Swizz Beats:
G.H.E.T.T.O Stories

Release Date: 10 Dec 2002

Reviewed By: Usman Sajjad

1. The Start (interlude)

Ghetto Storie

3. Big Business - feat Jadakiss, Ron Isley

4. Turn It Up Interlude

5. Endalay - feat, Busta Rhymes

6. Shyne - feat, Shyne, Mashonda

7. Ghetto Love - feat, Mashonda, LL Cool J

8. Alien Interlude

9. Good Times - feat Styles

10. Gone Delirious - feat, Lil Kim

11. N.O.R.E - feat Noreaga

12. Let Me See Ya Do Your Thing - feat, Baby, Yung Wun

13. Island Spice - feat, Eve

14. Guilty - feat, Bounty Killa

15. Salute Me - feat, Nas, Fat Joe Cassidy

16. We Did It Again - feat, Metallica, Ja Rule

17. Bigger Business - feat, Ron Isley, P Diddy, Baby, Jadakiss, Snoop, Cassidy, TQ

Jadakiss - Kiss Of Death
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Swizz Beats has been the production force behind many artists, including Eve, DMX, Jay-Z, Ja Rule and the whole Ruff Ryders family. He is also still bumping his beats for his new act Cassidy and Ruff Ryder artist Drag-On. But when I heard that the man actually rhymes on the album, I was like, ‘Say what?!’ Could this be another production/rap effort? With a list of guest appearances as long as my arm, Swizz has made a good attempt at bringing together the best of the best to collaborate with him on his album.

The lead single was the reggae/dancehall inspired ‘Guilty’ featuring Bounty Killer, famous for his appearance on No Doubt’s ‘Hey Baby’. Like on numerous other tracks, Swizz spits some rhymes, but none of his lyrics stand out and really grab my attention. Swizz ensures there is something unique and different to listen to on records such as ‘Big Business’ featuring fellow Ruff Ryders cohort Jadakiss and the smooth vocals of Ron Isley. The beat on this joint varies throughout the song, making a cool backdrop for Ron's crooning and Jada's ever-present street flow.

Swizz ensures that there is a balance of styles on the album, and brings in Bad Boy’s Shyne to rhyme on his self-titled track. He features alongside Mashonda, Swizz’s wife and Full Surface artist. Shyne’s infectious gangster-filled flow together with his deep voice makes him sound similar to the late Biggie Smalls, and gives way for Mashonda to sing the catchy hook to the record.

Mashonda can also be found on ‘Ghetto Love’, a cut with LL Cool J, on which Mashonda displays her impressive vocal abilities, showing much similarity between herself and Ashanti. Other tracks come in the form of the hard hitting ‘Salute Me’, with an impressive roster of Fat Joe, Nas and Cassidy. The track is a remix of the original, which appears on Nas’ critically acclaimed album ‘Stillmatic’. Another hot track is ‘Endalay’ featuring Busta Rhymes, with Swizz throwing occasional raps here and there.

However, after a run of unique and innovative beats, Swizz runs out of steam on ‘Good Times’ featuring Styles P. Don’t get me wrong, I like the song, especially the chorus, but this is the sort of beat Cam’ron and The Diplomats are suited to use and sound best on. Even so, Swizz reaches out to all sides of hip hop, including the Southern flavour of Baby aka ‘Birdman’, and the West Coast expertise of Snoop on the bonus record, ‘Bigger Business’. This track was the second release from the album, and features a whole list of artists, such as P. Diddy, Jadakiss, Ron Isley, TQ and Cassidy. The album is wrapped up with Swizz Beats using his exceptional production skills to fuse the sounds of Ja Rule and Metallica (yes, Metallica) together on 'We Did It Again'.

Although this album is quite different from the norm, ‘G.H.E.T.T.O Stories’ is definitely a good effort and Swizz deserves recognition for being able to recruit this amount of talented artists on one album. There are mixtures of head bouncers to laid back chillers, but most importantly, each track possesses a different vibe as the set progresses. This is an album worthy of buying if you are willing to hear some decent talent on a variety of different styled beats.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Top 3 tracks
6. Shyne
17. Bigger Business
15. Salute me

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