Memphis Bleek

I have to say that there are ONLY a couple of good tracks on this disk. In my opinion Bleeks' album sucks.

Dont expect anything too lyrical from Bleek. Just expect a track here and there with great production and mediocre lyrics. When I heard the first introduction track I was mildly impressed but then came the second and third tracks. Then I realized this is the same old Bleek who starts out strong solo, then gets murdered on his own album yet again. There a couple of decent tracks the entire album is not too bad. There is far worst out there. Bleek and Free is a bangin track. The beat is just ill. Hypnotic is pretty tight too and Beanie got a dope verse on it. This cd is passable, you wont really gain anything with this purchase. If you must get it, then get it as cheap as possible. No one should pay more than 5 bucks for this.
Decent tracks are: Bleek and Free feat. Freeway
Round here feat. Trick Daddy and TI
Hypnotic feat. Beanie Sigel
The best track right here, Murda Murda feat. Jay-Z and Beanie. The remix was a lot better.

Simply put, Memphis Bleek is the U God of his crew. You know, that guy that swears he's nice, keeps putting out albums, and all but one of them stink to high heaven. Bleek's only decent release was his most recent release (534). You may think I'm crazy and say to yourself "Coming Of Age is Bleek's best album", but I turned my nose up at it after he was introduced as "the new and improved Jay Z." And in a lot of ways, that claim has been a bit of a snake bite to his career because now he can't get anyone to listen to him. Anyway, back to this album. Lyrically, I've never expected much from Bleek because he's one of those guys that just hasn't shown anything that would make anyone anticipate his releases. Honestly, how many die hard Memphis Bleek fans do you know? Case closed. There are too many wack joints on the album for me to give it 3 stars. "Need Me In Your Life", "", suffer from bad production, "" and "War" suffer from wack lyrics, "We Ballin'" and "My Life" shouldn't be played while operating heavy machinery, "I Wanna Love You" is straight up wack, and all of those songs contain godawful hooks/choruses.

Despite all the bad track, there are some decent cuts on the album to be found. "Just Blaze, Bleek, & Free" is a dope cut. Not because of the lyrics, but because Just Blaze produces a nice track and slaughters the end of it with some serious cutting and scratchin'. The lead single "Round Here" is decent and features Trick Daddy outshining T.I. and Bleek (which speaks volumes to Bleek's flow or lack thereof). "Hypnotic" is a noteworthy track that features Jay Z and Beanie Sigel, but it can have a sleep inducing effect. The easy standout on the album is the bangin' "Murda Murda." Jay Z, again, out shines Bleek on his own album, Beans brings that SP grit that we all love from him, and the production from Scott Storch (the remix is even better though). The rest of the album is typical, run-of-the-mill pop rap.

There are worse albums out there and M.A.D.E. does have a few joints worth hearing, but the long and short of it is Bleek can't rhyme, the beats are generic, and the album is flooded with guest appearances that add absolutely nothing to the album. If Bleek is going to have anykind of impact, he'll need to step up his lyrical game and actually say something worth hearing. Otherwise, he'll forever be known as "that other guy." I recommend downloading the joints you want to hear and save your money for a good album.

Standout Tracks: Round Here feat. T.I. & Trick Daddy, Hypnotic feat. Jay Z & Beanie Sigel, Just Blaze Bleek & Free feat. Freeway, and Murda Murda feat. Jay Z & Beanie Sigel (My Favorite)

"Memphis Bleek's" third album was released just a month or so after "Jay-Z's" final album. Nothing major has changed with Bleek's rhyming style and he hasn't really improved much with his lyrical skills. On the positive side, this album does contain enough material to keep you interested, whether it's the blazing production work or his own trial and tribulation stories, this has to "Memphis Bleek's" most interesting album to date. Even though it doesn't live up to his mentor's "Black Album" LP, it still has enough to keep your attention going.

3 (or actually now 4) albums deep and Bleek is still "One hit away" according to his good friend Jay-Z. He's been one hit away for a decade now and just can't pull it together. Now on to the album.

I thought this was going to be his breakthrough album back in late '03 with that sond "'Round Here" but I was wrong. That song has Trick Daddy and T.I. in it and it was Bleeks first single. Now since when Bleek think he can rip on southern beats? He can barely put a crack in Just Blaze's beats but he goes down south. As much as I hate T.I., his and Trick Daddy's verse are better than Bleek's. I thought it was Trick Daddy's song for a minute.

On to the other songs of the album. Just about every song that has Jay-Z saves it from being a horrible album. Jay has to give Bleek his tracks that he made to make his album decent (Murda Marcyville II-yes there are 2 versions, both of them orgionally Jay-Z's). 1,2 Yall is a good song because of the collaborations too. Bleek needs to get his lyrics together because some songs he just doesn't cut it, "Half black and chinese, you gave me the fu-fu") I laughed my ass off when I heard that line.

I've bought 2 out of his 4 albums and he just can't get it together by himself. He has to use Beanie Seigel or Jay-Z to put some fire in a song. If hes still one hit away, he needs to hurry up and make that hit, because time is running out and Jay is not going to be around with him forever.

As someone who has followed Memphis Bleek's career, 534 was a welcome surprise. Simply put, the CD is better than you would think. While M.A.D.E. had a couple of decent songs, it was Bleek's first solo album in years and the rust showed. Jay compensated by throwing guest appearance after guest appearcance on the joint, making the LP seem both forced and cluttered. On 534, however, one begins to appreciate Bleek's potential.

As much as I love it, "Dear Summer" hurts Bleek's cause. Fans want to see Bleek out of Hov's shadow, and while the God-MC's retirement was a welcome sight for Bleek fans, Dear Summer directly negates that progression. "Infatuated" was an over-the-top pop song but when separated from the hook, the lyrics were quite solid. Bleek mimics Jay's style a little bit in Infatuated, but that's representative of the whole LP; the deeper you get in to the track list, the more we see the real Bleek and the less we see Jay's influence. I thought "Like That" and "Oh Baby" were club bangers, but both were representative of the songs artists put out to perpetuate rap's sorry state today.

"First, Last and Only," was when I thought, for the first time, we were on to something. The beat clearly sets the tone while Bleek and MOP spit bonafide BK heat. I thought this was one guest appearance that Bleek hit right on the nose; MOP was PERFECT for this track. "Alright," was my favorite track on the CD. Getting production from 9th Wonder and doing the song by HIMSELF, Bleek for the first time in his career, had me up out of my seat when I heard his delivery. You had a feeling that he really focused and I thought his rhymes were extremely crisp and well-written. I love the symbolism of the second-to-last track "All About Me," because as I said, we really begin see Bleek in his own light by the end of the CD. While 534 is not A classic in the least, Bleek fans have to be encouraged by the improvements since M.A.D.E. and should heavily anticipate his next solo LP. Well done, Memph Man; this was the surprise of 2005.

Memphis Bleek is an emcee who is very consistent - too consistent for his own good. While Memphis has certainly never been a weak emcee, he's also never exactly reached any pinnacle of dopeness either. Poised as the heir to Jay-Z's throne has been a gift and a curse for Memphis; while his name is far more known to heads than if he was a struggling cat with no promotion, he's also been met with nearly impossible expectations. He will never be wack, but if you're comparing him to Hova, you've made a large mistake.

The first track of this album gets things off to a very flimsy start with the title-track. When Bleek mentions the term 'no homo,' you maybe expecting Cam'ron or Juelz Santana to pop up at any moment. The next interlude is almost a break from the borderline-wack intro; a somber, soulful simple taken from a folk singer, which leads into the album's largest highlight; Dear Summer. Unfortunately for Bleek, the best track on the album doesn't show a trace of him anywhere. Produced by Just Blaze, Jay-Z, the mentor of Bleek, kicks some smooth rhymes over the jazzy music Blaze provides, and although this track is butter, it's a shame that Bleek once again got overshadowed by Jigga.

Another thing, going back to the intro; Bleek often likes to utilize other rappers' catch-phrases, and even parts of their choruses. Throughout the album, he throws not-so-subtle references to songs by Juvenile, Notorious B.I.G., and even 50 Cent. It's really quite embarrassing to see Bleek even think about borrowing from 50.

There honestly are some bad spots on this album, such as the aforementioned title-track, Infatuated, The One, Oh Baby, and Hater Free. The good cuts are decent or better, and although this is a eight-to-five ratio, it's still enough to warrant this a purchase. In a world where bling-bling rappers rule the charts, Memphis Bleek is a fresh of breath air in the mainstream; however, he doesn't really set himself enough from the Dipset crowd to stand out any further.

Bleek has the potential to release a near-classic; he promises he will on his next release. I can only hope so, because even though I support Bleek, and would like to see him walk out of Jay-Z's shadow, he hasn't done anything to prove he ever will - let's just hope he does before he retire, or fades even further into obscurity.

Honestly, when I got my hands on this the only reason I wanted to hear it was for Jay-Z. For the longest time I only listened to Dear Summer and just skipped over the rest. Recently, I patiently listened to the entire record and to my surprise it wasn't terrible at all. As a fan of Bleek, I feel like you should own this--for real. The material on this is everything you can expect from his best and then some. Is he well on his way of making people listen again? Record sells show this release wasn't helpfull in that. Give it another chance like I did, you might be surprised. Peace

It's been over a year since Jay's departure, which means more opportunities for other Roc-A-Fella artists to come through, mainly "Memphis Bleek". Due to the fact that "Memphis Bleek" has always been considered as Jay's sidekick. Even though this album doesn't break through as a bonified classic, the album is still a step-up from "Bleek's" other releases. Most notibly, his most impressive works, since ("The Understanding") LP. The leading single ("Like That"), produced by "Swizz Beatz" is a real club banger and is an obvious choice to help push the album for more exposure. ("Dear Summer") has Jay-Z on a solo-tip where he addresses his fans about his retirement - once again (will he ever retire?). Don't let this album throw you off, because "Memphis Bleek" certainly holds it on his own with cuts like ("Smoke The Pain Away") and ("Alright"), both produced by "9th Wonder". "Just Blaze" also shows up for the ever-emotional cut ("Straight Path"). This album really shows that "Bleek" has grown and his maturity has been displayed.

What's weird about this album is having another rapper (Jay-Z) rapping the second song of the album when Bleek himself isn't involved with the song at all, not producing not rapping not even in as a background vocalist... they definitly should have made Dear Summer a bonus track or sumthing becouse having it in a Memphis Bleek album makes no sense what so ever...

Besides that this album is straight... not the best rocafella release by a longshot by Bleek lazed it no doubt... I don't think I skipped a single track (except for a lovesong)... from 534 to the last song it's pretty much good all the way through...

Thumbs Up!

"Don't compare me to Jay-Z..." Memphis Bleeks commands on "They'll Never Play Me", the 11th track on his album "The Understanding". In some sense, that is reasonable request. An artist should stand or fall on his own merits. However, it is inevitable that Bleek would be compared to his mentor, not because of his status as Jigga's one-time understudy, but because Jay-Z is the yardstick by which most MCs in the Mafioso rap sub-genre are measured.

Bleek may as well demand that listeners not compare him to AZ, Nas, the Notorious B.I.G., Raekwon, or any other MC that's ever picked up the mic and spit about pushing weight and bagging broads. In truth, it would be better for him if we didn't. Although Bleek isn't terrible, he comes across as rather average in terms of both concept and flow. His subject matter is mundane (by hip hop standards) and his delivery is all right, but it's nothing special. His lyrics definitely lack complexity, and this is never more evident than when he's rhyming alongside his former mentor (Jigga) who makes appearances on no less than four of this album's tracks.

All in all, Bleek, while competent, fails to stand out from the crowd.

Bleek cant hold an album down by himself. His debut album and this is proof. Some decent beats but he doesn't do anything with them. The best tracks are the features. I only like 2 tracks. My mind right remix and Is that your chick. I say burn those 2 tracks and forget the rest of this album.

Question: When has Memphis Bleek delivered a top notch album? Maybe his recent "534" album, thats it. As of 2006, he's four albums deep and seems to haven't acquired the status of some [former] Roc-A-Fella artists (i.e. Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Kanye West, etc.) As being Jay-Z's close friend, Jay always says he's one hit away. But giving him the benefit of the doubt, I decided to check out this album for only one reason. The hit song "Is That Your (Chick)" with Jay-Z, Missy Eliott, and Twista. It's ironic because the song was origonally Jay's and was supposed to be on the "Vol. 3: Life And Times Of S. Carter" album, Bleek was just thrown in there...thats why it's subtitled "The Lost Verses".

Anyway there are many other songs on the album too that are below expectations. "We Get Low" is one of these tracks. "Bounce B****" will make you laugh, because of how horrible it sounds, along with the production. And "Everyday" with Carl Thomas, is a prime example of how wack Bleek is. And his good friend Jay-Z doesn't make anything better either on some tracks. "Do My" is one of those tracks that are below both Jay's and Bleek's expectations. But Jay, Beanie Sigel and H. Money Bags will outshine Bleek on the track "My Mind Right".

There are some good songs here thought that I have a feel for. "I Get High" is a laid back track about smoking weed while driving. Bleek and Beans will do a decent job on the song "Change Up" (I wouldn't credit Jay-Z on what he does though). "They'll Never Play Me" Bleek actually flips his word play and makes it a good song. The album's closer "In My Life" is a real good emotional track that I like very much.

As you can hear, Bleek can pull some tracks on his own on this album, but he fails to do on others. In most songs that he makes with a guest, he is outshined (see next album M.A.D.E.). I won't lie though, Bleek has had a somewhat successful career, because he stood in Jay-Z's shadow. Trust me, if he was on his own, he would have fallen off real fast, and would have never have made it to "534". I guess if you're a Bleek fan or want to hear one of his albums, go ahead and cop this. Otherwise, save your money.

Lyrics: C
Production: C+
Guest Appearances: B-
Musical Vibes: C-
Overall: C

Fav Tracks: I Get High, My Mind Right (Remix), They'll Never Play Me, Is That Your (Chick) [The Lost Verses], In My Life

Peace Everyone!

Bleek returns with a much larger improved LP, The Understanding shows the maturity of young Memphis Bleek. Great collaboration with great production work. Roc-A-Fella strike with a formula that worked for Bleek, along with the entire Roc-A-Fella team showing their support for Bleek. However, this album does start to get a little bland and start to lose it's touch, but with cuts like "I Get High" and My Mind Right(Remix)" it shows that Bleek has a shot at Jay's title when he retires.

I dont see what all the hype is about I mean Memphis is OK Lyrically but his beats are garbage no disrespect but why does Jay-Z get all the hot beats and they give the others garbage I gave it 3 stars because lyrically Memph is Hot but it would be 5 stars if this was an accapella CD I mean I like the songs Mind Right and My favorite I get High but the rest accapella and I 4got is that your chick but it gets 3 stars from me.

I have to admit that I do like this LP. It kinda grew on me throughout these years. Lyrically he does have his moments. Overall, this is the only record from him I think you should check out.

Memphis Bleek looks at himself as the new and improved Jay-Z. As far as the general fans are concerned, he has the potential to be, but as far as this album goes, it doesn't seem he be will anytime soon. Unfortunetly, this album lacks the same presence that Jay-Z gives us with his records. Memphis Bleek does possess the same swager and infactuation with drugs, money, women and guns, but unfortuntely it lacks substance. No real standouts in this one, but the gems on this LP do keep the record spinning and have you listening to what this young man's all about, with some decent production work. Sorry Bleek, better luck next time!

Memphis Bleek has a lot to offer but he doesn't show it when he limits his lyrics to only a few things, Women, Money, and all the other flashy stuff people crave. Now he does open his mind up on some tracks letting you know his potential. Besides that this album has some great production and that's where Bleek unleashes the real Bleek. Tracks like Stay alive in NYC, You a thug, and Regular cat. After hearing this album you start to realize in his more recent albums Bleek relies on his production to much but not on this he was hungrier and more aggressive than he is now. This is a nice album to have it's got mediocre lyrics nothing that stands out like his verse on Jay z's coming of age. Some songs wear on you and some start to get on your nerves but all together this is a decent debut.

After appearing on Jay-Z's 1998 multiplatinum album, "Vol. 2: A Hard Knock Life", the first rapper signed to the ROC, Memphis Bleek released his first album, "Coming of Age" in 1999.

1. Pain in da A** Intro

2. Who's Sleeping (Featuring Reb) - Nice beat, Bleek has a real nice flow, Reb comes good on the hook - 4/5

3. Memphis Bleek Is... - Not feeling the beat, Bleek comes good, hook is good - 4/5

4. What You Think of That (Featuring Jay-Z) - Good beat, Bleek and Jay rip it, hook is good - 4.5/5

5. Murda 4 Life (Featuring Ja Rule) - Good beat, Bleek and Ja come nice, Ja has a good hook - 4.5/5

6. You're All Welcome [Pain Interlude]

7. Stay Alive in NYC - Nice beat, Bleek comes real hard and grimey, hook is good...really bangin track - 5/5

8. You a Thug N**** - Good beat, Bleek comes hard again, hooks pretty good - 4/5

9. N.O.W. (Featuring Da Ranjahz) - Good beat, Dark Half and Wais got the first 2 verses then Bleek comes last...they all sound nice over the beat, hook is good...another good track - 5/5

10. Everybody - Nice beat, Bleek comes good, hook is alright - 4/5

11. I Won't Stop (Featuring Dark Half) - Nice beat, Bleek is tight on his verses, Dark Half does the hook which is also good - 4/5

12. My Hood to Your Hood (Featuring Beanie Sigel) - Good beat, Beans and Bleek go back and worth and both come nice, hook is good - 4.5/5

13. Why You Wanna Hate For (Featuring Noreaga) - Real hard beat, Bleek and N.O.R.E. come pretty nice, not feeling N.O.R.E.'s hook at all - 4/5

14. Regular Cat - Another hard beat, Bleek doesn't disappoint on his verses, the hook could have been more energetic and faster... - 4.5/5

Overall: 53/60

4.5 Stars

Bleek really impressed me with this album. He's not as talented as Jay-Z but he's definitely got a great flow and voice to match up with the beats. His hooks aren't bad either. It always puzzles me how people hate on Bleek so much...people just need to kick back and give him another try!

With almost 4 years in the rap game under his belt, at the time labeled as the future of the ROC, Bleek, displays the lyrics of an old head, and he just turned 21 a month and a half before this debut album dropped. With 12 solid songs (none on here that I skip), it has 3 classics, 5 to 7 good or great songs, and 2 to 4 average ones. Half the songs have guests on them. Production is handled by 10 different producers. Irv Gotti does 3 (2 w/ Mr. Fingers & 1 w/ Lil rob), J_Runnah does 2, and Pat Viala, Buvkwild, Swizz Beats, Haph, Omen, Big Demi, Burn Unit all do 1. Amust have rap album and one of the best of 1999.

#2 - 8.5 (f/ Reb)
#3 - 10 (classic w/ great beat)
#4 - 10 (another classic w/ a great faster beat -- f/ Jay-Z)
#5 - 9 (f/ Ja Rule --- also on Ja's "Venni Vetti Vecci")
#7 - 10 (CLASSIC -- great beat and story -- one of my all time favorite songs)
#8 - 7
#9 - 8.5 (f/ Da Ranjahz)
#10 - 8
#11 - 8 (f/ Da Ranjahz)
#12 - 8.5 (f/ Beanie Sigel)
#13 - 9.5 (f/ Noreaga -- great song)
#14 - 6.5 (slower/deeper song)

Malik Cox -- b. 6/23/78 -- Marcy, Brooklyn, NY
check all my reviews

Simply put, Memphis Bleek is the U God of his crew. You know, that guy that swears he's nice, keeps putting out albums, and all but one of them stink to high heaven. Bleek's only decent release was his most recent release (534). You may think I'm crazy and say to yourself "Coming Of Age is Bleek's best album", but I turned my nose up at it after he was introduced as "the new and improved Jay Z." And in a lot of ways, that claim has been a bit of a snake bite to his career because now he can't get anyone to listen to him. Anyway, back to this album. Lyrically, I've never expected much from Bleek because he's one of those guys that just hasn't shown anything that would make anyone anticipate his releases. Honestly, how many die hard Memphis Bleek fans do you know? Case closed. There are too many wack joints on the album for me to give it 3 stars. "Need Me In Your Life", "", suffer from bad production, "" and "War" suffer from wack lyrics, "We Ballin'" and "My Life" shouldn't be played while operating heavy machinery, "I Wanna Love You" is straight up wack, and all of those songs contain godawful hooks/choruses.

Despite all the bad track, there are some decent cuts on the album to be found. "Just Blaze, Bleek, & Free" is a dope cut. Not because of the lyrics, but because Just Blaze produces a nice track and slaughters the end of it with some serious cutting and scratchin'. The lead single "Round Here" is decent and features Trick Daddy outshining T.I. and Bleek (which speaks volumes to Bleek's flow or lack thereof). "Hypnotic" is a noteworthy track that features Jay Z and Beanie Sigel, but those are the only songs on the album worth hearing, but it can have a sleep inducing effect. The easy standout on the album is the bangin' "Murda Murda." Jay Z, again, out shines Bleek on his own album, Beans brings that SP grit that we all love from him, and the production from Scott Storch (the remix is even better though). The rest of the album is typical, run-of-the-mill pop rap.

There are worse albums out there and M.A.D.E. does have a few joints worth hearing, but the long and short of it is Bleek can't rhyme, the beats are generic, and the album is flooded with guest appearances that add absolutely nothing to the album. If Bleek is going to have anykind of impact, he'll need to step up his lyrical game and actually say something worth hearing. Otherwise, he'll forever be known as "that other guy." I recommend downloading the joints you want to hear and save your money for a good album.

Standout Tracks: Round Here feat. T.I. & Trick Daddy, Hypnotic feat. Jay Z & Beanie Sigel, Just Blaze Bleek & Free feat. Freeway, and Murda Murda feat. Jay Z & Beanie Sigel (My Favorite)

Question: When has Memphis Bleek delivered a top notch album? Maybe his recent "534" album, thats it. As of 2006, he's four albums deep and seems to haven't acquired the status of some [former] Roc-A-Fella artists (i.e. Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Kanye West, etc.) As being Jay-Z's close friend, Jay always says he's one hit away. But giving him the benefit of the doubt, I decided to check out this album for only one reason. The hit song "Is That Your (Chick)" with Jay-Z, Missy Eliott, and Twista. It's ironic because the song was origonally Jay's and was supposed to be on the "Vol. 3: Life And Times Of S. Carter" album, Bleek was just thrown in there...thats why it's subtitled "The Lost Verses".

Anyway there are many other songs on the album too that are below expectations. "We Get Low" is one of these tracks. "Bounce B****" will make you laugh, because of how horrible it sounds, along with the production. And "Everyday" with Carl Thomas, is a prime example of how wack Bleek is. And his good friend Jay-Z doesn't make anything better either on some tracks. "Do My" is one of those tracks that are below both Jay's and Bleek's expectations. But Jay, Beanie Sigel and H. Money Bags will outshine Bleek on the track "My Mind Right".

There are some good songs here thought that I have a feel for. "I Get High" is a laid back track about smoking weed while driving. Bleek and Beans will do a decent job on the song "Change Up" (I wouldn't credit Jay-Z on what he does though). "They'll Never Play Me" Bleek actually flips his word play and makes it a good song. The album's closer "In My Life" is a real good emotional track that I like very much.

As you can hear, Bleek can pull some tracks on his own on this album, but he fails to do on others. In most songs that he makes with a guest, he is outshined (see next album M.A.D.E.). I won't lie though, Bleek has had a somewhat successful career, because he stood in Jay-Z's shadow. Trust me, if he was on his own, he would have fallen off real fast, and would have never have made it to "534". I guess if you're a Bleek fan or want to hear one of his albums, go ahead and cop this. Otherwise, save your money.

Lyrics: C
Production: C+
Guest Appearances: B-
Musical Vibes: C-
Overall: C

Fav Tracks: I Get High, My Mind Right (Remix), They'll Never Play Me, Is That Your (Chick) [The Lost Verses], In My Life

Peace Everyone!

Whut's tha deal with everybody hating on my boy Memph Bleek??? I know a lot of cats down south never heard much of the album outside of Is That Yo Chick? (The Lost Verses) which isn't as good as the original to me but this album is the best he's put out so far and is better than Bean's sophmore offering The Reason. I guess there is still that playa hation towards the Roc-A-Fella family still going on which is bogus because they've got one of the strongest labels going. But this album could very easily been a classic if Bleek would have left a couple of tracks off and worked with another producer like Timbaland. But with cuts like Hustlers, All Types Of Sh*t, I Get High, Is That Yo Chick (The Lost Verses), They'll Never Play Me and I Got My Mind Right this is definitely one of the R-O-C's best albums. Holla!...

As someone who has followed Memphis Bleek's career, 534 was a welcome surprise. Simply put, the CD is better than you would think. While M.A.D.E. had a couple of decent songs, it was Bleek's first solo album in years and the rust showed. Jay compensated by throwing guest appearance after guest appearcance on the joint, making the LP seem both forced and cluttered. On 534, however, one begins to appreciate Bleek's potential.

As much as I love it, "Dear Summer" hurts Bleek's cause. Fans want to see Bleek out of Hov's shadow, and while the God-MC's retirement was a welcome sight for Bleek fans, Dear Summer directly negates that progression. "Infatuated" was an over-the-top pop song but when separated from the hook, the lyrics were quite solid. Bleek mimics Jay's style a little bit in Infatuated, but that's representative of the whole LP; the deeper you get in to the track list, the more we see the real Bleek and the less we see Jay's influence. I thought "Like That" and "Oh Baby" were club bangers, but both were representative of the songs artists put out to perpetuate rap's sorry state today.

"First, Last and Only," was when I thought, for the first time, we were on to something. The beat clearly sets the tone while Bleek and MOP spit bonafide BK heat. I thought this was one guest appearance that Bleek hit right on the nose; MOP was PERFECT for this track. "Alright," was my favorite track on the CD. Getting production from 9th Wonder and doing the song by HIMSELF, Bleek for the first time in his career, had me up out of my seat when I heard his delivery. You had a feeling that he really focused and I thought his rhymes were extremely crisp and well-written. I love the symbolism of the second-to-last track "All About Me," because as I said, we really begin see Bleek in his own light by the end of the CD. While 534 is not A classic in the least, Bleek fans have to be encouraged by the improvements since M.A.D.E. and should heavily anticipate his next solo LP. Well done, Memph Man; this was the surprise of 2005.

Memphis Bleek is an emcee who is very consistent - too consistent for his own good. While Memphis has certainly never been a weak emcee, he's also never exactly reached any pinnacle of dopeness either. Poised as the heir to Jay-Z's throne has been a gift and a curse for Memphis; while his name is far more known to heads than if he was a struggling cat with no promotion, he's also been met with nearly impossible expectations. He will never be wack, but if you're comparing him to Hova, you've made a large mistake.

The first track of this album gets things off to a very flimsy start with the title-track. When Bleek mentions the term 'no homo,' you maybe expecting Cam'ron or Juelz Santana to pop up at any moment. The next interlude is almost a break from the borderline-wack intro; a somber, soulful simple taken from a folk singer, which leads into the album's largest highlight; Dear Summer. Unfortunately for Bleek, the best track on the album doesn't show a trace of him anywhere. Produced by Just Blaze, Jay-Z, the mentor of Bleek, kicks some smooth rhymes over the jazzy music Blaze provides, and although this track is butter, it's a shame that Bleek once again got overshadowed by Jigga.

Another thing, going back to the intro; Bleek often likes to utilize other rappers' catch-phrases, and even parts of their choruses. Throughout the album, he throws not-so-subtle references to songs by Juvenile, Notorious B.I.G., and even 50 Cent. It's really quite embarrassing to see Bleek even think about borrowing from 50.

There honestly are some bad spots on this album, such as the aforementioned title-track, Infatuated, The One, Oh Baby, and Hater Free. The good cuts are decent or better, and although this is a eight-to-five ratio, it's still enough to warrant this a purchase. In a world where bling-bling rappers rule the charts, Memphis Bleek is a fresh of breath air in the mainstream; however, he doesn't really set himself enough from the Dipset crowd to stand out any further.

Bleek has the potential to release a near-classic; he promises he will on his next release. I can only hope so, because even though I support Bleek, and would like to see him walk out of Jay-Z's shadow, he hasn't done anything to prove he ever will - let's just hope he does before he retire, or fades even further into obscurity.

Honestly, when I got my hands on this the only reason I wanted to hear it was for Jay-Z. For the longest time I only listened to Dear Summer and just skipped over the rest. Recently, I patiently listened to the entire record and to my surprise it wasn't terrible at all. As a fan of Bleek, I feel like you should own this--for real. The material on this is everything you can expect from his best and then some. Is he well on his way of making people listen again? Record sells show this release wasn't helpfull in that. Give it another chance like I did, you might be surprised. Peace

It's been over a year since Jay's departure, which means more opportunities for other Roc-A-Fella artists to come through, mainly "Memphis Bleek". Due to the fact that "Memphis Bleek" has always been considered as Jay's sidekick. Even though this album doesn't break through as a bonified classic, the album is still a step-up from "Bleek's" other releases. Most notibly, his most impressive works, since ("The Understanding") LP. The leading single ("Like That"), produced by "Swizz Beatz" is a real club banger and is an obvious choice to help push the album for more exposure. ("Dear Summer") has Jay-Z on a solo-tip where he addresses his fans about his retirement - once again (will he ever retire?). Don't let this album throw you off, because "Memphis Bleek" certainly holds it on his own with cuts like ("Smoke The Pain Away") and ("Alright"), both produced by "9th Wonder". "Just Blaze" also shows up for the ever-emotional cut ("Straight Path"). This album really shows that "Bleek" has grown and his maturity has been displayed.

What's weird about this album is having another rapper (Jay-Z) rapping the second song of the album when Bleek himself isn't involved with the song at all, not producing not rapping not even in as a background vocalist... they definitly should have made Dear Summer a bonus track or sumthing becouse having it in a Memphis Bleek album makes no sense what so ever...

Besides that this album is straight... not the best rocafella release by a longshot by Bleek lazed it no doubt... I don't think I skipped a single track (except for a lovesong)... from 534 to the last song it's pretty much good all the way through...

Thumbs Up!

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like this is the kind of stuff Bleek should've been dropping in the first place? I mean, he's never been all that amazing as far as lyrical skills are concerned, but this album is easily his most well rounded. Beats, rhymes, and flow -- it's all there this time around. The production is on point. Joints like "Get Low", "Like That", and "Oh Baby" are all sure to keep heads nodding. "Dear Summer" is a pretty good joint which features some decent work from Jay Z. Jay has slipped lyrically, but he still manages to do a decent job here. Also, 9th Wonder laces Bleek with a killer beat on "Alright" (hurry up with that new Little Brother album, dammit!). In my mind, this is the best song on the album because Bleek is actually saying something and the beat is dope (his verse on Dear Summer is suspect). Also, "Straight Path" is pretty tight and Bleek comes through on the lyrical side again.

There are a few cuts on the album that should've been sent straight to the trash bin. "Infatuated" and "The One" are sort of generic and they have a "been there done that" feel to them. "Smoke The Pain Away" is the obligatory "weed" song. It's decent, but it suffers from a suspect hook. "All About Me" is pretty boring and "Hater Free" is straight up wack.

With all things considered, this is a solid release from Bleek. It's not neccesarily out of this world, but you won't be disappointed that you bought it either. It's worth checking out. I'd also reccomend picking up Beanie's new joint. And look out for the Young Gunz too.

Standout Tracks: Alright (My Favorite), Oh Baby feat. Young Gunz, Like That, Get Low, Dear Summer, First Last & Only feat. M.O.P., Straight Path, and 534