FM_ALEX
"KURUPT GOES AGAINST THA GRAIN ON DEATH ROW"
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4th Studio album from Kurupt and only solo on Death Row Records
< read all 2 reviewsKURUPT GOES AGAINST THA GRAIN ON DEATH ROW
-
Feb 20, 2012
- by FM_ALEX
- posted in Hip-Hop Culture: Breakdance, MC, DJ, Graffiti
Rating:
+5
![Against The Grain [Explicit]](http://media.lunch.com/d/d7/676057.jpg)
A little listening music while you read.
Kurupt ft. Tha Dayton Family - Calico
KURUPT
AGAINST THA GRAIN
“Finally KURUPT has dropped this album, after years of delays and drama "AGAINST THA GRAIN" finally hit the streets” I said when picking this years ago. I must admit I was surprised it was actually on the shelves even after the date was never pushed back. But I must say the delays were worth the wait, the album is off the hook. Granted some of the songs had been out for awhile due to mixtapes, and the internet. One in particular was all ready released on an official album for the same label. In fact two others can be found on two other official releases. But all that aside this is a very strong album from Young Gotti, and even with the above mentioned it was great to hear a full album from the Kingpin. At the time Kurupt was beefing with his former friends in The DPG, they didn’t like that he returned to Death Row.
1.INTRO
2.SPEAK ON IT-the first song on the album comes out bumpin' hard, courtesy of a bangin beat by MARK SPARKS. What a great way to start an album, plus VAL C on the track, and a guy just telling him to speak on it. And Kurupt definitely does that speaking on different situations in the world like the DPG break up, racism, the east/west war, and certain individuals getting paid off of this type of music. Also this song as got a lot of attention due to the supposed dissing that goes on at the beginning of the song. Other than the 50 CENT part the others could have been mentioned dissing everybody that says that DMX, JA, and NAS are the new Pac's & Biggie's, not necessarily the individuals mentioned. Of course I could be completely wrong, so over all this is a great track, and even though it only has one verse I'll have to give it that classic status.
3.ANARCHY '87-Mark Sparks returns to drop another hot beat that switches up on ya during the hook, and the verse. The hook is more up tempo while the verse is more smooth and gliding with its bass and claps. Kurupt rips the track up easily with his lethal flow, and even throws in a little DAZ diss. I also love the fact that he brought back the hook from "BEHIND THE WALLS" for a lil portion of the song. Over all this is an excellent track.
4.THROW BACK MUZIC '86-this has to be one of the best tracks to come out THA ROW in awhile, definitely a classic. Non surprisingly Mark Sparks returns to drop this straight west coast track for our listing pleasure. Kurupt giving it up to a time period he came up in, mentions a gang of things some will definitely remember. This is definitely a must have right here, no wonder it's a single.
5.DEEP DISHES-ah yes a favorite of mine, even though some people don't really like this track. I love the way Kurupt rips this track, the way he flows to it fits the track perfectly. And the beat by RICK RUDE is amazing, very creative on his part, it kind of reminds me of Method Man & Red Man "The Rocwilder". This is a personal fav of mine, u have yours I'll have mine.
6.STALKIN'-another single from the album, in fact this is the one I head on the radio at the time. SIR JINX created a very interesting and intriguing beat for this track, and the samples used add to the beat greatly making this psycho girl more believable. Of course u all know Kurupt holds it down on this track, this track happens to be my girls favorite song on the album, should I be worried.
7.CAN U FEEL IT-ok I guess every album has to have that summer time, radio friendly track. DOUG MAYHEM is the producer of choice on this track, and he was very successful in making a bouncy summa time track. To be honest I even bump this track from time to time. This is probably the closest thing to mainstream on this album, not that it's bad, in fact it is catchy to a point, and that includes the simple hook from POTION. This is another fav of my girls. This is this album's "IT'S OVER", & "SUNSHINE".
8.SLIDE N SLIDE OUT-the ever reliable BLAQTHOVEN drops this nice beat, and this tack features Y.A. representatives EASTWOOD, BIG TRI, & YOUNG TONE. Surprisingly the star of the album Kurupt only drops a lil something at the end adding up to nothing more than a cameo, not even a verse from Young Gotti. Of course this technique has worked well for albums like "THE CHRONIC", & "DOGGYSTYLE" were there were 1 to a few tracks were the star wasn't on the track, just giving their boys shine. Over all though for the most part this is a nice addition to the album, all though to be honest I really don't listen to this track much, also Daz gets dissed.
9.I'M BACK-this is one of those classics that makes your head nod immediately. The eastern influenced beat by the Row Hitters is excellent and one of my favorites on the album. Kurupt of course comes correct here. He sounds right at home over this track, makes sense since he is originally from Philly.
10.JEALOUSY-this is by far an excellent addition to the album, a great choice for a single in my opinion. Mark Sparks returns to continue his winning streak on this album, the instrumental itself is enough to get anyone to bump this joint. Lyrically this is an interesting track, seeing that the ex roc-a-fella signed M.O.P. is in the house making u "Ante Up". Also Kurupt in his verse mentions the hatred towards him for returning to Death Row. But to this reviewer it's ROSCOE that steals the show with his fiery verse. This is definitely a great addition to the track.
11.THA PAST-Dough Mayhem returns to drop the definition of what an instrumental should be. I could go on and on about how perfect the beat is for this song, but the lyrics are just as powerful. I love that a track was included that addresses Kurupt's {at the time} former boys in tha Pound. I also appreciate the fact that this isn't really a song hating on the others, plus DAVE HOLISTER is excellent on the hook.
12.MY HOMEBOYS {BACK TO BACK}-finally I got my wish 2PAC on a Kurupt album, man it felt great to see this track on the track listing. And how appropriate that this come after the previous track. Also it was great to see that Mark Sparks returns to create this masterpiece of an instrumental, I love the flutes. Kurupt was right it feels good to see a Pac verse on a track with someone he actually got down with. Also Eastwood held it down nicely on this track with a verse and an excellent hook. You may recognize Pac’s verse from the song “Me & My Homies” from Nate Dogg’s “G-Funk Classics” album. {"ME & MY HOMIES" from NATE DOGG'S album}.
13.BULLSH#T & NONSENSE-the second song that is strictly from Kurupt's boys, in fact Kurupt doesn't even get a cameo credit from me, he only says a few words. The beat from JOSHUA ANDREWS is a really well put together track featuring great pianos. SPIDER {now with g-unit} and Eastwood come real correct with their verses, though I prefer Eastwood's flow better in this one. Over all this is an excellent track.
14.CALICO-what more can I say other then this is a highly energetic track, the beat from THE SCREWFACE MUSIC GROUP is highly bouncy and to quote another track with Kurupt "off tha chain" {THE VERY BEST OF DEATHROW, that song also has PETEY PABLO}. Kurupt drops two hot verses; he even adjusts his flow to fit a southern type of flow. There's even a shout out to Snoop and the Doggpound in his verses. Also the DAYTON FAMILY holds it down hard on this track, especially during the hyped up hook, this track also appeared on their album. Over all this is a great song, also the Dayton Fam shout out RAS KASS.
15.HUSTLIN'-another song that's been moving around the internet for a while now, actually it's been years. This track was known then as "FAMILY", and the audio wasn't as good. This version seems cleaned up to a greater extent, it has a much more clear sound. This track sees Kurupt rip it up with Big Tri & Young Tone on this smooth Sir Jinx track. Each verse from the artist is off the hook, this happens to be one of my favorite tracks on the album.
16.IT'S A WRAP-mark sparks returns to drop one of his best instrumentals on the album, the way each instrument is put together sounds incredible. Kurupt holds it down nicely on this track easily, the only problem with this song is that it's too short. The song comes in at a short 2:58, becoming the shortest song on the album. I just wish the song would have had one more verse.
17.YOU F#CKIN WITH THE BEST-when I first heard this song on the internet I could have sworn that an in house producer for DOMINATION & BANG EM had produced this track. I had always loved that underground sound this song had, and I always felt it had an East Coast feel to it. So to say the least I was surprised to learn that BABY C-STYLE had produced this banger, and to his credit the beat is hard. It has the perfect underground sound to it that fits Kurupt and Domination's styles nicely. And to be honest I love the hook for this track, "I came in this Muthaf#cka with a mask on, so lay ya a## on the floor, or get blast on".
18.OUTRO
This was a great album in my opinion but of course Kurupt is an all time favorite of mine. The production on this album is indeed a highlight for me and Kurupt switches up his flow to fit the different instrumentals. After its release both Kurupt and Death Row were saying not to buy this album because the distributer added and took songs off. Guess they wanted to include the DPG diss tracks, but by the time this was released they were all cool again.
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Madpenguin
February 21, 2012
You liked this album a hell of a lot more than I did. It felt uneven in a few ways, and I didn't think it was as good as his first two, or even the third. Nice write up tho,
FM_ALEX
February 21, 2012
Yeah man I loved it but like I said in the review I was just happy the thing finally got released. His first three are better for sure, I do like alll of his albums.
Madpenguin
February 21, 2012
Yeah, the very late release didn't help it here either.
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woopak_the_thrill
February 20, 2012
classic album, man.
FM_ALEX
February 20, 2012
Yes indeed
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About this topic
Against the Grain is the fourth studio album by rapper Kurupt and his first on Death Row Records as a solo artist. Kurupt signed back on to Death Row Records, except as a solo artist in 2002. The album was supposed to be released in 2004, but was delayed. It was finally released in August 2005. It was critical because it was Death Row's first freshly recorded album in over 4 years. Unfortunately, the album went almost unnoticed due to the lack of promotion by Koch Records, which currently distributes all of Death Row's albums. Furthermore, Death Row encouraged fans to not purchase this album because the track list was altered. Certain tracks were removed and others added. It did peak at number 60 on the Billboard 200 on September 2005. The cut tracks were later released on a bootleg compilation titled Against tha Grain E.P.. The track "Calico" featuring The Dayton Family was also on their album Family Feud
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[edit] Track listing
- Intro
- Speak On It (featuring Val C) (Produced by Mark Sparks)
- Anarchy '87 (Produced by Mark Sparks)
- Throw Back Muzic '86 (Produced by Mark Sparks)
- Deep Dishes (Produced by Ric Rude)
- Stalkin (Produced by Sir Jinx)
- Can You Feel It (featuring Potion) (Produced by Doug Mayhem)
- Slide N Slide Out (featuring Eastwood, Big Tri, & Young Tone) (Produced Blaqthoven)
- I'm Back (Produced by Tha Row Hitters)
- Jealousy (featuring Roscoe & M.O.P.) (Produced by Mark Sparks)
- Tha Past (featuring Dave Hollister) (Produced by...
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