E-40 Albums (11)
'The Ball Street Journal'
Release Date 10/28/2008
Tracks 19
Label Reprise
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What The Critics Say
Arriving a year later than expected, E-40's 2008 effort has more than enough highlights, but the track list is hopelessly stuffed and scrambled, like someone just turned over the vault and let the two previous years of recordings fall where they may. Oddly enough, The Ball Street Journal begins just like 2006's My Ghetto Report Card, with a Digable Planets sample and a brag track that rightfully declares E-40 the Bay Area's ambassador. Two cuts later and the previous album's "Tell Me When to Go" gets quoted on "Break Ya Ankles," with guest Shawty Low and a production so obviously Lil Jon his name needn't have appeared in the credits. The love of dancehall returns on the particularly good "Hustle" with Turf Talk and R. City, but much less welcome is the resurrection of the "drip" noise which gets looped on "40 Water," making it more like water torture. As far as new ideas, the kooky bassline on "Got Rich Twice" from Droop-E drives both E-40 and Turf Talk to get loose and wild on one of the album's more inspired performances, and "The Recipe" wins thanks to the silly cooking show samples that are bizarrely twisted into instructions for preparing crack cocaine. With so much left to go and a running order that's no help, this is a so-so step back in total, one better left for the Bay Area fanatic and E-40 faithful. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'My Ghetto Report Card'
Release Date 3/14/2006
Tracks 20
Label Reprise
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Sleazy West Coast meets the slickest Dirty South on E-40's My Ghetto Report Card, the slang-slingin' rapper's first album for the Warner Bros. family and his first with Lil Jon's Atlanta-based BME crew. With past appearances on Master P and Eightball & MJG tracks, E-40 and the South have always been cool, and while Report Card has Lil Jon written all over it -- literally and figuratively -- E-40 isn't going to forget his beloved Bay Area and its ultra-enthusiastic audience. Actually, Lil Jon seems to be adapting to the Bay more than E-40 is going South. The hooky thumper "Tell Me When to Go" is a great example, with Jon's minimal club track getting Bay Area slanguage spit all over it by 40 and the gravel-voiced great Keak da Sneak. The way the track slides into "Muscle Cars" -- which sounds like a dubbed "Tell Me When to Go" with a Bay-loving freestyle over it -- is Lil Jon in album-building mode. That's his biggest contribution to the rapper's career, giving the E-40 discography the rare solid album without trying to reinvent the man. Tying things to the past, longtime E-40 producer Rick Rock gets plenty of airtime, including the opening "Yay Area," which brilliantly uses a tightly looped sample of Digable Planets' "Rebirth of Slick" to get this quirky, sleazy party started. Oh yes, it is sleazy, with unmentionable but entirely fun tracks keeping things moving in the album's forth quarter. Too bad the maudlin yawner "Happy to Be Here" closes the album, too bad Mike Jones uses his guest shot just to announce the street date of his next album, and too bad "White Gurl" is as much an ode to pushing cocaine as it is to the suburban ladies. The street-loving Bay Area faithful will probably complain more about the sheen Lil Jon lays on some of the club tracks or that "U and Dat" is just Ciara's chart-conquering "Goodies" all over again, but My Ghetto Report Card is hardly a sellout and a little chart ambition can do a fellow like E-40 some good. He's come up with an amazing set of wry, snide, and provocative rhymes for the album, and even if he gives Warner Bros. a shout-out on "Gouda," he's as unrestrained as ever -- if not more so -- everywhere else. First words out of his mouth on the album: "I got my second wind, pimp!" Indeed. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The most impressive things about E-40 are the way he combines quick and slang-filled rhymes that bridge alternative and hardcore rap and the fact that his albums bounce between excellent and very good. Breakin News is the latter, taking a little longer to get to the high points than his best. There are plenty of great tracks here and E-40 is as adept as ever at joining whacked-out phrases and killer choruses that stand with the best in contemporary R&B. Heck with the mainstream pop world though. His raps are aimed at the hood, whose residents will still need his long-promised slang dictionary (to be released in conjunction with Murder Dog magazine) to understand it all. "Quarterbackin'" stands up to his best, and an especially slick run of rhymes makes "One Night Stand" memorable. Rick Rock's production contains plenty of fine moments, and a nod or two to old-school electro gives the album that extra stylish touch. Marvel at his delivery first and catch up with what he's saying later. There are quite a few out-and-out belly laughs, and the keen observations are numerous. It's no Charlie Hustle, but like everything he does, it's worthy of attention. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In a rap world increasingly populated by monotoned players and smoother-than-smooth R&B crooners, E-40's deft delivery and playful wordplay remain a real breath of fresh air. As usual for him (as well as most rappers), Grit & Grind has a few too many tracks; still, it's definitely front-loaded with talent, from the opener, "Why They Don't F**k Wit Us" (punctuated by organ lines and a female chorus), to the second track, "The Slap," with a barrage of rhyming riffs that finds him worrying a batch of suffixes like a dog with a bone. The productions, most by Rick Rock, are fleshed-out and never reliant on the usual West Coast clichés. The metro-mentioning "Rep Yo City," with Petey Pablo, Eightball, Bun B, Lil' Jon & the Eastside Boyz, is another highlight. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
One of E-40's spottier efforts, Loyalty and Betrayal boasts a good number of highlights, along with some tracks that simply don't work well, and practically every track features a guest. The highlights include the Eightball and Jazze Pha collaboration, "Ya Blind"; the Nate Dogg and Battlecat collaboration, "Nah, Nah..."; and the Click collaboration, "Pop Ya Collar." Clearly not afraid to experiment with different styles and collaborators, E-40 is at his most unpredictable on Loyalty and Betrayal. It doesn't make for one of his better albums, though it does make for an interesting one, so long as you don't mind skipping past the duds to find the highlights. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Charlie Hustle: The Blueprint of a Self-Made Millionaire'
Release Date 10/26/1999
Tracks 17
Label Jive
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What The Critics Say
With the 1999 release of his fifth solo effort, E-40 commemorated ten years in the rap music business. Undoubtedly more than a flash in the pan, E-40's staying power as one of the tried and true superstars in the rap game is validated by the workmanship in Charlie Hustle: The Blueprint of a Self-Made Millionaire, a display of guttural growls and speed-rap techniques that takes listeners along a journey through the harsh realities of surviving in inner-city ghettos. This 17-track recording artfully delivers funky backbeats, melodic hooks, and a flurry of synthesizer-enhanced rhythms to complement the unique stutter-stop patois of E-40's flowing rap lyrics. This is best evidenced on "Big Ballin' with My Homies" and "Rules and Regulations," where the masterful MC adopts various styles of cadence and vocal texture to hype the overall effect. Fellow West Coast rappers C-Bo, Yukmouth, Fat Joe, and Jayo Felony guest star on what amounts to a semi-autobiographical accounting of E-40's own ascent from the ghetto to the California suburbs. All in all, this is a furious and energetic release of truths, guts, and the triumph of the American Dream. ~ Roxanne Blanford, All Music Guide
'The Element of Surprise'
Release Date 8/11/1998
Tracks 24
Label Jive
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
After several years on the underground rap circuit, E-40 released his first great album, In a Major Way, in 1995, and a year later he released his second, Tha Hall of Game, a similarly fashioned album that some fans believe is the better of the two. E-40 once again turns to producers Studio Ton, Mike Mosely, and Kevin Gardner, who had worked with him previously, but more importantly, he adds others to his production stable, employing the talents of Bay Area beatmakers Ant Banks, Rick Rock, and Tone Capone. Consequently, the productions of Tha Hall of Game are diverse while, at the same time, stylistically native to the Bay Area. As for featured guests, E-40 also keeps his company regional, employing 2Pac and Spice 1 -- who had previously appeared on In a Major Way -- on "Million Dollar Spot" and "Ring It," respectively, plus Too Short, K-Ci (of K-Ci & JoJo), and Keak da Sneak (then of 3X Krazy). "Player's Ball," featuring Too Short's rapping, K-Ci on the chorus, and a production by Ant Banks, is a clear standout, as is "Things'll Never Change," which became a hit single, thanks partly to its interpolation of Bruce Hornsby & the Range's 1986 number one hit "The Way It Is." The two aforementioned collabos, "Million Dollar Spot" and "Ring It," are also highlights. Though not as solid as In a Major Way, Tha Hall of Game is the more diverse album and includes a handful of career highlights. At any rate, both albums are among the best, if not indeed the hands-down best, of E-40's Jive output, as his subsequent releases for the label became increasingly spotty. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
E-40 began as a money-hungry gangsta rapper, as showcased here on Federal, with its respective Mob and Gangsta sides. Studio Ton handles the production duties, and guests, including B-Legit, are few and far between. The music itself is stark and definitely underground, a bit dated as well, characteristic of the early-'90s West Coast gangsta rap movement. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
