Ruff - Ruff You Up
Reviewed By: ULTIMATECDLINK
Album Rate: 3.25 out of 5 Stars
Ruff is one of the many artists on the Houston, TX underground scene trying to make a name for himself. He just dropped his second CD on his own record label, Mystirious Records.
1. R-U-F-F-- this track has a beat that sounds like something you'd hear on a TV televangelest broadcast. Ruff has a decent flow and describes how he's come up in the rap game and still has to hustle reach his goals. It's a nice little track to introduce himself and his rap style to the world.
2. Houston Ridas-- this track has a west coast sound on the beats--almost like something Dr. Dre would lend his name to. But there is an annoying live crowd mixed in whenever the hook kicks in that kinda ruins the song. Ruff doesn't really bring anything spectacular to the mic on this one.
3. Hustle In My Heart-- this track has a nice laid back beat. Ruff drops a couple of nice verses about how he's gotta hustle to survive in H-Town. The hook goes "hustle in my heart/I got hustle in my heart/gotta watch out for the haters/stand strong and be smart". It's a bumpable track.
4. Hate Da Game-- this track has a midtempo beat with a bit of that gangsta drive by shootin west coast sound. Ruff drops some mediocre verses on this one and seems to waste a tight beat.
5. Ruff You Up-- this track has a little more upbeat sound to it even though Ruff raps about fuckin someone up. The hook has Ruff in a sing-songy style saying "I'm here to ruff you up/that's no bluff". It's a decent song worth checkin out.
6. Off My Chest-- this track has a gangstaish murder ya ass type beat. Ruff flows about sending someone off to eternal sleep. The machine guns throughout the track will have ready to pump some slugs in ya worst enemy's chest. Bumpable track.
7. Commercial (skit)
8. G-String-- this track has a nice midtempo beat over a simple bassline. It's a booty shakin song done in a more R&B style instead of the usual crunk, uptempo style we're used to seeing. Overall, it's a decent track.
9. Da Streets-- this track has a midtempo beat that's not that tight. Ruff doesn't really bring much heat to the mic on this one. You can probably skip over this one.
10. Houston-- this track has a beat that sounds like something out of the scrap pile of an 80's N.W.A. album. The hook goes "Houston, Houston got the junk in the trunk". I wasn't really feelin anything on the entire song. It just seemed like it wasn't going anywhere.
11. A Real Nigga Pointa View-- this track has a bit of Oriental flavor on the beats. Ruff brings a nice flow on this one but the song is a little short. Still a tight effort on this one.
12. Another Century-- this track has a midtempo beat with a simple bassline. Ruff comes decent on the mic rappin about how another century has gone by but things really haven't changed in the world. It's not that bad of a track.
13. Stop Racism-- this track has a beat that takes a serious tip for a serious subject. Ruff drops his knowledge on us about a touchy subject in the country today. It's a deep track with a nice message behind it.
14. Ruff Reggae-- this track has a weird vibe to it with tons of off the wall sound effects. The title is a little misleading because I was expecting a reggae flavor to the song but it totally comes off as one of the weaker tracks on the album.
15. A Real Nigga Pointa View (chopped & screwed)-- chopped & screwed up version of the song featured earlier on the album.
Overall, there are flashes of brilliance on the album but that comes on the production side. Ruff really doesn't rap with any sense of urgency or passion on his cuts. He keeps the same laid back style on almost every cut and there just isn't anything about his voice to make him stand out from any other artist in H-Town or across the country. He does do a pretty good job producing the album but he needs to improve vocally.
Ruff - Ruff You Up