely representin’ true.
I’m not gonna start claiming I know the background to every artist on the album, because I don’t. When we received the album, I was a bit sceptic about what it would be. Having listened through it a lot of times now though, I’m very interested in where ‘Instant Hits Empire’ will go. The artists on this compilations are all talented, the hooks on each track are the type you could either bump, chill and just generally vibe to. A lot of the album was quite reminiscent of early TuPac production. The general theme of the album is one of how these cats are gonna bring it, as shown on the final track ‘We Can Go There’. The hard beats on some tracks such as ‘Criminalistic Tactics’ and ‘That’s Nothing’ will definetely get the party started. The album is mixed up with more smooth grooves though, such as on ‘Spotlight’, ‘Times Changed’ and ‘Crunch Time’ so there’s something for everyone here. There are truly some tight tracks on the album with a hell of a lot of talent.
I’d definetely recommend investing in this album. Whilst maybe not a blockbuster classic, it’s definetely a change from all the commercialised ‘gangsta’ rap coming out of the west coast. If you want to hear a mix of how true thug rap is meant to be represented, then order this album. If you’ve never heard a proper thug rap album, order the album cuz this is it. If you’ve never heard a track coming from ‘Instant Hits Empire‘ order the album to get an idea of what these guys can do. A lot of talent here packed on to 17 tracks, and a lot of potential for the future of this label. The only thing that I could say against the album is that some of the emceeing is slightly unheard, in that you just can’t make out what they’re saying, no matter how hard you try. The occasional track has slightly emphasised points (like that track I mentioned with the loud bassline). Besides that, it’s damn good, and definetely worth the purchase. 2001 – Instant Hits Empire bring a nice compilation together, really showing us the real west coast thugs.
Track Listing:
1. Intro – Black N Brown Ryde Thugs
2. Criminalistic Tactics – Exo, 10sion
3. Spotlight – Mr. Kee, Louie Loc, J. Tru
4. Street Life – Telly Mac, San Quinn, Mr. Kee, Louie Loc, I.V.A.N.
5. Scritch Tha Scratcha – Rich The Factor
6. That’s Nothing – MessKaleen
7. Where We From – C Sicc Ceo, Young Choppa – 10sion
8. Bright Lights – Say Crissis
9. Ivan – I.V.A.N. The Terrible
10. Game Twisted – 10sion, Soldiers of Fortune
11. Listen – Seff The Gaffla – Messkaleen
12. Times Changed – 10sion, Veronica Knight
13. Crunch time – JT, DVO, 10sion, CEO
14. California Krooks – Smoke E.D., Fuzz Wello, Louie Loc, Exo
15. Who Really Cares – Say Crissis
16. Every Day Fits – Money Hungry
17. We Can Go There – San Quinn, Young Choppa, 10sion, Say Crissis
Reviewed By Hip Hop Network for HipHopHotSpot.Com
