A Gangster And A Gentleman

This has got to be one of the best rap albums that I heard in 2002. To me personally this is a overall better album than Jada's although u only compare them because their from the same group. The beats and production on this album is somewhat moved away from what you may expect from the lox and what u hear on Jada's. With this album, Styles has managed to express a whole new side to him which was previously unseen with the lox. The title of the album is fitting as he shows his gangsta in 'y'all know we in here' and the MOP featured track 'y'all don't wanna f***' and his knowledge as a gentlemen in 'black magic' feat angie stone and 'listen' a track discussing social problems. All tracks on this album are above average but check out bumping tracks like 'good times', 'lick shots', 'soulclap' and 'we thugs(my n*****)' and for more deep and mellow tracks check out 'gangsta and a gentleman', 'nobody believes me', 'my brother' and 'my life' as well as 'black magic' and 'listen'.

I first came across Styles P in locked up by Akon. He did some great rapping but I never really thought anymore of him. I then heard him on We belong together with Jadakiss and Mariah Carey which was a great song. I was deciding to get either Jadas album or styles p I was going to get Jadas because it was cheaper and I heard him on New York with Ja rule and fat Joe. But Amazon was out so I got this. I'm happy I did as this is a great debut. There are some great song and some filler but at 24 songs what do you expect.

1. Intro. Skit
2. Good Times. A great opening for the album with an amazing sample. A great track just to play loud in your car etc 9.5/10
3. Y'all Know We In Here. A filler track nothing special just an average track 7/10
4. A Gangster and a Gentleman. The title track gives styles life story. Its high point is the chorus but the verses mean something which is good. Overall it's a great track. 9.5/10
5. Black Magic (Feat. Angie Stone). A great chilling track. Real laid back nice beat and nice verses with sweet background singing. 8.5/10
6. Daddy Get That Cash (Feat. Lil Mo). A great track, my fav on the album, such a great beat amazing rapping and singing.10/10
7. Lick Shots (Feat. Jadakiss, Sheek and J Hood). I thought it would be good as it has the whole d-block family but it feels uninspired and has a rubbish beat and average rapping. 6/10
8. And I Came To (Feat. Eve, Sheek). Great rapping about D-Block with a great verse from eve and Sheek also shows what he can do. Great beat by Swizz as well. 9.5/10
9. Get paid. A reggae style song about getting paid, the chorus is sung by kids similar to like toy soldiers by Eminem. Styles doesn't do it as well though. 7.5/10
10. Ass Bag. Skit
11. I'm A Ruff Ryder (feat. Jadakiss) very good beat with excellent rapping by both rappers. The song's all about being a Ruff Ryder. 8.5/10
12. Soul clap. It's very much a filler track but its still ok 7/10
13. We thugs (my n****s) (feat Jadakiss) great song with a nice beat. 8.5/10
14. Styles (feat Jadakiss) I get the feeling Styles relies too much on Jadakiss. Jada appears 4 times on this album which is a bit too much although I do like Jadakiss I bought this album for styles rapping. This is an alright song overall.7.5/10
15. Barbershop. Skit
16. Listen. Very laid back song with a nice beat. A great rap about problems styles has. 9/10
17.n****s flippin. Skit
18. Y'all Don't Wanna F**k (Feat. M.O.P.). A real hard gangsta rap with a great beat and M.O.P. who spit amazing verses. the thing about this feat is that D-block are more or less at war with G-unit who have now signed M.O.P. since M.O.P. are friends with D-block they probably won't diss them which is what the Game did and he was kicked out of G-unit. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. But this raps great. 10/10
19. S**t Done Changed. Skit
20. Nobody Believes Me (Feat. Sheek Cross and J Hood) I don't really understand what this is about (a knife?) it's a good song though. 8/10
21. Dedication skit
22. My Brother. An emotional track about the death of styles brother very good story telling and rapping throughout. 9.5/10
23. Outro. Skit. This skit is a nice ending to the album where styles show that he has int3eeligence and tells people to live good lives. This is the only skit that means anything.
24. The Life (Feat. Pharaoh Monch) [Bonus Track] a great bonus track with an amazing chorus and great rapping. A great high point to end the album on. 10/10

Overall this is a solid album with some great tracks. If you like what you hear go and look for these tracks, locked up by Akon feat styles P, We Belong Together by Mariah Carey (Remix Feat.Jadakiss and Styles P.) and I'm black single. Overall I think styles have a bright future. For his next album I want to see quality not quantity 24 track albums are too hard to pull off. If you like rap go and buy this album it's a worthy addition to your collection. D-blocks going to become big trust me.

Styles, 1/3 of the Lox is unquestionably one of the most violent rappers around. His whole style is about hardness and grime which he shows on this album but also shows another side which he has not shown since "we love big poppa". the album like jada's first solo effort starts of real strong with good times which is one of the best tracks on the album and features an interseting sample on the hook. Next is a swizz beatz track and obviouly swizz delivers well with a crazy beat which fits styles flow. gangster and a gentleman is a track which goes through styles life with a good beat. the next 2 tracks are average, lick shots featuring the rest of the lox is surprisingly weak, the beat is poor but all 3 rep with crazy lyrics. And i came to is one of the best tracks on the album, the beat is sick and sounds like a swizz beatz track. tracks 11 - 13 are all good typical lox tracks, 2 of which feature jadakiss. there is too many guest apperances on this album, its as if styles is relyin on jada too much when he could easily cope by himself. yall dont wanna fcuk feat MOP is one hot track, definately to be played loud!! nobody belives me, also a swizzy track features sheek and other members of the ruff ryder family. My brother, definately the best track on the album, styles tells about how his brother was killed, a very emotional track. life feat pharoahe monch is one of the tracks released and one of the best on the album. definately worth a purchase if you like the Lox and there distinctive flow.