"With the roaring success of "Dead Serious" already under their belts, Dres and Scoob must have been at something of a loss as to what to do next. They'd invented a new style of vocal delivery that was immediately taken on board by the likes of Ice Cube and others, and given us one of the funkiest albums of recent years. "Straight Up Sewaside" is almost a step back from its predecessor. It's easier to listen to, in that you can readily understand more of the lyrics, and it's got more immediate commercial potential, even though there certainly isn't another "Mic Checka" on it. The beats are, as per usual with Das Efx, mostly mid-tempo rolling funk loops, some of which are very similar to those on "Dead Serious" - "Gimme Dat Microphone" and "Freakit" being prime offenders. Lyrically they're as mad and cocky as ever, but it's always good to hear some old skool-type foolin' going on. When it comes to lyrical ideas Das Efx are extremely old fashioned, yet still incredibly ahead of most in terms of execution. But for all the technical proficiency of "Straight Up Sewaside," they still sounded better when they were less intelligible." - Hip-Hop Connection, January 1994.
