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Remy Ma
Remy Ma - There's Something About Remy
 (J Records)

- reviewed by Chris G

Remy Ma came on the scene in 1999 as a protege of the late great Big Pun. It took 7 years but after repeated delays, pushbacks and fumbling of her album it's finally here. Actually there was a time there that a Remy Ma album didn't seem possible more from her lyrical ability than any bureaucratic shenanigans. From mixtape to a sixteen bar guest verse appearance, she came off as the kid in school who skipped class, hung in the gym and lunchroom, only showing up for the occasional test with all the answers coming from the person sitting nearest them. Lots of biting going on with the Remy lyrics.

While others may take a snatch as a nod to a classic line, Remy would use multiple lines in one song, adding to the fact that she was a new artist who you'd hoped to hear more of who she is.. hear her classic lines. I never really thought about this, but when you're passed the mic for the first time, this is your big shot. If what comes out of your mouth is a patchwork of what's in your CD player, than said mic should be yanked out of that person's hand accompanied by a kick in the ass and a finger pointing to the exit.

What has carried Remy over the last seven years is her confidence and raw energy that is missing from the female rap game. more..

- reviewed by Chris G

Remy Ma came on the scene in 1999 as a protege of the late great Big Pun. It took 7 years but after repeated delays, pushbacks and fumbling of her album it's finally here. Actually there was a time there that a Remy Ma album didn't seem possible more from her lyrical ability than any bureaucratic shenanigans. From mixtape to a sixteen bar guest verse appearance, she came off as the kid in school who skipped class, hung in the gym and lunchroom, only showing up for the occasional test with all the answers coming from the person sitting nearest them. Lots of biting going on with the Remy lyrics.

While others may take a snatch as a nod to a classic line, Remy would use multiple lines in one song, adding to the fact that she was a new artist who you'd hoped to hear more of who she is.. hear her classic lines. I never really thought about this, but when you're passed the mic for the first time, this is your big shot. If what comes out of your mouth is a patchwork of what's in your CD player, than said mic should be yanked out of that person's hand accompanied by a kick in the ass and a finger pointing to the exit.

What has carried Remy over the last seven years is her confidence and raw energy that is missing from the female rap game.

With Kim and Foxy trading in the grime for name brand labels and VIP sections years ago, Trina not much of a lyricist, and other than the buried underground southern female rapper, the field for that streetwise female rapper is all hers.

Not that she owns it, but the potential, that aforementioned energy is there, enough that the rookie mistakes are dismissed to give her yet another listen. It doesn't hurt that the "guys all want to smash" - her words - for females, the sex edge is as marketable as nine shots and a mysterious street rep.

On There's Something About Remy, Ma takes the mic and delivers a surprisingly entertaining album, free of other MC's rhymes or stories, there is definitely something about Remy that is very appealing.

Take "Lights, Camera, Action" which only shares the Lost Boyz song in name alone. Remy defines it as hitting the club/hot event and all eyes on being her. It's a familiar theme throughout the album. On "Tight" she goes as far as plugging the chorus with ain't nobody f-cking with "me me me me me me me me."

If that came out of Kanye's mouth people would blast it as arrogance, but Remy isn't certified A-list material, so it plays of as something her fans can hold on to as their own. The best MCs make you feel as what they're talking about is what relates to you as well.. or so you think. So best believe somewhere a chickenheaded shorty will be singing along like it's the new anthem.

Big Pun makes a guest appearance on "Thug Love" that is so fluid it sounds as if 2Pac let him use the same phone he uses to call in a relevant verse from heaven. Ne-Yo makes a similar, seamless and purposeful appearance on "Feels So Good." Lacing it with just the right amount of R&B to keep it moving: not so sweet that the allergic and diabetic will get sick.

Reggaeton star Ivy Queen appears on "Bilingual" where she and Remy flip verses in Spanish. One of the better mixed language collaborations that I've heard and a flag to her South Bronx home and love for Latino men.

All in all this is a non-skip CD, especially considering that the only track that would get that button is "What's Going On", which is the next to last track on the album. It touches on abortion, a serious subject, I know. Musically, it's also yawnable. While I'm at it, go one track up to "Crazy", it's just horrific, with stiff rhymes reminiscent of her mixtape stuff. The very last track, "Still", though it's more listenable, put higher in the tracklisting all three songs would've put a pause on the rawkous street vibe of the other 15 tracks. But I guess she's entitled, after all.. it is all about Remy.

back to the ratings..

Track By Track
-- Degrees --102030405060708090100
1.  Intro (medley)
1.  Pun's Words
2.  She's Gone
3.  Lights, Camera, Action
4.  Tight feat. Fat Joe
5.  Whuteva
6.  Conceited Messages
7.  Conceited
8.  Feels So Good
     feat. Ne-Yo
9.  I'm
10. Thug Love
      feat. Big Pun
11. Secret Location
12. In-Da-Street (skit)
13. Bilingual
      feat. Ivy Queen
14. Conscience (skit)
15. Guilty
16. Crazy
17. What's Going On
18. Still
The Industry Says

Associated Press - - "Her over-the-top power plays and a decidedly monochromatic flow keep Remy from being able to rightfully claim raps female throne. Only when the bluster relents does the album avoid being weighed down by her bloated ego.. Remy is at her best when she reveals her vulnerable side. On "What's Going On," she recalls grappling with the idea of aborting her first child. Keyshia Cole's warm vocals add to the song's reverent tone."


Mictap.com - A- "I was unsure as what to expect from Remy, but she delivered a solid solo effort and the best solo effort from a female emcee in recent memory. As I slowly began to absorb the album, the more it grew on me, I would find myself getting lost in the music. Remy’s rhyming style and gritty charm enables you to do just that, get lost in the music…you stop focusing on the fact that she is female or she is affiliated with this crew or that crew. Instead you are finally introduced to the world of Remy Martin."


Access Atlanta - B "Her solo debut is a strong but not thrilling album of old-fashioned New York hip-hop. In an era dominated by Southern rappers and their beat-driven hits, Remy Ma is something of a throwback: a rapper who hasn't lost her faith in the power of words."



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