I’ll be honest right off the bat, picking which one of Big Pooh’s Delightful Bars to review was extremely difficult. I simply can’t wrap my head around the promotion of this “street LP” that Pooh states is the perfect bridge between his debut, Sleepers and his upcoming solo sophomore album, Dirty Pretty Things. So this isn’t an album? I’m confused as to what it is, let alone what I’m reviewing, because the press package of the album had the tracks out of order and the name titles messed up. There, there’s my rant. Here’s a short review of this “street LP.”
This isn’t getting my traditional treatment of a review because we here are strongly against reviewing mixtapes, but, I’m still not sure what this is. There are plenty of features on it, ranging from the usual Justus League suspects (minus Phonte) to a plethora of producers like (Khrysis, Illmind, Jake One, and 9th Wonder). However, the blend is kind of a stinker.
Pooh’s ear for beats is normally his strongest asset as a soloist, but here it falters, as he’s seemingly given C grade beats from producers more than capable of consistent heat rocks. “Something Like Stars” produced by Jake One stands out as the best song to describe a majority of the album: watered down subject matter, lackluster production, and, to put it bluntly, shitty everything-else. If that track doesn’t prove the point, maybe the ultra boring produced and delivered “Roll Call” will. The features over-saturate perfectly capable emcees, including Pooh, all throughout the album. Looking back at Jada’s latest and Luda’s latest, it’s evident that the more features you have, the more the album will suffer.
Fortunately, there are a few tracks worthy of a listen. “The Comeback” shows potential of what Dirty Pretty Things really should be; Pooh over a banging Khrysis beat (but oh, what a terrible chorus). “It’s a Go,” which features Torae, is another joint that sticks out of the crop, but I can’t help but feel on any Little Brother album, or even on Sleepers, this is an easy skip. “C.O.D” has a pretty catchy beat provided by Mickey Free, and no, it’s not the Shalamar Micki Free, but it is a dope beat that Pooh rides well enough to maintain a listener’s attention for 4 minutes.
“Rearview Mirror” has Pooh re-linking with 9th, and the outcome is harmonious and beautiful. Really and truly, this is what Pooh can do. The most frustrating part of Delightful Bars is the fact that it has no direction and truly shows mixtape potential because the songs hardly link in theme or sound. There is gold in Pooh (ha), no doubt, but this certainly wastes 3 great tracks and essentially gives more ammunition to the Pooh naysayers. There’s no doubt in my mind that Dirty Pretty Things has tremendous potential, but after listening to this, one has to wonder if the polishing of the final product will be a lot more thorough and a less watered down than this project.
62/100
Standout Tracks:
“Rearview Mirror”
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“The Comeback”
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“The Life”
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
havent really felt this album, but i havent really given it a chance…
i don’t like Pooh’s direction without Tay – but wont give up on him
still a fan, still an LB stan
I absolutely LOVED Sleepers, but this project seemed disorganized. As much as I was hyped about this one, I was extremely let down.
never liked big pooh to be honest. And this album didn’t made me change my mind
I must be in the minority with this album…..I like it. My only problem with it is all of the guest, but I guess that’s the point with what type of album this is. This is a lot better than a 62, but thats just my opinion. I’ll enjoy it all too myself.
lol for real thomas?
I thought this album was, for the most part, trash
and when I say “Album” I mean mixtape that’s an album impostor
For Real!
I didn’t hear the album/Mixtape. Out of the 3 songs posted, I like “the life”. I respect the fact that he sounds like he’s keeping it real with his life story. My mind wandered off while listening to “rearview mirror” and “the comeback”.
I always pick up everything coming out of the Hall of Justus, and this was no exception – I like Pooh in LB, but as a solo artist I feel like the music is so different from the LB tracks. Phonte does his own thing and still keeps it soulful, Pooh gets off on some typical Hip Hop shit, and I don’t generally play through it as often. You would have to hear the album (iTunes Mixtape) to understand, there is some greatness here – as the reviewer said, but don’t expect LB Gold anywhere. Also; if you don’t feel like stealing this online (please don’t!) but you want a sample, check out “Rappers Delight” the mixtape by Pooh. It came out a few months ago and is basically the same recipe as this one. You’ll see what I mean. At the end of the day; all you can do is Support Real Hip Hop!
This album has grown on my more than my initial listen. Haven’t figured out what tracks I would take from the iTunes version and the North American Pie version. “Reality Check” on NMP version is fire. The last dude on the track kills it.
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/features/id.1347/title.rapper-big-pooh-give-and-go
Good interview with pooh.
ya I saw that Thomas. I like how he said he doesn’t mind playing that part, and essentially, only HE can play that part of number “2″ to Phonte or 9th. Which is true, because not every personality is able to work with someone and it takes an even bigger person to realize when they need to back out and let others handle. Well on ya Pooh… just didn’t like this album
By the way, the homie Mickey Free sent in an email requesting to connect with the site and such. Dude provided a dope beat on here, watch out for him
We already connected with Mikey….waitin on a couple pics from him.
I’m a Pooh supporter, but this one ain’t quite my cup of tea. I must say though, Sleepers is a tough act to follow.
…The Life is ILL though.