I thought maybe this album would be a decent release as past performances from Sigel have impressed me, I like the way he 
rhymes but he hasn’t been consistent. Apparently Beanie Sigel got signed to Roc-a-fella on the strength of a 1000 bar verse he did for Jay-Z, I never talk about other reviews but in a certain hip hop magazine this got compared to Cuban Linx… in one issue and got 4 and a half mics in another, that’s a little background info, so lets talk about the album…
Let me get this out before we continue, this album would have been a lot better if it didn’t come out on Roc-a-fella, why? Because it hass been compromised. That’s why. I’m sick of albums sticking to formulas and this does exactly the same as any other Roc-a-fella release, same producers and guests, I know you have to put your associates on but its getting a bit tired. The album opens with the very promising title track, the organ grinding bounces off Sigel’s vocals in harmony displaying a ruff and rugged intro to the proceedings. Now everyone probably expects me to have a go at Just Blaze (Swizz Beats wannabe) for lacing ‘Who want what’ but despite his lack of talent as a producer he does a good job here, its just Memphis Bleek who displays the rhyming tactics of a 5 year old. Sigels boss Jay-Z makes an appearance 3 times on this album, probably best on ‘Raw and uncut’ (Which suspiciously sounds like U-Gods ‘Bazzare’) because ‘Playa’ along with Amil is just a bad track to listen to, I don’t need music that induces sleep just yet. So Jay-Z also closes the album with the commercial ‘Anything’, which he left off the US pressing of his last album, hmmm I wonder why it was put on here then?
This album is very average but it does have its highlights, take the shaft like rumblings of the mixtape favorite ‘What a Thug about’ which we got to hear last year, its still sounds nice as fuck today. ‘Everybody wanna be a star’ would have been more credible without the cheesy hook but it still manages to be a good track on here. Other than that I’d say the best cut on here is ‘What your life like’ as Beanie Sigel breaks down a gritty scenario of jail life and its realness, the vocals are only made better by an orchestra driven backdrop that wouldn’t be out of place at the beginning of a George Lucas film.
Overall if you’re a Jay-Z or DMX maniac then you’ll like this album, its by no means a classic but if like me you’ve been impressed by his appearances on tracks like ‘Do it again’ and ‘Adrenaline’ then your probably in for a disappointment.
Beanie Sigel - The Truth review
