"If you're gonna cover Eric B. & Rakim's "Microphone Fiend" on your debut, you better be carrying your balls around in an extra-large wheelbarrow. Harlem's G. Dep is the rare MC with the skills to do the legendary track justice, asserting his place in Rakim's lyrical lineage with a taut, gangstafied remake. That cut, like his debut, Child Of The Ghetto, is an important one. It heralds the arrival of a loose, muscular new voice with nothing to prove - one that lashes around spartan tracks with serpentine power. G. Dep doesn't drench his reality raps with extraneous references to bling-bling he doesn't have. (On "Everyday," he raps, "Girls don't respect when you call them collect.") Cont'd...
"On the title track, he gives a quick resume check, tearing through his ghetto cred with heavy-lidded aplomb. He doesn't need to, though - his history is alive in his hectic rhyme flow, effortless authenticity, and reckless attitude. Lyrically, he recalls an earlier era, when bragging was the backbone of hip hop. Tracks like "Special Delivery," for example, are nonstop self-acclaim festivals. But this album is less about his lyrics than his vibe: From the minute G. Dep starts spitting, your head is bobbing. Period." - Vibe, January 2002. Remix to "Special Delivery" above, full review below...
