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AZ - UndeniableAlbum Review by:
John Burnett
Monday, April 21, 2008
 As trite as it sounds Anthony “AZ” Cruz is apart of a dying breed. Slumping sales have indicated for some of Hip Hop’s vets that the Y-generation could generally give two fucks about their legacy much less buying their latest release. With that in mind, it’s basically time to evolve or perish for the BK rhyme slinger infamous for wrecking the opening verse on “Life’s a Bitch.” Seven albums deep into a career that’s been largely slept on, AZ with Undeniable plans on declaring he too deserves a spot in history with the likes of Big and Pac and the other rap legends.
AZ, lyrically, is a damn fine emcee but his words have never been his problem. It’s always been his beats. Such is the case on Undeniable; plus throw in some incredibly wack hooks here and there that ruin a few of the listening experiences. Jimi Kendrix & Street Radio, on “Parking Lot Pimpin,’” recycle a throw-away (“Real Recognize Real”) from Lupe’s leaked version of F&L. It’s the identical beat! Is that even legal? AZ’s rhymes don’t help the cause much either kicking some rather generic “big willy” rhymes. “A Game” which brings more of the same from AZ is produced by Fizzy Womack and brings forth another sonic calamity shot straight from the bowels of the early 00s. It’s not so much that the production is poor quality, as it is the beats just sound damn near dusty i.e. dated.
The passé beats aren’t the only thing putting a damper on this jawn. The highly dramatized, crooned hooks by subpar singers create the opposite effect of what’s intended on a few efforts. Take for example, the Ray J-assisted “Go Getta” that formulaically mirrors every mainstream rapper’s lead single (i.e. rapper plus A-B grade singer (in this case C-grade) and some ditty about hustling or pimping). Ray J’s performance totally ruins the track when it should compliment or add something to it. Then Jay Rush’s extended solo almost ruins a solid track in “What Would You Do.” AZ’s lucid tales of hustling and signature street maxims plus a soulful knock provided by the Mash Out Posse’s Lil Fame outshine its drawbacks making it one of the brighter spots on the album. Street philosopher AZ is who his core fans have come to respect and is the AZ who appears on “The Game Don’t Stop.” AZ narrates you through the good times (“partied like Richard Pryor”) to the pitfalls close friends represent (“it’s the ones who smoke blunts with ya/rap with ya/but really want ya black ass out the picture”) and back up again showing the cyclical nature of the game. Unfortunately, the Rap game and its fans don’t work that way. When you drop a so so album, you usually get the reciprocal in fanfare and album sales.
Undeniable is to The Format what Pieces of a Man was to Doe or Die, a bunk album after a fairly good one. AZ’s niche is poignant tracks over soulful beats. When he goes into that whole club element he veers out of his comfort zone. Undeniable’s soul comes on “The Game Don’t Stop,” “Fire,” “What Would You Do,” and “Dead End.” The missteps occur on “Go Getta,” “A Game” and “Parking Lot Pimpin.” What I’ve come to notice about AZ is that a good beat brings the best out of him and the opposite is in effect too. A weak beat brings a lackluster effort. With that said, Undeniable doesn’t tarnish AZ’s legacy but it doesn’t strengthen it either which equates to it being somewhat mediocre.
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