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Mick Boogie & Young Chris - The NewprintAlbum Review by:
Michael Ivey
Friday, December 14, 2007
 Young Chris’ major problem in his world of rap business, hammer ringing and child care, is the North Philly reps’ inability to grow out of Jay-Z’s shadow and still publicly maintain the lessons he earned. Chris is found, in spots, bludgeoning ROC tracks yet, still, searching for his own stamp, like a hurried package mover on Christmas eve.
But Roc-A-Fella Records is in the business of endorsing defined acts who either move heavy units or heavy hearts (but mostly the former)-Young Chris has lifted neither. Enter mixtape Picasso Mick Boogie; he and “Young Gunna” organize just the right feel for ‘The Newprint:’ it’s Chris over Jay-Z tracks that shaped the La Familia movement and put Chris’ “Home of Philly” down with some late nineties New Yiddy piff.
On “Secret Weapon” Chris flexes a fervent, slow flow over Just Blaze’s drowsy intro of ‘The Black Album’: “They like ‘daaamn, Gunna where you been?/survivin’ poverty, now da Gunna back again/ease up all you ni**as, here he ca-ca-come again.” Sure he’ll lose some listeners due to a late use of Jay’s patented whisper-flow, but Chris is at home-in control-here.
If we take “Big Homie” Jay-Z’s word, Young Gunz was a combined thirty three when he, Scarface and Sigel dropped the visceral “This Can’t Be Life.” On ‘The Newprint’ re-edition Chris grapples with his cold outlook on death and imprisonment. Neef Buck delivers a career best verse second, waxing grievous about the police informants and thieves who subtracted life from his trap.
‘Allure’-“Young C” at his nicest-handles images of travails that mark a stressful path from North Philly to the rotten apple: “…Now or never still rise, still G.I.F.I/still Roc-A-Fella, yes I/go get it at Best Buy, North Philly to Bedstuy.” ‘The Newprint’ moves smoothly through fresh renditions of Roc-A-Fella oldies but goodies; Young sticks his Timberland boot in ‘Hard Knock Life’s’ “A week Ago,” rapping around a voice mail from a loose-lip friend; “Scary part’s when a nig*a squeal and kill/ playing both sides of the field, what happened to da death before dishonor?”
This mix album stands as some of Young Chris’ most inspired solo work to date; we see a seasoned young rapper aching to live up to “No Big Thing,” his easygoing 2004 retirement ode to Jay-Z. But if Big Homie is “the Mike Jordan of recording” then, a certain Cavalier stars’ LRMR team in tow, the “L. James of rap,” better treat ’08 like ’88 Detroit.
Download Free @ http://www.mickboogie.com/
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