hiphoplives

Buck Marley. Being a weed head, you’d think it would be easy to co-sign on Young Buck. But it took me a long time to finally give the dude a shot. And I admit, my reasons were never very good. I never hated on him or had any reason not to like him, he was just one of those people I never listened to. In fact, besides Geto Boys, Ludacris, Outkast, Goodie, and the occasional Trick Daddy or Mystical, I didn’t really check for the South in general. But Buck was one of those artists I had underestimated.

For one thing, Young Buck doesn’t just write verses, he writes complete songs. And even better, he doesn’t just write songs, he creates complete projects. His two solo albums released under G-Unit are both albums that contain a real nice balance in their themes and sound. They are quality records. If you want to hear what he sounded like before he got hooked up with the G-Unit bunch, he’s also got an indie album called T.I.P. that was recorded after he left Cash Money but before he signed with 50. While the indie stuff isn’t as polished obviously, it still shows how he has progressed as an artist, and displays his ability to tap into real emotion, rather than a caricature or dramatic posturing that is displayed to synthesize emotion. He is real, and his passion can really be felt in his music.

On top of that, particularly his second record Buck The World has some tremendous production from some of the most talented sound creators in the industry right now, including yesterday’s producer profile artist Che Vicious, Dr. Dre, Mark Batson, Jake One, Justice League, Hi-Tek, DJ Toomp, Jazze Pha, Polow Da Don, and even a track from Eminem.

His subject matter isn’t always something I ride with, but that’s what makes it a guilty pleasure. But with Buck I don’t focus on the lyrics, I just listen to the flow and the feel and let it ride. And when I’m on the train listening to my headphones and I know my daughter won’t overhear, I must admit, Young Buck provides quite a nice listen. If you need further evidence, I’ll post a couple joints for your review, and you can see for yourself. I will warn you though, they are the explicit versions, and the second song does feature 50, but I still think it’ll give ya a feel.