GrippinGrain

First I’ll let you know this is a review by AllHipHop.com of the Paul Wall album The Peoples Champ. I’ve heard it myself and I’ll let you know what I think also. AllHipHop.com gives the boy 3 and a half stars, I’m thinking 3 stars would be generous but then again maybe I’m looking at it from a different angle. I didn’t just hear of Paul Wall in 05, I’ve been listening to his stuff for a minimum of 4 or 5 years, probably almost since he first came on the scene if I was to think back further. I guess since it’s his major label debut he did it a little different than say a long time Paul Wall fan would be expecting. But overall it’s nice but not that hot to me and I like the boy alot. So check out what AllHipHop has to say and read their review.

Artist: Paul Wall
Title: The People’s Champ
Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5

What it do? The champ is officially here with his long-awaited debut, and he shows why you need to believe the hype. Paul Wall has been on the grind for years and while heads below the Mason-Dixon always knew about this Swisha House representative�s skills, it wasn�t until a few months ago that the North finally took notice. The People�s Champ (Swishahouse/Asylum) is all that was expected of him, albeit with minor flaws.

The 17-track album gets right into it with grimy, perfect-for-tearing- the-club up tracks like �I�m A Playa,� featuring Three Six Mafia and �They Don�t Know,� with Mike Jones, an ode to Texas. Producer Grid.Iron, who did six tracks, slows down the frantic pace a little for the laid-back but still hard �Ridin� Dirty,� that has Wall laying down the Houston hustling game while newjack R&B singer Trey Songz takes care of the hook. The predictable production takes a turn on the East-coast inspired head-nodder, �State to State,� which finds �the chick magnet� holding his own lyrically with Freeway, but unfortunately, that�s only one of a few breaks in the beat monotony. The majority of the songs seem to be infused with what appears to be the southern producer�s favorite beat building block�the organ. While you could get tired of that, the lyrics certainly make up for it. Wall gets busy on the slow-creep worthy �So Many Diamonds� with T.I. and with Bun B and B.G. on �Trill.� However, no song except for maybe �Sippin� the Barre,� truly demonstrates Paul Wall�s talents as a lyricist and his tight flow. Rhyming alone to a track befitting cruising down the strip in his candy-painted whip, Wall breaks down his long road to success and determination to keep doing it: �I�m comin� live from the block/I got my mind on my hustle/I�m trying to make it to the top/So I put in work and stackin� knot/Determination is all I got/On the grind/I scheme and plot/Whatever it takes to raise my stock.�

Other standout tracks include the lead single, �Sittin� Sidewayz,� the narcotic-loving �Sip-N-Get High,� with Swisha fam Aqualeo and the clap-a-long �Got Plex,� a bass-heavy warning to anyone wanting to start static with Wall and labelmates Archie Lee and Cootabang. The album comes to an introspective close with �Just Paul Wall,� where he breaks down his humble beginnings describing how his drug addicted father left the family and the hard times that followed.

The People�s Champ as Paul Wall�s first major-label release is a superior introduction perfect for winning over new fans and is proof to the old ones that he�s still that purple drinking, platinum grilled hustler stackin� ends.

Source: AllHipHop.com