Beanie Sigel :
The B Coming

Release Date: 28 March 2005

Reviewed By: Usman Sajjad

1. Feel It In The Air - ft, Melissa

2. I Can't Go On This Way - ft, Freeway, Young Chris

3. One Shot Deal - ft, Redman

4. Gotta Have It - ft, Peedi Peedi, Twista

5. Don't Stop - ft, Snoop Dogg

6. Purple Rain - ft, Bun B

7. Oh Daddy - ft, Young Chris

8. Change - ft, Rell, Melissa Jay

9. Bread and Butter - ft, Grand Puba, Sadat X

10. Lord Have Mercy

11. Flatline - ft, Peedi Peedi

12. Tales of A Hustler PT2 - ft, Oschino, Sparks

13. Look At Me Now

14. It's On - ft, Jay Z

15. Wanted - ft, Cam'ron

16. Feel It In The Air clips (Promo video and DVD outakes)

Coach Carter - Soundtrack
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They say three times lucky is a charm. Well, in that case, ‘The B Coming’ should translate into multi-platinum success and critical acclaim for the Philly rap superstar Beanie Sigel. This is following a superb breakthrough debut ‘The Truth’ in 2000, followed by the somewhat of a sophomore jinx, ‘The Reason’, in 2002.

Three years on, the label behind the ‘lyrical marvel’, Roc-A-Fella, has experienced turns in different directions, such as a rumoured parting of ways between Jay-Z and Damon Dash, after Jigga became the President of Def Jam, and the departure of many young artists. Of course, this is not omitting Sigel’s current legal situation. With Sigel currently serving time behind bars, the rapper recorded five videos in almost five days. With months of hype surrounding the album, the third LP provides appearances from the likes of Twista, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Cam’ron, Rell, Grand Puba and other members of State Property. The production credits are nothing to mess with either; behind the boards, assists from the likes of The Neptunes, Just Blaze, D-Dot, Buckwild and Chad Hamilton (Twista - ‘Sunshine’), sharpen up the record.

The album begins with ‘Feel It In The Air’, a track which sees Beans speak in a paranoid manner, opening the track by exclaiming his “spider senses are tingling” and “having his radars up”. Over the soulful sounds and blaring horns of hip hop legend Heavy D, lyrics such as “I hear this voice in the back of my mind saying ‘Mac tighten up your circle, before they hurt you’/Read their body language/ 85%, non verbal /85% swear they know you”, shows Sigel’s journals and thoughts of his younger years of street life. A similar approach is taken by Sigel on ‘Wanted (On The Run)’, in which we see Beans discussing getting away from the police. Over tight drumbeats, and an impressive Cam’ron verse, the track samples the vocals of Jon Bon Jovi on ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’.

The signature sounds of The Neptunes and some assistance from the big Snoopy D-O-double-G on ‘Don’t Stop’, sees Sigel confidently brush the track off with flamboyant lyrics: “Sicker than your average/Money too long, they can’t stash it/In a closet or a mattress/Paper stretch like elastic.” On the mellow sounds of ‘Purple Rain’, the incarcerated Sigel draws a wise influence from the publicised ‘drink of Houston’, ‘Sizzurp’, with Beans rapping about Philly’s own version with Southern rapper Bun B. ‘Bread and Butter’ sees Beanie lyrically frustrated over the dirt his girl put him through, alongside Sadat X and the old school Grand Puba, over the classical strings and retro sounds of Just Blaze.

On ‘Lord Have Mercy’, in which the dark mood is in the air, Sigel opens up to the higher power as he gets introspective with what he has done. The hard life of the hood, drug dealing and a relationship is wisely plotted on ‘Changes’, in which the soulful, soothing sounds are created from the help of Rell on a calm hook. Other tracks such as ‘Gotta Have it’ featuring the fire flow of Twista and the energetic Peedi Crack create the club-friendly record, whilst D-Dot’s production on ‘It’s On’ prove why his sounds steered Bad Boy to success, but this time creating light keys and strings for Beanie to lace, complete with a fresh verse from Hov.

The main setback to an impressive third album is that a majority of tracks feature guest appearances, and we only hear two records or so with only Beanie on the record. The album sets the tone for what hip hop missed since the last time Sigel dropped an album: high calibre, deep lyrics. The album is consistent throughout the whole hour of playing time. In jail or free - he still and always will spit the truth and that’s something ‘The B Coming’ demonstrated.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Top 3 Tracks

8) Change (feat. Melissa Jay and Rell)
1) Feel it in the Air (feat. Melissa)
5) Don’t Stop (feat. Snoop Dogg)

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