CHAMILLIONAIRE "The Sound Of Revenge" 2LP NM/VG+ PROMO 2005 Hip Hop, Thug Rap...

$

33

The Sound of Revenge Review by Andy Kellman

An experienced MC with piles of mixtapes and other underground releases in his past, Chamillionaire follows Mike Jones, Slim Thug, and Paul Wall as yet another Houstonian to surface aboveground in 2005. He's immeasurably superior to Jones in every aspect but self-promotion, isn't quite as imposing as Slim Thug, and, compared to childhood ally and former Color Changin' Click partner Wall, he's much sterner than sweet, indicated by the title of this album. The Chamillionaire that Southerners and other rabid followers of Southern rap have been hearing throughout the past few years hasn't made many concessions with this major-label release. He goes relatively soft on a couple tracks, but the tradeoff is that he continues to get better with time, and an overwhelming majority of the material here is only a slightly polished spin on what can be heard on his mixtapes. Even when the MC is at his most vengeful, he boasts an easy flow that's as easy to listen to as a warm, fluid bassline. Though he occasionally sounds as defensive as someone backed into a corner (hear the vicious "Frontin" in particular) and pens a few abjectly vigilant rhymes, his voice always slides through the ears with almost as much effortless composure as a Nate Dogg hook. Speaking of hooks, Cham provides almost all of them, switching between rhymes and singsongy vamps on a dime. Lyrically, he has a lot more range than the contemporaries mentioned above, making it evident that he took heed from the gripping narratives and bleak rhymes within the early Geto Boys albums. There's no "Mind of a Lunatic" or "Mind's Playing Tricks on Me" here, but there is "Rain," a track featuring Scarface that's as sobering as it is uplifting. Cham's as incisive and clever and nimble here as he is anywhere else: "Tired of being poor, tryin' to leave the rats/Walk out to see that three of your tires are flat/And that one tire left's a sign, I hope/That helps you to keep on grindin' when you're kind of broke/That helps you to keep composure up around your folk/That keeps you from tryin' to wrap a rope around your throat." The Sound of Revenge is as strong as Slim Thug's Already Platinum and has more dimensions. The Beat Bullies man the switches on six tracks. Scott Storch, Cool & Dre, Mannie Fresh, Play-N-Skillz, Happy Perez, and Sol Messiah also put in time.

Chamillionaire – The Sound Of Revenge

Label:

Universal Records – B000542301

Format:

2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Promo

Country:

US

Released:

2005

Genre:

Hip Hop

Style:

Thug Rap, Gangsta

A1 The Sound Of Revenge (Intro)

Backing Vocals – Deone Rhodes, Marvin "Chippeo" Jackson

Vocals [Opera Vocals] – Jen Rose

3:18

A2 In The Trunk

Producer – Chamillionaire, Hardley Davidson

4:38

A3 Turn It Up

Featuring – Lil Flip*

Producer – Scott Storch

4:34

A4 Ridin

Featuring – Krayzie Bone

Producer – Play-N-Skillz

5:03

B1 No Snitchin'

Backing Vocals – Bun B

Producer – Cool & Dre

4:32

B2 Southern Takeover

Featuring – Killer Mike, Pastor Troy

5:17

B3 Radio Interruption

Backing Vocals – Marvin "Chippeo" Jackson

3:27

B4 Frontin

Producer – Happy Perez

4:10

C1 Grown And Sexy 4:03

C2 Think I'm Crazy

Backing Vocals – Natalie (4)

5:03

C3 Rain

Featuring – Billy Cook, Scarface (3)

Producer – Sol Messiah

5:11

C4 Picture Perfect

Featuring – Bun B

Producer – Sol Messiah

4:48

D1 Fly As The Sky

Featuring – Lil Wayne, Rasaq

Producer – Mannie Fresh

4:58

D2 Peepin' Me

Backing Vocals – Tami Latrell

4:21

D3 Void In My Life

Producer – Twinz

4:40

D4 Outro

Producer – AJ Skratch, Sean Blaze

3:09

Executive-Producer – Chamillionaire

Producer – The Beat Bullies (tracks: A1, B2, B3, C1, C2, D2)

Promotional version with generic sleeve

GOLDMINE GRADING

MINT ---- It should appear to be perfect. No scuffs or scratches, blotches or stains, labels or writing, tears or splits. Mint means perfect.

NEAR MINT ---- Otherwise mint but has one or two tiny inconsequential flaws that do not affect play. Covers should be close to perfect with minor signs of wear or age just becoming evident: slight ring-wear, minor denting to a corner, or writing on the cover should all be noted properly.

VERY GOOD PLUS ---- The record has been handled and played infrequently or very carefully. Not too far from perfect. On a disc, there may be light paper scuffs from sliding in and out of a sleeve or the vinyl or some of the original luster may be lost. A slight scratch that did not affect play would be acceptably VG+ for most collectors.

VERY GOOD ---- Record displays visible signs of handling and playing, such as loss of vinyl luster, light surface scratches, groove wear and spindle trails. Some audible surface noise, but should not overwhelm the musical experience. Usually a cover is VG when one or two of these problems are evident: ring wear, seam splits, bent corners, loss of gloss, stains, etc.

GOOD ---- Well played with little luster and significant surface noise. Despite defects, record should still play all the way through without skipping. Several cover flaws will be apparent, but should not obliterate the artwork.

POOR ---- Any record or cover that does not qualify for the above "Good" grading should be seen as Poor. Several cover flaws.