Long standing contributor of Da Label MTG, $uge has contributed to a lot of collaborative mixtapes & albums for over a decade and is considered a respected & heavyweight rapper in the community. However, it has not been until late August 2010 that $uge released his first official solo mixtape 'Moving Towards Greatness'.
This is no Dre Dre 'Detox' scenario. While fans have anticipated his solo release for some time now, $uge continued to uphold the 'Da Label' brand appearing on mixtapes in usual form and has put aside some time to work solely on his mixtape. So what is the mixtape like? I think the mixtape can be broken into the following sections:
First off, you've got the 'gyal songs' (tracks 4, 7, 12, 13, 14, 18, 23) these are no cheesy attempts at trying to impress the ladies. In fact, rather refreshingly, they're honest and reflective tracks showing appreciation to the opposite sex. $uge does have an endearing cheekiness about him in some of his lyrics and certainly if you're a girl listening to these songs you'll crack a smile listening to them. There may seem to be a lot of these songs on the mixtape when you think how many there actually are, but they have a wider appeal which do not neglect the male audience entirely. In fact, when you're listening through the mixtape they offer a good variety to the overall vibe of the mixtape.
'Bounce' could be considered a gyal song, but this is more of a club banger and the only club song on the mixtape at that. The song gives $uge a bit of commercial appeal and I'd like to see a few more of these in the future to help propel him into the limelight a bit more.
Next up are tracks which I call 'champion songs', where rappers go for the kill and show lyrically why they are the best. $uge certainly does this on his jumpoffs and with tracks like 'Show & prove' and 'Sky high'.
Last but not least are the raw Hip Hop songs where $uge stays true to his form. Subject matters range from reality on the roads, thoughts from the heart and other concepts which make for interesting listening. Standout tracks from this section are:
'Lost my heart' - $uge uses an extended metaphor on this track, using a woman to represent hip hop music. The song speaks on $uge's own personal relationship and journey with music.
'Do It' - Using Ludacris' 'Do It For Hiphop' instrumental, $uge, R.E and Uz give their account on why they 'do it'. In $uges own account "I do it for my n*ggas in prison on a basic / I do it for the workers getting minimum wages/ For the kids spitting bars dreaming of being on stages/ I been doing it for ages"
'Dead Prez' - On Jay Z's 'Dead Presidents' instrumental, $uge talks about struggle and strifes that face him and others everyday "The paper chase is getting worse than it's ever been/I'm trying to make it out of the ghetto not tryna settle in/cos when you fight against the system you never win/my n*ggas in the tin I'm hoping that you beat case/ cos everything you did, you did it for the queens face"
'If today was my last' - Another favourite of mine, really well produced and I'm feeling this beat hard! The hook is spoken by R.E & $uge "There's no promise for tomorrow, so I'm writing for today/ If I should die before I wake it's kinda frightening in a way/ Life comes free and death the price that we pay/If today was my last I'd just like to say...' following from this $uge, El Wappo & Z.E each deliver their last speeches.
'Real Life' - On Hi-Tek's 'Can we go back' instrumental, $uge releases a video of this song dedicated to those that have lost their lives.
'All Black Season' - I can't even begin to explain how big this track is, you just need to hear it for yourself. $uge uses clever wordplay around the theme of the word 'black' and the track gives a great sense of black pride.
"I stand out like chalk on a black board/ black knight, black horse, black sword/ black notes, black strings, black cords/ I carry Easton on my back until my backs sore/ Aiming to be the best so what the fuck u think I rap for/ And every bar is deep like the black sea/ black bandanna, black hoodie, black tee/ no milk, 2 sugars, black tea" The track carries on like this and $uge ends it saying "What more can I say? I'm just a black guy".
All in all, it's a great mixtape. $uge has a great flow and shows versatility on a wide variety of beats. My only small criticism is that when I downloaded the mixtape the tracks weren't listed properly and appeared in a different order to the CD. There was one song I wasn't feeling the production on which sadly meant I skipped the track most times but to be honest, skipping only one track these days is a minor, especially when there are 20 odd other tracks to listen to. Overall, the mixtape is definitely worth copping! Now that $uge has come out and done his first official solo, I'm only more excited to get to know him more as a rapper in the future and look forward to his upcoming solo projects.
M32Connections gives this 4 Stars (out of 5)
TRACKLISTING
1. Greatness
2. So Blind
3. Show & Prove
4. Pretty Ladies
5. Still Fly
6. Wow ft. Tug MC
7. Drinks on me ft. Triggadon
8. Do It ft. Uz & R.E
9. Real Life
10. Ryders ft. R.E, Ceaze & Triggadon
11. Mission ft. Tug MC (produced by SN1 Pablo)
12. Women I Like (produced by Mazik Beats)
13. Get That Number (produced by Trebbledan)
14. Swear Down (remix) ft. Luss
15. Lost my heart
16, Bounce ft. R.E (produced by Kae the overseas kid)
17. Southwest ft. T.Dot & Dre Pound (produced by Mazik Beats)
18. Singing ft. Uz
19. Hard ft Tug MC
20. 5Man jumpoff ft Uz, Triggadon, Tug MC & R.E
21. If today was my last ft R.E, Z.E & El Wappo (produced by Kae the overseas kid)
22. Dead Prez
23. Let me touch you
24. Make moves freestyle
25. All Black Season
Download the mixtape from the following sites:
Datpiff (recommended)
Hoodtapes
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