More Than Music Mixtape (cln) (2005)

Product Summary UPC: 00099923584124 Release Date: 7/12/2005 Buy.com Sku: 63989497 Item#: M2ETXH Format:  CD Song Listing Disc 1 Song Title Sample 1. More Than Music - (with Duke "Da God"/Hell Rell/J.R. Writer) ~ Dipset 2. Dipset Symphony - (with Hell Rell/J.R. Writer/Juelz Santana/Jim Jones/40 Caliber/Un Kasa) ~ Dipset 3. Back In The Building - (with Hell Rell) ~ Dipset 4. Santana's Town Part II - (with Juelz Santana) ~ Dipset 5. What Is This - (with Jim Jones) ~ Dipset 6. Open Your Eyez - (with 40 Caliber) ~ Dipset 7. Somebody Gotta Die Tonight - (with Cam'Ron/Freekey Zekey) ~ Dipset 8. You Make Me Say - (with J.R. Writer) ~ Dipset 9. Sucker For Love Radio Interlude - (with Duke "Da God"/Ash) ~ Dipset 10. So What's It Gonna Be? - (with Juelz Santana/Fabolous) ~ Dipset 11. Best Out, The - (interlude, with J.R. Writer/Hell Rell/40 Caliber/Bezel) ~ Dipset 12. Bloodshed R.I.P. Freestyle - (with Cam'Ron/Bloodshed) ~ Dipset 13. No Days Off - (with Juelz Santana) ~ Dipset 14. 40th Boys - (freestyle, with 40 Caliber/A-mafia) ~ Dipset 15. Pit, The - (with J.R. Writer/Hell Rell/40 Caliber) ~ Dipset 16. Get Down - (with Cam'Ron/Juelz Santana) ~ Dipset 17. So Gangsta - (with Jha Jha/Un Kasa) ~ Dipset 18. What Kind Of Life Is This - (with Juelz Santana/Razah) ~ Dipset 19. If Only You Believe - (with J.R. Writer) ~ Dipset   Album Notes and Credits Notes & Personnel Info Dipset: 40 Cal., Jim Jones , Cam'ron, JR Writer, Hell Rell, Jha Jha, Juelz Santana. Personnel: Mister Cee (vocals). Additional personnel: Fabolous, Fabulous, Freekey Zekey. Audio Mixers: Eric "Ebo" Butler; Carlisle Young; Mike T. Recording information: Dark Dimension Studios, New York, NY; Dreamsound Studios, Harlem, New York, NY; Ray House; Santanas World, NJ; Sony Studios, New York, NY; The Honor Room, New York, NY. Photographers: Oluwaseye Olusa; Ted D'Ottavio; Ted Ottaviano. More Than Music, Vol. 1 is a glorified mixtape with little appeal beyond the Diplomats' devout following -- a following that helped carry the release into the Billboard album chart, despite being released on a label referred to by 50 Cent as an "artists' graveyard." Not bad for a slipshod release. Containing just enough roles from the big guns -- Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, Jim Jones -- to keep ears perked, More Than Music is more a way to showcase the crew's second stringers and up-and-comers. This lacks the playful spirit of several Dipset mixtapes released during the past couple years (a widely distributed Koch release can't play as fast and loose with the samples and outright beat swiping that makes the relatively "underground" Dipset mixes such a treat). View this as the Diplomats in spring training -- there's too much room allowed for untested newcomers, most of which have yet to establish their own identities. ~ Andy Kellman In his introduction to DIPSET: MORE THAN MUSIC, Diplomat Records VP Duke Da God offers up his own unique reinterpretation of the famous Malcolm X line, declaring "we didn't land on (Plymouth) Rock, we moved the rock." It's as good a summation as any for the Diplomats' raucous, uncompromising style, on display in full effect on this supremely potent mixtape-style release. Every member of the Harlem crew shows up on DIPSET: MORE THAN MUSIC, from founder Cam'Ron to eccentric Jim Jones to newcomer Jha Jha, the group's first female rapper. As usual with this crowd, the hooks are non-stop, from the gratifying loop of Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle" on "Dipset Symphony" to the distorted lushness of a child's choir singing Jefferson Starship on "If Only You Believe." The former, which features most of the Diplomats chiming in, reaffirms the band's abiding love for hip-hop history, effortlessly weaving in knowing references to everyone from A Tribe Called Quest to Eric B. & Rakim. Every member of the Diplomats flows, and they play off each other with ease; it's hard to imagine them having more fun than they do on DIPSET: MORE THAN MUSIC. More Than Music, Vol. 1 is a glorified mixtape with little appeal beyond the Diplomats' devout following -- a following that helped carry the release into the Billboard album chart, despite being released on a label referred to by 50 Cent as an "artists' graveyard." Not bad for a slipshod release. Containing just enough roles from the big guns -- Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, Jim Jones -- to keep ears perked, More Than Music is more a way to showcase the crew's second stringers and up-and-comers. This lacks the playful spirit of several Dipset mixtapes released during the past couple years (a widely distributed Koch release can't play as fast and loose with the samples and outright beat swiping that makes the relatively "underground" Dipset mixes such a treat). View this as the Diplomats in spring training -- there's too much room allowed for untested newcomers, most of which have yet to establish their own identities. [A clean version of the disc was also released.] ~ Andy Kellman Producer: Duke "Da God"; Dame Grease; Skitzo; J.Armz; Knoxbonikz; Nomadic; Zurc And The Mayor; Doe Boyz For Big Biz; Scram Jones; Wreck; Duke "Da God"; Dame Grease; The Heatmakerz; Nomadic Engineer: Duke "Da God"; Carlisle Young; Rayrock; Vernil "Trini" Rogers; Mike Peters; Mike T Musical Guests Fabolous Freekey Zekey   Compilation Appearances Def Jamaica (Explicit Version) Silverback Gorilla(Explicit Version)   Associated Artists and Works The Eye of the Eagle ~ Various Artists Various Artists   Technical Info Release Date : 07/12/2005 Original Release Date : 2005 Catalog ID : 5841 Label : Diplomat/Koch Number of Discs : 1 Studio/Live : Studio Mono/Stereo : Stereo SPAR Code : n/a UPC : 00099923583523   Professional Reviews The Wire (p.71) - "The thing about Harlem's Diplomats is that they always manage to pull off things that, on paper, seem kind of absurd."