Andre 3000: The Greatest Rapper Of All Time - HipHop

Payroll Giovanni is a rapper from Detroit, Michigan and former member of the now-defunct Doughboyz Cashout collective. Payroll and the group (which also consisted of HBK Kid, Roc, Scooch, Big Quis, Cashout Calhoun, BMO Maine, Dre Armani and Clay Baby) gained local hype within Michigan in the late 2000's and early 2010's off the back of hood classic mixtapes such as We Run The City Vol. 1 and We Run the City Vol. 2: Floodzone, the latter of which spawned the song "Chain on My Dresser" which was a Payroll solo cut that became a local hit. Fast forward three years and various other mixtapes and the Doughboyz had announced their signing to Young Jeezy's CTE World label. They were part of the Boss Yo Life Up Gang compilation that the label released in 2013. The next year would bring even more success for the Doughboyz with the release of classic mixtape We Run the City Vol. 4 and BYLUG World. However not long after BYLUG World's release Doughboyz Cashout split from Jeezy and CTE world much like Freddie Gibbs a few years earlier and later split as a group with the members going their separate ways (although still working together).

BYLUG World saw the first of collaborations between Payroll and Cardo, a Colorado-born, Minnesota-raised, and Texas-based producer whose beats are reminiscient of old school California funk. Day Ones which also featured YG was their first notable collaboration. Cardo later made a couple beats off the Billboard Brothers album in late 2015, which was a collaborative album between Payroll and Big Quis. Songs such as Check My Resume and Forever were standouts off that album. Not long after in May 2016 we got the announcement of a full length collaborative project between Payroll and Cardo. (Later throughout 2016 Cardo would get some of his most high-profile production spots, such as on Schoolboy Q's Blank Face LP and Travis Scott's Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, although the beats he made for those albums are not in the same style as most of his old productions).

Review

In 2016 we got a number of albums with "Vol. 1" in the title and while some of them did not exactly inject hope for future iterations, Big Bossin', Vol. 1 came through as one of the strongest hardcore gangsta rap projects of the year.

For an 18 track album stretching well over an hour, Big Bossin' is remarkably consistent. Much of this thanks can go to Cardo's production, which keeps a uniform sound but never grows too similar or stale. His hard, plucked basslines, smooth percussion choices, and use (sometimes overuse) of funky synths feel like a modern incarnation of Ant Banks, with a bit more Southern California flair. On "Where I'm From", he fits smooth percussion over a nicely chopped sample from short-lived 80's funk group the B.B. & Q. Band, and he slows down a Sade classic ("Nothing Can Come Between Us") for the album's best track, "Day in the Life". "Real Plug" and its heavy bass feels like a song straight out of a mid-90's Sick Wid It Records tape.

Not all rappers could ride the production that Cardo provides but thankfully Payroll and his assortment of smooth flows fit like a glove. On the Intro track (a freestyle over Compton legend DJ Quik's 1991 classic "Quik's Groove" instrumental), Payroll opens the album with a choppy, stacatto like flow similar to that of his Detroit friend and frequent collaborator Icewear Vezzo. Throughout the album he mixes up his flows without ever sounding unnatural - on "Day in the Life", which is a song about exactly what the title implies, Payroll is rapping at a pace that nearly sounds like he's reading to you. Most rappers could not work that type of flow, but Payroll's voice and natural rapping style make it sound great. On "Real Plug", Payroll and DBC member Cashout Calhoun try their hand at more fast, Bone Thugs-inspired flows over one of the faster beats on the record. Outside of Calhoun, only other DBC members and affiliates hop on for guest verses, as well as singer Tamara Jewel, and every guest adds to the album rather than simply overshadowing Payroll's performance.

Lyrically, Payroll is not breaking any boundaries with his topical choices. He's a hustler, and his style will inevitably evoke comparisons to West Coast legends like Too $hort, Mac Dre, or Rappin' 4-Tay - he raps about his life and is not too complex about it. Payroll's rhymes are always fresh and even though there's not much topical diversity he keeps you interested all the way through. The hook to "Empire" is a good example: "I'm a hustler, you a hustler / I'm a grinder, you a grinder / let's get some real money and stunt like Big Tymers". For fans of deep and complex rhyme schemes and intense wordplay, look elsewhere. But for fans of gangsta rap with vivid storytelling ("My Whole Life" condenses Payroll's life into the course of a three minute song, as well as the great storytelling on the aforementioned "Day in the Life") and great flows, there's no reason to miss Big Bossin'.

Favorite Lyrics by /u/mpejkrm

Welcome to the life of a hustler / where are all of bad bitches lust us / ATF and narcs wanna bust us / But everything legit so they can't touch us

"Intro"

Sizin' me up, come on please nigga / It's gon' take three of your watches for one of these, nigga / Half you rappers turned trappers is actors / If I did your future plans nigga I'd be movin' backwards

"Real Plug"

I wanna live like Sosa, sip on mimosas / Marble tables with coasters, fucking hoes you see on posters / Toaster for local jokers, thinkin' that they gon' approach us / Partners watching my back while this money in my focus

"Sucka Free"

Discussion Questions

In the 80's and early 90's, the majority of hip-hop albums were produced by one producer. In modern times however that has changed, and now most albums have a multitude of producers for one rapper/group. Which of these formats do you prefer, generally?
Cardo has seen some mainstream success recently with his beats, with songs like "THat Part" and "Goosebumps" far from his usual style. Do you think he should continue to branch out with major label talents and more mainstream beats, or continue with underground, more west coast funk production (or both)? Which do you prefer?
I wrote about how I like the consistency of this album despite its length. Are you intimidated when you look a tracklist of 15+ songs with minimal skits and/or interludes? Are you more likely to check out an album of that length after you've read a positive review? Do you agree that Big Bossin', Vol. 1 succeeds for an album of its length?

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YG - FDT

Posted: 28 Jan 2017 09:06 PM PST

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Daily Discussion Thread 01/28/2017

Posted: 28 Jan 2017 06:29 AM PST

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