OC's third album "Bon Appetit" from 2001 is probably his least popular. While his first two albums are undeniable classics, due in large part to OC's lyrical prowess, his third album marked a change in his style. OC chose to not try that hard at impressing people with his emcee skills, and simplify his subject matter and delivery. Perhaps he felt artistically pigeonholed by having a label placed on him that he never asked for, and was trying to show his versatility as an artist by making an album that would be more accessible to mainstream Hip-Hop, which had shut him out after two major label releases, while turning a blind eye to the so-called Hip-Hop purists who had supported him from the inception of his career. Whatever the reason may be, the album didn't do all that well commercially or critically, but it's not really all that bad. For the most part this is a very enjoyable listen, there are songs like "Soul to Keep," "Doin' Dirt" and "Respect the Drop" which are reminiscent of OC's earlier material, as well as songs like "Back to Cali," "Utmost," "Weed and Drinks" and "Paradise," which would fit in nicely on any commercial Hip-Hop play list. The album was produced almost entirely by longtime collaborator and fellow D.I.T.C. member Buckwild, who also did the majority of OC's seminal debut album "Word...Life," but when you put the two albums side by side, the latter far outshines the former. While its not quite on the level of OC's prior efforts, "Bon Appetit" is still worth checking out.
No comments:
Post a Comment