Baller Blockin – Cash Money Millionaires

The Baller Blockin' soundtrack features the Cash Money crew -- Juvenile, B.G., Turk, Lil Wayne, Big Tymers -- along with a cast of other well-known rappers that specialize in the same sort of affluent gangsta ballin' -- E-40, UGK, Eightball & MJG, Nas, Mack 10, Rappin' 4 Tay. Though it would be wonderful to hear all these non-Cash Money rappers spewing their rhymes over Mannie Fresh's bounce beats, it doesn't happen. But at least half of the album features some of Fresh's best production work yet, with the other tracks being crafted by an adequate stable of other producers. This integration of non-Cash Money rapping and production actually works in the album's favor. Where past albums such as Tha G Code and I Got That Work became a bit over-saturated with Fresh's trademark beats and the Cash Money crew's excessive "bling, bling," "ice," and "stunna" talk, the non-Cash Money tracks here bring the much needed sense of variety that these aforementioned albums lacked. Though Nas and Mack 10 do seem like the East and West Coast's Cash Money equivalent, their distinct rapping style, stance, and production motifs function as nice sabbaticals, providing the sort of perspective that makes one realize how unique the Cash Money aesthetic really is. As always, there is the obvious single on this album, "Baller Blockin," along with a few other songs that could just as easily be seen as hit singles -- Juvenile's "Rover Truck," Big Tymers' "Let Us Stunt," Eightball & MJG's "Ballin' Gs" -- as well as a few songs that are worth repeated listens -- BG's "Thugged Out," Nas' "What You Gonna Do." What really seems out of place here are the two Unplugged contributions, which are essentially Cash Money's take on R&B as produced by Stormy Day. Of course, with such a broad palette of styles, there are going to be a few tracks worth skipping, but this album's variety seems preferable to Cash Money's usual gluttonous dose of overabundance. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide