Amazon.co.uk Review
What the world needs now is
The Fix--a brilliant hip-hop album with the soul of a blues record. Dirty South iconoclast Scarface has never been afraid to get deep; at this point a lot of his young-man wildness has been replaced by a mature understanding of life's cyclical nature. Lyrically complex and leaning heavily on sombre chords, acoustic guitars and scratchy soul samples,
The Fix is not a light and bouncy throwaway album, but one that demands repeated listening. Nonetheless, this is also no crossover attempt--all you get is superior hip-hop, accented with a touch of R&B vocals courtesy of
Kelly Price,
Faith Evans and Tanya Herron. Standout tracks include "In Between Us", featuring an impassioned star turn by guest MC Nas (Nasir Jones), the Kanye West-produced "In Cold Blood", and the gangsta lean "Sellout". But there's no question that "On My Block", an instant classic, is hands down the best cut. --
Rebecca Levine
CD Description
On THE FIX, Scarface works overtime to show that a rapper can retain his gangsta credibility and still explore other avenues of expression. He lays down hard-hitting thug-life scenarios on such tracks as "Safe" and "Keep Me Down", but THE FIX is far from monochromatic. The bevy of producers add something special to each track, from the aforementioned "Keep Me Down"'s clever utilisation of an acoustic guitar riff sampled from '60s folkie Tom Rush, to golden-touch crew the Neptunes adding some pop/R&B flavouring (not to mention the sensual vocals of Faith Evans) to the catchy "Someday". Thematically, "Guess Who's Back" finds Scarface singing the praisesof old-school camaraderie with Beanie Siegel and Jay-Z, while the complex sociological analysis of "What Can I Do?" favourably recalls the Furious Five's classic "The Message".