Life Or Death

03/17/1998 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Billy Johnson Jr

C-Murder fans have waited a long time for the solo release of the most laid-back member of No Limit's flagship group, TRU, which includes C-Murder's real life brothers, No Limit Records CEO Master P and Silkk Tha Shocker.

On the funk-driven first single, "A 2nd Chance," C-Murder's style is reminiscent of Tupac's, and on the mellow "Picture Me," Scarface influences are evident. On the remainder of the album, however, C-Murder establishes his own niche and scores well on most of the 26 tracks, even though half of them are interludes or brief, two-and-a-half minute teasers.

Resident production crew Beats By The Pound deserves ample praise for its incredible music that brings bouncy, hard-hitting tracks "Don't Play No Games," "Where I'm From" and "G's & Macks," among others, to life. Bonuses are two classic remakes: Special Ed's "I Got It Made" has been transformed into "Get N Paid" and Ice-T's "Colors" into "Cluckers."

As many groups rush to release two-CD discs which only bare five or six solid songs, C-Murder offers a complete album that maintains listener's attention from beginning to end.