Lil Jon Albums (8)
'Snap You Neck Back'
Release Date 1/1/2005
Tracks 16
Label Pamplemousse Productions
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Responsible for numerous crunk party tunes and plenty of over-the-top hits, producer Lil Jon could easily be mistaken for a flash-in-the-pan whose time is almost up. Then again, his formulaic records that generally come up aces bring to mind AC/DC and their always-the-same, generally-very-good track record. You can count the songs that Lil Jon has been involved with and didn't shout "yeah!" and "okay!" on one hand, and his Crunk Juice album is more of the same. But keeping the AC/DC comparison going, Crunk Juice is his Back in Black, just as exciting and remarkably powerful, but twice as long and with a lot more help. Even though most of the songs are built on the same party-crunk foundation, the difference is in the details. Production by production, record by record, Lil Jon has become a more detailed producer. Crunk Juice is the payoff of every single that's come before it. Take the incredibly hard "What U Gon' Do" with it's simple, everybody's-feelin'-it beat. Lil Scrappy's tough rap proves he's the man for the job on this track, while the loopy, faraway melody and robot filters Lil Jon runs Scrappy's vocal through are what really makes it. The East Side Boyz -- Big Sam and Lil Bo -- are a worthy support crew and gel with their resident superstar as well as G-Unit does with 50 Cent. Great, but it's the ridiculously well-picked guest list you've come for, isn't it? The biggies -- R. Kelly, Usher, Ice Cube, Snoop, Rick Rubin, and on and on -- all bring it, while Southern stalwarts like Trillville, Eightball & MJG, Ying Yang Twins, and Gangsta Boo -- whose brash vocals are slowed down eerily, screwed-and-chopped style -- sound especially triumphant, proud to be with the South's greatest chart-topper. Running 75 minutes long and with too many highlights to mention, the worst thing you can say about Crunk Juice is that it's overwhelming. Funny skits from Chris Rock and E-40 tie it all together if you can stand over an hour of crunk pummeling, but Crunk Juice is best taken in two or three glorious listens. That's a lot of top-notch crunk, and more than enough to justify Lil Jon's "King of Crunk" title. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'Certified Crunk'
Release Date 11/4/2003
Tracks 15
Label Ichiban/Ryko
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What The Critics Say
Six or so years after Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz debuted on the Altanta indie label Mirror Image with Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album in 1997, the label gathered together leftovers from that album and released Certified Crunk, which is essentially an alternate version of Get Crunk. Certified Crunk features most of the same songs -- "Get Crunk," "Who U Wit," "Bounce Dat Ass," "Cut Up," "Ya'll Don't Feel Me," "Shawty Freak a Lil' Sumthin'" -- in slightly remixed form (and often with slightly altered track-title spellings) along with a few other previously released odds and ends like "Stop Trippin'," a notable 1998 DJ Smurf production featuring Ludacris. Frankly, there isn't anything remarkable here that is worth going out of your way to hear, even if you're a fairly fervent Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz fan -- Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album is better, and pretty much every other Lil' Jon album is far better. Essentially, Certified Crunk is a cash-in release by Mirror Image, who hoped to capitalize on Jon's remarkable success circa 2003 (with "Get Low" in particular) by passing off a collection of leftovers as a timely new album to unsuspecting fans. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
There was a time when Southern rappers felt marginalized. That was before the rise of 2 Live Crew and their bass colleagues in the late '80s; southern rap has long since become a huge industry, and Dirty South MCs who hit big in cities like New Orleans, Memphis, and Miami can easily sell a ton of CDs in the South alone. While some Dirty South rappers have a gangsta/thug life agenda and some are into serious sociopolitical messages, Atlanta rapper Lil Jon and his two East Side Boyz (Lil Bo and Big Sam) have tended to favor rowdy, in-your-face, profanity-filled party music. Kings of Crunk, like the trio's previous releases, is full of the sort of hook-filled call-and-response jams that Southern hip-hop clubs are known for. The list of guests reads like a who's-who of Dirty South rapping -- Mystikal, Petey Pablo, Trick Daddy, and Pastor Troy all have cameos -- and Jon's trio works the crunk formula to death on relentlessly energetic tunes such as "Knockin' Heads Off," "Throw It Up," and the single "I Don't Give a Fuck." At times, the group sounds like it is recycling hits from previous albums, but one is inclined to be forgiving because even the CD's most formulaic tracks are infectious -- the Atlanta residents do have a way with a hook. And to their credit, not every track is formulaic crunk. Kings of Crunk detours into more of a Texas-type sound when Jon features U.G.K. on the rock-influenced "Diamonds," and those who find that Jon's up-tempo material can be exhausting will be surprised at how much his group chills out on "Nothin's Free" and a few other smooth, R&B-drenched items. Arguably the trio's most well-rounded album, Kings of Crunk will keep crunk fans happy, but has enough variety to keep listeners from calling them one-dimensional. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Put Yo Hood Up, Lil Jon's first album for TVT, is a vital step forward from his previous couple underground albums. The producer/rapper's bass-heavy productions remain the highlight, as always, though he now has a long and varied list of guest rappers to accompany the beats, including such household names as Too Short and Ludacris, who are teamed up on "Bia', Bia'." Put Yo Hood Up also features guest features by Eightball & MJG, Three 6 Mafia, M.O.P., and Jazze Pha, among other, lesser-known guests. The de-emphasis of the East Side Boyz in favor of these guests works in favor of Lil Jon. Not only do the bigger-name guests serve as commercial draw, but the varied roster helps better showcase the productions, which presumably are fit with stylistically suitable rappers. Plus, the end result is an album that resembles a street-level mixtape rather than a traditional artist-oriented album -- a plus in this case, since the East Side Boyz can't carry an album this long by themselves. Besides "Bia', Bia'," which is the standout here, Put Yo Hood Up includes such highlights as "I Like Dem Girlz," "Who U Wit," and the title track. Note that some of these songs (e.g., "Who U Wit") were previously released on Lil Jon's underground albums, namely Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album (1997) and We Still Crunk (2000). ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album'
Release Date 10/21/1997
Tracks 17
Label Ichiban
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz made their national debut in 1997 with Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album, a fairly routine album of bass music with a few standout anthems, chief among them "Get Crunk," "Who U Wit?," and "Shawty Freak a Lil Sumthin'." For bass music, these particular tracks are above average, yet they're still not quite in the same league as the sort of hits Jon would craft years later ("Bia' Bia'," "Get Low," "Damn!," etc.). Regardless, Jon's work here on Get Crunk was ahead of its time and certainly precedent-setting. Even so, only completists need to pick up this album; everyone else will be better serviced by better-crafted albums like Put Yo Hood Up (2001) or Kings of Crunk (2002), not to mention a best-of collection, which is probably most ideal. [Five years later Mirror Image released Certified Crunk, which is essentially an alternate version of Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album, including most of the same songs in slightly remixed form, along with a few odds and ends thrown in for good measure.] ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
