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Life & Arts

Will Houston's own strike gold with new release?

Rap on Hip-Hop

Eli Jabbe  and Dante Elgin

Dante Eglin: After a nearly three-year layoff, Houston's own Lil' Flip has returned to the scene with his fourth major label solo album, I Need Mine, released Tuesday. Most fans wouldn't know the Freestyle King is back, however, given the lack of promotion the album has received. 

Eli Jabbe: Pretty much after the conflict with T.I., his luck has gone dry. Going gold is an ambitious goal. Glancing at the track listing, with songs like "I Get Money" and the usual guest appearances we've come to see from Flip, it's going to be difficult to expect people to go out and support the album. 

Eglin: Flip's situation is bizarre because his last album was double platinum (granted, it was a double-disc). Rather than his beef with the King of the South, Paul Wall, or any other rapper, Flip got sonned by his label the fiercest. I Need Mine is 39 tracks long primarily because Sony let the first 16 songs float around on the Internet while rapper and label continued to battle over creative issues. Hopefully, Flip can mirror the success of fellow Houstonian Mike Jones and find success again with Asylum Records.

Jabbe: It's ridiculous how the album's lead single "What it Do" was on the charts well over a year ago and the album was passed around on the Internet last summer. I won't even get into the double-disc debate because even some of hip-hop's legends like The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac weren't able to put together flawless double-LPs. 

Eglin: In other news, perhaps it's time to dust off the Rap on Hip-Hop Milk Carton one more time. At the dawn of the millennium, the Swisha House label was second fodder to the Screwed Up Click. Wesley's album just dropped and Z-Ro's napping in Pimp C's old bunk, but it seems like a game of "Where's Waldo" with the rest of the stable. While Trae and Lil' Keke have managed to keep the name afloat, most of the crew has been MIA. It seems like just the other day D-Gotti was spitting a slurred flow along with Oompa Loompa's in the "Purple Stuff" video with Big Moe. 

Jabbe: All you see now are George Foreman-like rappers and the like representing the new generation of emcees from the H.

Eglin: Judging by his marketing strategy, looks like Flip is trying his best to carry on tradition.

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