213:
Hardway

Release Date: 16 August 2004

Reviewed By: Usman Sajjad

1. Intro

2. Twist Yo Body

3. Absolutely

4. Keep It Gangsta

5. Run On Up

6. Groupie Luv

7. Lonely Girl

8. Another Summer

9. 213 The Gangsta Clicc

10. Gotta Find A Way

11. Ups & Downs

12. Joy Sticc

13. Rick James (interlude)

14. Mary Jane

15. MLK

16. Lil Girl

17. My Dirty Ho

18. Appreciation

19. So Fly

Lloyd Banks - Hunger For More
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212 is the area code to New York, home to legends such as Jay-Z and Nas. 404 is the three digit area code to the ‘Dirty South’ city of Atlanta, in which artists such as Usher and Ludacris blossom from. Then there’s the sunny state of California, with 213 being the area code of Long Beach, home to Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and Warren G, collectively known as 213. They were all together through their Deathrow days and even before, the trio were united when shopping for a deal.

However, with mainstream success coming largely for the likes of Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg, and the lacklustre sales of Warren G’s last album, there has been no real re-union. Now, out on TVT Records, ‘The Hard Way’ is an LP aiming to create the sound that the trio had in their early days. To help them do this, production comes from the likes of the man of the moment Kanye West (Jay-Z ‘Encore’), Hi-Tek (Lloyd Banks ‘I Get High’) and the lady behind Aaliyah’s hits, Missy Elliot.

Ironically, the title ‘The Hard Way’ is the opposite to what is displayed on the relaxed LP. The lyrics on the album are all about women, with absolutely no sign of the usual portrayal of hood life or gun busting. 213 really set the album off with their club friendly mood on ‘Twist Ya Body’, a great opening track.

The Deathrow days are visited on ‘Keep It Gangsta’, where 213 provide a sound similar to their early ’90s exciting original G-funk sound, taking you back to the days when Snoop Dogg’s ‘Gin & Juice’ would pump out of the systems of West Coast low-riders.

The album shines mostly on the soft, mellow cuts, and surprisingly, those are the only ones which see Nate display his one-of-a-kind croon on records such as the excellent ‘Lonely Girl’. This track sees both Snoop and Warren G spit their 16 bars or so, leaving the hook to be killed by Nate over light piano chords.

Other memorable cuts come on the upbeat jazz-filled ‘Gotta Find A Way’ and the Missy Elliot produced ‘I’m So fly’, which again sees Nate shine all over the record with his catchy vocals. This combination makes it seem like the sample used from Monica’s ‘I’m Gone’ sounds better for the West Coast trio.

However, from there the album fails to stay consistent, with the generally unconvincing ‘Another Summer’. Kanye’s production doesn’t seem to lift the record in any way, and no amount of Kanye magic could turn this from dull record to a hot one. The club mood re-appears with a vengeance on ‘Joystic’ and ‘213 Tha Gangsta Clic’, with the heavy synths over these tracks giving the record an awry look.

‘The Hard Way’ was an album to give West Coast fans that feel of three of their long time artists, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and Warren G, all in their clique 213. Even though the trio were known for elevating the ‘Gangsta rap’ out of the West Coast, ten years on, all three look a million miles away from possessing the same persona and lyrical ability they once had. Even though Nate is the star of an otherwise adequate album, he fails to dominate on all the hooks. The problem with Snoop is that there is heavy reliance on only his laid back approach improving the record, even though it adds nothing to the record at certain points. The biggest disappointment of all though, is Warren G’s lack of ability throughout the album. There was once time where he rocked the mic on ‘Regulate’ with his cool and funky flow, but all seems jaded for 213 in 2004.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Top 3 Tracks

19. I’m So fly
7. Lonely Girl
4. Keep It Gangsta

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