Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel includes: Scarface, Z-RO, Dirt Bomb, Bun B, Devin The Dude, Tela, Aries, Tanya Herron, Lil' Papa Roach. | | Producers include: N.O. Joe, Mike Dean, T-Mix, Ensayne Wayne. | | Recorded at Dean's List House Of Hits and Hippie House Studios, Houston, Texas; Enterprise Studios, Burbank, California; Larabee Sounds, N. Hollywood, California. | | Personnel includes: Scarface, Z-RO, Dirt Bomb, Bun B, Devin The Dude, Tela, Aries, Tanya Herron, Lil' Papa Roach. | | Producers include: N.O. Joe, Mike Dean, T-Mix, Ensayne Wayne. | | Audio Mixers: Mike Dean ; Bob Brown. | | Recording information: Dean's List House Of Hits, Houston, TX; Enterprise studios, Burbank, CA; Hippie House Studios, Houston, TX; Larrabee Sounds, N. Hollywood, CA. | | Though nothing on the packaging states so, Balls and My Word is Rap-a-Lot's attempt to spruce up a bunch of Scarface outtakes and make them seem like a new studio album by a departed and increasingly popular legend. Circa 2003, the year Rap-a-Lot released Balls and My Word, the Texas indie label was in dire straits. The rise of myriad indie rap labels during the early 2000s took away a big chunk of the Dirty South market that Rap-a-Lot once dominated; furthermore, the departure of the label's marquee artist, Scarface, for the greener pastures of industry heavyweight Def Jam certainly didn't help. Desperate times breed desperate measures, so Rap-a-Lot definitely goes for broke here on Balls and My Word, taunting 50 Cent, who was presently the industry's hottest rapper, on "Bitch Nigga." It's a baiting track, for sure -- one that absolutely begs for a response, one that would garner ridiculous media attention and, in turn, some much-needed publicity for Rap-a-Lot. The catch, of course, is that it's not Scarface who does the baiting; rather, it's Rap-a-Lot figurehead J Prince and his latest signee, Z-Ro, who hijack a dusty verse of 'Face's about snitches and misplace it into a new context. (Scarface has no beef whatsoever with 50 and, in fact, even went so far as to affirm this in the media.) This publicity ploy is downright crass, but if you can look past all this, Balls and My Word does contain some quality performances by Scarface and his longtime producer, Mike Dean, as well as a production by Murder Inc.'s in-house mastermind, 7 Aurelius ("Spend the Night"). ~ Jason Birchmeier | | Though nothing on the packaging states so, Balls and My Word is Rap-a-Lot's attempt to spruce up a bunch of Scarface outtakes and make them seem like a new studio album by a departed and increasingly popular legend. Circa 2003, the year Rap-a-Lot released Balls and My Word, the Texas indie label was in dire straits. The rise of myriad indie rap labels during the early 2000s took away a big chunk of the Dirty South market that Rap-a-Lot once dominated; furthermore, the departure of the label's marquee artist, Scarface, for the greener pastures of industry heavyweight Def Jam certainly didn't help. Desperate times breed desperate measures, so Rap-a-Lot definitely goes for broke here on Balls and My Word, taunting 50 Cent, who was presently the industry's hottest rapper, on "Bitch Nigga." It's a baiting track, for sure -- one that absolutely begs for a response, one that would garner ridiculous media attention and, in turn, some much-needed publicity for Rap-a-Lot. The catch, of course, is that it's not Scarface who does the baiting; rather, it's Rap-a-Lot figurehead J Prince and his latest signee, Z-Ro, who hijack a dusty verse of 'Face's about snitches and misplace it into a new context. (Scarface has no beef whatsoever with 50 and, in fact, even went so far as to affirm this in the media.) This publicity ploy is downright crass and taints the entirety of Balls and My Word, a misleadingly packaged and marketed album that already reeks of exploitation. If you can look past all this, Balls and My Word does contain some quality performances by Scarface and his longtime producer, Mike Dean, as well as a production by Murder Inc.'s in-house mastermind, 7 Aurelius ("Spend the Night"). Even so, unless you're a huge fan (i.e., a completist), there's no need to spend your hard-earned cash on this collection of polished-up leftovers. There are just way too many other great, not to mention earnest, Scarface albums out there. ~ Jason Birchmeier | | Even the most casual of rap fans will likely remember Scarface as one third of the Geto Boys, the Houston act who stirred up national controversy with the dark, graphic classic WE CAN'T BE STOPPED. However, the scope of his influence can easily be underestimated; more than just a part of a scene, he made a mark on wave after wave of Southern-fried platinum-selling movements from the No Limit Posse to the Screwed Up Klick (he even brought Ludacris to Def Jam). And that doesn't even touch on his prolific, respected career as a solo artist. | | With BALLS AND MY WORLD, Scarface offers his trademark deliberate bass-heavy sound and uncompromising, scathing, raw lyrics. He has always been about as subtle as an anvil, and he outdoes himself on "Bitch Nigga," a thinly-veiled attack on 50 Cent that goes so far as to simulate the omnipresent beat of the Queens rapper's No. 1 crossover pop hit "In Da Club." Scarace somehow manages to put a new spin on the topic of money-seeking women on "Only Your Mother." However, the most remarkable track here is "Make Your Peace" which conjures up the creepiest, most alluring elements of the Geto Boys with its odd juxtaposition of positive message and spirituality with a spooky, other-side-of-the-grave delivery. | | Though nothing on the packaging states so, Balls and My Word is Rap-a-Lot's attempt to spruce up a bunch of Scarface outtakes and make them seem like a new studio album by a departed and increasingly popular legend. Circa 2003, the year Rap-a-Lot released Balls and My Word, the Texas indie label was in dire straits. The rise of myriad indie rap labels during the early 2000s took away a big chunk of the Dirty South market that Rap-a-Lot once dominated; furthermore, the departure of the label's marquee artist, Scarface, for the greener pastures of industry heavyweight Def Jam certainly didn't help. Desperate times breed desperate measures, so Rap-a-Lot definitely goes for broke here on Balls and My Word, taunting 50 Cent, who was presently the industry's hottest rapper, on "Bitch Nigga." It's a baiting track, for sure -- one that absolutely begs for a response, one that would garner ridiculous media attention and, in turn, some much-needed publicity for Rap-a-Lot. The catch, of course, is that it's not Scarface who does the baiting; rather, it's Rap-a-Lot figurehead J Prince and his latest signee, Z-Ro, who hijack a dusty verse of 'Face's about snitches and misplace it into a new context. (Scarface has no beef whatsoever with 50 and, in fact, even went so far as to affirm this in the media.) This publicity ploy is downright crass, but if you can look past all this, Balls and My Word does contain some quality performances by Scarface and his longtime producer, Mike Dean, as well as a production by Murder Inc.'s in-house mastermind, 7 Aurelius ("Spend the Night"). [The clean version edits moments of profanity.] ~ Jason Birchmeier | | Though nothing on the packaging states so, Balls and My Word is Rap-a-Lot's attempt to spruce up a bunch of Scarface outtakes and make them seem like a new studio album by a departed and increasingly popular legend. Circa 2003, the year Rap-a-Lot released Balls and My Word, the Texas indie label was in dire straits. The rise of myriad indie rap labels during the early '00s took away a big chunk of the Dirty South market that Rap-a-Lot once dominated; furthermore, the departure of the label's marquee artist, Scarface, for the greener pastures of industry heavyweight Def Jam certainly didn't help. Desperate times breed desperate measures, so Rap-a-Lot definitely goes for broke here on Balls and My Word, taunting 50 Cent, who was presently the industry's hottest rapper, on "Bitch Nigga." It's a |
Musical Guests | | Z-Ro | | Aries | | Bun B | | Dirt Bomb | | Devin | | Tanya Herron | | Tela | | Lil' Papa Roach |
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