LORD TARIQ & PETER GUNZ
MAKE IT REIGN
Columbia

These Guys Miss The Mark..
Lot's Of Potential..Disappointing Results

Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz caught a lot of attention when they dropped the song Deja Vu. It was the first time in a long time that the Boogie Down Bronx which gave birth to hip hop, had an anthem folks could rally around...The word around town was there was more tracks like that waiting to be dropped...Upon hearing their album.. 'Make It Reign'.. I gotta say they could've and should've done a lot more... There are a couple of cool songs on there that will grab you.. For example, 'We Will Ball' which is their follow up single to 'Deja Vu' is a solid track..'Who Am I', a cut that talks about crack is also a nice tune. Another cut that'll catch people is 'A Night In The Bronx With Lord & Gunz'.. Here the dou talk about gettin' busy in the bed as singer 1 Accord hits some notes... The song reminds me of Notorious BIG's track with R Kelley.. This might be the sex song to take it's place as we continue through the rest of '98...

Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz succeed best when they do some introspective stuff like the rags to riches track 'Keep On' which borrows from the Crusaders classic 'Keep That Same Old Feeling'..My favorite track which I think showcases the dous lyrical talents is 'My Time To Go' which is a religious/gospel type track where they seriously question God and life.. The song is deep and musically it's very melodic...To be honest it's one of the best songs I've heard all year.. It'll be interesting to see whether or not folks run with the track and blow it up..

Overall Lord & Gunz suffer from too many filler songs.. and although they proudly tout their Bronx heritage.. I don't get a feel for the Bronx when listening to the album.. They don't paint a very compelling picture. and being a Bronx native from the same hood [Soundview].. I really wanted them to capture the essence of the Boogie Down..I wanted to hear the names of places.. and I wanted to hear the sounds.. I wanted them to lyrically paint a picture of the sights.. I wanted them to bring back some of the legendary rappers from the Bronx and throw down .. i.e Ultramagnetic, Just-Ice, KRS-One. I was disappointed that the dou didn't even go back into the history. I'm not trying to be overly critical.. But these guys are talented and I think they missed the mark with the exception of a couple of songs of really hitting hard on the creative tip.. If they hadn't had the hit Deja Vu.. This album would be one that would be overlooked by many..and that's a shame..'cause these kids got skillz.. I have to give the album a C+

Reviewed By Davey D
6-26-98

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