Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel includes: E-40, The Click, Celly Cel, B-Legit, B.G., Juvenile, Lil' | | Wayne, A-1, D-Shot, The Mossie, Suga T, Too Short, Baby, Sauce Money, Jayo Felony, C-Bo, Shug, B-Legit, Levitti, Kavio, Trayce, Mr. Kain, Omeezy, (vocals); Bosko (various instruments, programming, scratches, talk box); Ant Banks (various instruments, programming); D-Wiz (guitar); Nutt, Warren Mceanna (bachground vocals). | | Producers: Ant Banks, Rick Rock, Bosko. | | Principally recorded at the Cosmic Slop Shop, Sacramento, California and Chicken & Beats Studios, Los Angeles, California. | | With the 1999 release of his fifth solo effort, E-40 commemorated ten years in the rap music business. Undoubtedly more than a flash in the pan, E-40's staying power as one of the tried and true superstars in the rap game is validated by the workmanship in Charlie Hustle: The Blueprint of a Self-Made Millionaire, a display of guttural growls and speed-rap techniques that takes listeners along a journey through the harsh realities of surviving in inner-city ghettos. This 17-track recording artfully delivers funky backbeats, melodic hooks, and a flurry of synthesizer-enhanced rhythms to complement the unique stutter-stop patois of E-40's flowing rap lyrics. This is best evidenced on "Big Ballin' with My Homies" and "Rules and Regulations," where the masterful MC adopts various styles of cadence and vocal texture to hype the overall effect. Fellow West Coast rappers C-Bo, Yukmouth, Fat Joe, and Jayo Felony guest star on what amounts to a semi-autobiographical accounting of E-40's own ascent from the ghetto to the California suburbs. All in all, this is a furious and energetic release of truths, guts, and the triumph of the American Dream. ~ Roxanne Blanford | | Though West Coast wordsmith E-40 has been working his particular brand of Too Short-influenced hip-hop for more than a decade, BLUEPRINT OF A SELF-MADE MILLIONAIRE makes clear that his formula hasn't lost any of its luster. Most impressive here are the arrangements--busy, jazzy soundscapes, rife with quick snippets of vocal overdub that add subtle shades of meaning to the rotund MC's street-influenced narratives. | | On "Ballahollic, he brings a welcome sense of levity to his lyrical tough-guy posturing ("If you see me in a fight with a bear / Don't help me, help the bear!). While "Get Branded" may remind listeners of DOGGYSTYLE-era beat backdrops, the song is marked by psychedelic Rick James-like incantations. "Look at Me" bears the closest resemblance to the West Coast playa style, with its dry and trebly drum-machine beats, vocoder flourishes, and pitch-bending keyboards. Fans of self-aggrandizing West Coast hip-hop at its most hyperbolic won't want to miss BLUEPRINT OF A SELF-MADE MILLIONAIRE. |
Engineer: D-Whiz; Bosko |
Musical Guests | | The Click | | Lil Wayne | | Celly Cel | | Fat Joe | | B-Legit | | Juvenile | | B.G. | | Jayo Felony | | C-Bo | | Sauce Money | | Baby | | Otis | | Shug | | Too Short | | Levitti | | Suga-T | | D-Shot | | The Mossie | | A-1 |
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