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JR Writer Album Review: HISTORY IN THE MAKING

“I’m known in a couple places, but I’m new to the rest, this is for them couple places that ain’t schooled to this vet, listen closer, I’M THE GREATEST, GET IN TUNE WITH THE BEST…JR Writer….” – JR Writer, “Put U On”.

JR is out! JR Writer is out! JR Writer aka “the Writer of Writers”, aka “The Ethiopian”, aka “The Dominican Prince” has FINALLY arrived on the national scene with his first national solo album called HISTORY IN THE MAKING. No he’s not Ethiopian but Yes he’s Dominican (Cam’Ron nicknames JR the Ethiopian cause of how hungry his flow is). Well this 21yr old Spanish Harlem/Douglass Projects, NY prodigy should have named his album ONE YEAR LATER IN THE MAKING cause his album was delayed so long that your favorite s$$$ talker Benz0 was on some conspiracy theory type shism. It’s like weak Juelz Santana and the average Jim Jones were secretly trying to sabotage JR from coming out or something so they could release album after mediocre album to get some extra sales in before JR ate up them up with his mega debut release (By the way have you seen Juelz on MTV Cribs?..His house is top five of all time on Cribs from the episodes I’ve watched and dude can barely rap!..I’m in the wrong hustle!!).

I mean I thought Cam’Ron was a smart business man until he routinely dropped the ball in getting JR’s album out. JR is the only rapper whose mixtapes are better than most officially released national rap albums. Had his mixtape WRITER’S BLOCK TWO been nationally released in stores last year it would have easily been top three in 2005 behind perhaps only Young Jeezy’s surprising efforts. Yes it was that good. And wouldn’t you know it? His WRITER’S BLOCK THREE ALBUM will knock out anything that has come out in 2006 as well AND IT’S JUST A MIXTAPE (It goes without saying that you should drop what you’re doing and not only get the official nationally released album but get ALL THREE of the Writer’s Block mixtapes too...Trust me)! High praise right? Listen. I’m from the old school mixed in with new wave reality and pimpness .

That means the only thing that truly, truly, truly moves me is hard beats and rapid fire battle and street metaphors. Remember Lord Finesse? Remember Kool G Rap? Remember Kool Keith? Remember Big Daddy Kane in his “R-A-W” days? Well kiddies let me “put you on” to something. JR Writer is built in that same mode of rapper with that same type of “swagger” on the mic. Put a mic in front of this guy and he’ll spit 20 minutes straight for ya and then tell you “Man I’m just warming up..let me take off my warm-up suit”. Now just when I think JR Writer is on the proper road to being managed right the idiots at Koch Records released the national album as “DIPLOMATS PRESENTS: JR WRITER, HISTORY IN THE MAKING”. What does that mean? It means the droves of hardcore fans trying to find his album in stores WILL NOT FIND HIS ALBUM UNDER THE LETTER “J” SECTION OR THE “W” SECTION!! You have to go to the “D” section in stores(Only a handful of stores are savvy enough to put it in the J section)! What kind of f$$$$$$ madness is this? It’s like someone within Dipset’s business machine is trying to throw a monkey wrench in JR’s career. Well have no fear JR. You keep bringing it harder than any rapper out like you’ve been doing and s$$$ talkers like me will make sure the word gets out properly on how insane your albums are. Let us proceed….

Well those hardcore fans who first heard “Grill Em” produced by Doe Boyz (Develop & Filthy) couldn’t help but get excited about the prospects JR’s first nationally released solo album because true to form JR said to hell with coming out with something soft and overly commercial and led the album with this single that is one of the grittiest songs out. But of course this song “Grill Em” was also on WRITER’S BLOCK THREE as well so it was old. So he made “Stomp” to continue the club banger vibe and man does that song bang your eardrums! And you don’t even get to that song till Track 17.

This album is deeper than Team USA playing over there in Japan in the FIBA World Championship of Basketball competition featuring Carmello, Dwayne and Lebron. JR is more than just a ho-hum backpack rapper with an appreciation for metaphors. Dude is trying to make hitz like the big boyz and continues his deft attack on the populace with a clever duet with Paul Wall on “That’s A Bet” that should get airplay in any coast. His 2nd single off the album is “Byrd Call” which is also meant to perk up the ears at the club as the guy who is fast becoming the best lyricist in the South, Lil Wayne, joins in on the fun. “Riot Pump” continues the madness.

OK, OK. I know. Benz0 get to why JR is one of the few artists who isn’t gay but has the majority of his male fans climaxing. With pleasure.. The real strength of JR is his lyrical prowess. When it comes to battle lyrics there may not be ANYONE in today’s hiphop that can hang with this cat besides maybe Eminem. 40 Cal also with Dipset (One of only two super-crews left in rap) would be about the only one to give this guy some comp (Black Thought comes to mind too but he too often opts for the softer topics in life). So of course with JR’s first national solo album JR is gonna show off a little bit. I mean A LOT. He sticks your ears fast and hard on the incredible “Zoolander” and “Goonies” but mostly he slows the beat down and delivers steady Sledge-hammer type lyrics till you’re pounded into submission. “Take Notes”, “Back Wit It”, and “Pay Homage” are shining examples of this. He just keeps spitting venom at a patient pace till you can’t take it anymore. Then put on “Put You On” and “Why Try” and it’s G-A-M-E-O-V-E-R.

But hold on now! JR also makes the listener empathize with him through a couple of introspective songs called “To Be A Diplomat” and “ My Life”. And if that wasn’t enough he throws the ladies and R&B thugs (by the way you know R&B thugs is not a good label to have right????) a bone by teaming up with Nicole Wray to make the mellow “Xtacy” that samples one of my favorite songs of all time called “Moments In Love” by Art Of Noise”. I mean that’s just poetic justice. The only mellow song my favorite hardcore battle rapper makes on this album just happens to feature a sample of a song I used to put my self to sleep with as a kid. It’s all these diverse skillz that has me often referring to JR Writer as “THE ONE” like Neo in the Matrix.

I used to call Jay-Z the same thing but he’s retired now. Jay-Z had the same old school battle mentality but mixed in the streets, the clubs and evoked feelings from your heart through his honesty and showing you his struggle in life. JR has that same potential at only 21 years young but I think he’s so hardcore that he’ll never be able to crossover into the psyche of the mindless masses. But it’s that fact that just might make him better than Jay-Z one day in my eyes cause to date he hasn’t watered down his style for fame and money. Look the days of the backpack rapper are OVER. I routinely run into these so called “pure” lyricists that can do nothing but make boring "been there done that" metaphors over weak beats and nothing else (Y’all know who you are!!). That style is over. Go to Europe if that’s all you can do.

Europe is still enamored by that “feel good” lyrical golden age that the Americans mastered, chewed up and spit out as rap morphed into something better….LYRICS, HARDCORE BEATS, REALITY AND STRUGGLE (Similar to how Kurt Cobain was one of the catalysts that brought Rock & Roll out of it’s party mode into a mode of PAIN and ANGER). The new breed of rapper must bring all four elements of lyrics, beats, streets and struggle to the table and JR Writer does just that. Backed by the crew with the BEST BEATS IN HIPHOP (Dipset) JR is taking real rap to newer heights; becoming an example of what’s right in hiphop to the rap fans of old and the present and new rap fans to come. Obviously it goes without saying. PICK THIS F$$$$$$$ ALBUM UP!!!!!

Benz0
Contact Benz0: BenzWritings@Hotmail.com