Big Steele:
Size Duz Matter

Release Date: 10 October 2005

Reviewed By: Arif Amin

1.Size Duz Matter

2.In and Out

3. Da Bump

4. Tha Hood feat Swiss 

5. Knock Knock feat Don Jaguar

6. Thicky-Thick feat Uncle Luke

7. Moving On feat Big Syke

8. Switch Blade

9. Talk Dirty feat Diamonique

10. Freeze feat Chino Brown 

11. VIP Room

12. Money feat RBX

13. Homeboy Sista feat Romeo

14. Real Women

15. Bubble Bounce feat Hi-C

16. Ha-Ha

17. Deez Days

18. Whuz Up

19. Whatcha Go do

20. Lay Da Smackdown

21. Outro

The Game - The Documentary
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As soon as you put ‘Size Duz Matter’ into your tape deck, the 6ft 4’’ steel framed Long Beach California rapper hits you with the joint ‘In and Out’, which itself personifies his looks: big and powerful. Bigg Steele shows he means business even on his debut…

Similar to The Game, Bigg Steele is a former American football player, but at 33, Steele is now representing Long Beach, with credit to Hi-C and DJ Quik, who initiated him after he was found rhyming outside a barbershop, just like Shyne. 

For those who have not sampled Steele’s flavour, it has a fast tempo production which combines UK and US style, with light lyrical content, balanced out by his heavy nasal flow before it’s unleashed through his mouth, leaving an original LP.

It only takes until the fourth track for the Cali artist to reach out to his British audience by throwing UK artist Swiss on to accompany him on ‘Tha Hood’, where he represents his ghetto America home of ‘liquor stores, funeral parlours and storefront preachers’.

This album is packed with club vibes, such as ‘Thicky Thick’, which has been described as a ‘lightning quick, electronic-driven track’ - definitely one for the ladies to dance to, enhanced with Missy Elliot-like vocals from H. Michelle.

‘Movin’ On’ is probably the most important track on ‘Size Duz Matter’; it’s this soon-to-be-classic that got Bigg his deal after continuous play on Los Angeles radio stations. This track has California written all over it, and is backed up by the one and only Big Syke, the one who took 2Pac’s ‘Bury Me A G’ to a new dimension after dropping a heavy verse.

Over the last decade, the Reggaeton scene has exploded, and Steele has taken note of this, adding a Reggaeton element to ‘Freeze’, which he adjusts to his vocal style. On the track, he rhymes about sexing females on the dance floor, which is sure to have the same consequential effect when played in clubs.

On the dedicated track ‘Money’, we see RBX throwing his experiences in with the mighty dollar. RBX featured on the multi-platinum ‘Marshall Mathers LP’ and on this track we see why, as well as on ‘Deez Dayz’ later on in the LP.

‘Real Woman’ is Steele at his best, with good production as standard, and Bigg raps from his heart in a track dedicated to his wife, detailing her perfect ways, with the track laid down to perfection itself. His appreciation for women continues with ‘Bubble Bounce’, a West Coast synth-influenced joint featuring Hi-C, which shows Steele’s smart and quick ability to flow.

As well as the work done by Steele, this album would not have taken off without the hottest production since Dre produced ‘The Documentary’. Polar Bear has rightly been recognised all over this debut by Steele, if the Swedish equivalent to the Grammy he received not too long ago is not enough. Even when lyrically a track fails to produce, the Swedish producer will, creating consistently electrical vibes.

Overall, Steele has cemented a good podium to build on. Combining variety and consistency, it’s clear that the Cali rapper is here for the love and enjoyment of rapping, not the profit, which has hazed the visions of most cats nowadays. However, Steele needs to revise Hova’s catalogues and add depth and substance to his lyrics to create a masterpiece. Feel Steele, soon he’s going to be signing big deals with more time and stronger collaborations…

Rating: 3 out of 5

Top 3 Tracks:

Real Woman                 

In and Out

VIP Room

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