Redman - Whut? Thee Album

Since my first post hasn't bought tons of viewers sprawling in quite yet, I've decided not to create a steady schedule immediately, and instead just post as much stuff as I can until I get some goddamn recognition (just joking - I'm not too bothered really, it's the fun of writing that I'm here for). As such, I'm going to be doing yet another review, this time for the classic debut album by one of the most underrated rappers of all time, Redman, an artist who, in my opinion at least, has a multitude of classic albums and songs throughout his illustrious and unfortunately fairly short-lived career. 

Something to note: I'm going to  be reviewing every artist's discography in order, but I won't be focusing all on one artist until I review all of their albums. Therefore, it might be a while before you readers see another Wu-Tang review on here, but be sure that everything will come together in time (I hope). Anyway, on with the review.

Having lived with EPMD for a couple years, and also having featured on their third album, Redman set about recording his own solo album, which released in 1992 on Def Jam to not much chart performance, but some brilliant reviews from critics and fans alike, therefore becoming the beginning of what, during the 1990s at least, would be a very consistent and acclaimed catalogue. Whut? Thee Album introduced fans to the zany, funky and annoyingly smitten with skits Redman, and thanks to his brilliant personality, as well as Erick Sermon's funk-fuelled production (and possibly also thanks to that absolutely GREAT album cover), today this project is widely heralded as a classic of the genre, even though nowhere near as many people know about this one compared with, say, Enter the Wu-Tang. But is that fair? Well, let's find out.

1. Psycho Ward (prod. Redman)

The first of many skits that appear all over Reginald's albums over the years. This one is pretty good though, if a little creepy, and also introduces us to the infamous Dr. Trevis.

2. Time 4 Sum Aksion (prod. Erick Sermon, co-prod. Redman)

One thing you will notice about Redman is that he likes to misspell words in his song titles quite a lot (this will become even more evident on his next LP, Dare Iz a Darkside), and so here is the first instance of that as well. That doesn't matter though, as this is a strong contender for my favourite song of all time, no lie. The upbeat Erick Sermon production and the Cypress Hill sample on the hook are excellent and full of energy, but the real brilliance of this is down to Red himself, who sounds excited and charismatic, as well as being clearly lyrically gifted. His verses on here were memorised almost immediately by me, and probably will be by you as well. Absolutely phenomenal stuff.

3. Da Funk (prod. Erick Sermon, co-prod. Redman)

Kind of similar to that song on Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) that I reviewed in my last post, "Clan In Da Front", in that it uses two beats, the better of which is only talked over. This track transitions over from "Time 4 Sum Aksion" very nicely, into a funky and bangin' beat, but only for Red to talk over. The beat does then switch up into something not as impactful, but still funky as hell, leaving room for Reggie to deliver some more excellent verses. Not quite perfect, but still pretty damn good if you ask me.

4. News Break (prod. Redman)

Having rudely interrupted the last track mid sentence, this skit proves to be about as useless as Kevin Federline (which is to say, very), which is pretty annoying. The film clip at the end was mildly intriguing though.

5. So Ruff (prod. Erick Sermon, co-prod. Redman)

Reggie attempts a bit of storytelling here, and it works very well. On the first verse he talks about having to rob people because he is poor, which sounds like a pretty harrowing topic, but Red delivers it in the same way he drunkenly delivers his weekly after-dinner speeches, meaning the fun presented by this album so far is not lost. The next two verses talk about him contracting AIDS (not a true story by the way), and it's pretty damned hilarious if you ask me (especially that "see you later, alligator!"). Red proves to be an invigorating storyteller here - it's a shame he doesn't do that more often.

6. Rated "R" (prod. Erick Sermon, co-prod. Redman)

Really, really good. The beat on here packs a punch, as does the hook, and Redman comes through with some of his most menacing rhymes yet. Towards the end he starts talking about ways in which he tormented various horror film characters, something he would pay for later on in the film Seed Of Chucky. Definitely one of the best songs here.

7. Watch Yo Nuggets (feat. Erick Sermon) (prod. Erick Sermon, co-prod. Redman)

Surprisingly, the first time on this blog that I've had to write (feat. ____), although almost certainly not the last, unless I give up straight after this review and exile myself to Shetland. Despite being known for its competitiveness, rap is easily the genre with the most featured artists per album. Unfortunately, the feature here is for the worse. Erick Sermon slows down the pace exceptionally with his underwhelming verse, leaving Red to scrape his way back up the cliff to recapture the energy of previous songs on his verse here. The hook is nice,  but this is easily the weakest track yet.

8. Psycho Dub (prod. Redman)

Connects back to the opening skit pretty nicely, but did this really need to be separated into its own track?

9. Jam 4 U (prod. Erick Sermon, co-prod. Redman)

Dedicated to those "talking that sellout shit", Redman brings things right back here with yet another incredible track. The vibes of this one are so good, and this is probably the best sampled hook yet (besides "Time 4 Sum Aksion" of course). 

10. Blow Your Mind (prod. Erick Sermon, co-prod. Redman)

In my opinion, not the best choice for a first single, but still very good. The verses on here are some of the more memorable on a project you'll be reciting word-for-word after third listen, and the bit where he "freaks it in Korean" is hilARIOUS. The sampled hook is underwhelming though - they should have just left it with the "all around the world for the funk", and gotten rid of the "oooh you blow my mind baby" in my opinion. That single cover certainly suggests something a little harder than a cheesy 80s pop sample. Still great, but there's room for improvement.

11. Hardcore (prod. Erick Sermon & Parrish Smith, co-prod. Mr. Bozack)

Reggie swipes his verse from the EPMD song of the same name, and chucks it on here as an interlude of sorts. Fair enough, since it was his first appearance on wax, and a very good one at that.

12. Funky Uncles (prod. Redman)

The title is pretty funny, but since this is a skit you can probably leave this one in the bin thanks.

13. Redman Meets Reggie Noble (prod. Redman)

Hilarious track. Not as deep as you would think, as Reggie (the man) and Redman (the rapper) come across as pretty much the same exact person here (because they are, I suppose). Still, the back and forth idea is very funny, as is the extended outro, and Redman handles the dope beat all by himself, which I definitely appreciate. Nice transition to the next track as well.

14. Tonight's Da Night (prod. Erick Sermon, co-prod. Redman)

Probably the most popular track on this whole album, and that's easy to see why. This stands out from the pack by being a lot less funky and more jazzy than the majority of other songs on here. Despite the fact that Red literally compares himself to "cottage cheese", this one is still lyrically incredible, with the little false start working nicely and not even stunting the song's replay value at all. Redman liked this song so much that he sampled it later in countless other of his own songs, and if that doesn't show confidence in one's self, I don't know what does.

15. Blow Your Mind (Remix) (prod. Redman)

Odd idea to include a song and its remix on the same album, and not even list it as a bonus track. Still, the remix at least appears to have been re-recorded, and has some new rhymes in there as well. The hook sounds even worse than before though.

16. I'm A Bad (prod. Erick Sermon, co-prod. Redman)

Probably the song that stands out the least on here, despite the random foray into Miami Bass in the centre of the track. The beat is solid, as are the rhymes, but this one felt kind of unnecessary if I'm honest.

17. Sessed One Night (prod. Redman)

And the purpose of this was...?

18. How To Roll A Blunt (prod. Redman, co-prod. Pete Rock)

The best instruction manual of all time? Quite possibly, and this track is hilarious as well (I'm using that word a lot, aren't I?), with the lines about "dripping with saliva" being the best to me. This is also the only song to not contain a sample for the hook, and the only one (besides "Hardcore", which was taken from another album, so it doesn't count) to have a producer other than Redman himself or Erick Sermon. Absolute classic right here.

19. Sooper Luver Interview (prod. Redman)

Well, at least this skit serves a purpose I suppose.

20. A Day Of Sooperman Lover (prod. Erick Sermon & Redman)

And so begins the saga of Sooperman Lover, someone who's name is spelled slightly differently on every album for some reason. This one is very good, with the storytelling being incredibly captivating, and the (sampled) chorus actually being pretty catchy. Really great way to end off such an album.

21. Encore (prod. Redman)

Or not...? This is just an interlude that revives the "all around the world for the funk" sample from "Blow Your Mind". This one gets me pretty sentimental, as it is a true shame that the album is now over. Well, at least I won't have to listen to any more mundane skits for a while.

Whut? Thee Album is easily a classic album, despite the plethora of randomly placed and often irrelevant skits that appear on the tracklist. If all of these were removed except the intro and outro, then the album would only be 16 tracks, which would probably make it appear to be a much more accessible album, and would probably convince more of today's generation to actually check the project out. This thing manages to be 21 tracks long and yet only about 50 minutes, which is quite astonishing to me. The songs on here are all kinds of incredible, and I think that is mainly down to Redman, with the beats simply providing backdrops for his mind-boggling flows and rhymes. If you had a lesser rapper on this album, then it wouldn't be anywhere near, but as it stands, this is a top 5 album of all time for me. No, really. Redman is a rapper that deserves the listens, and if anyone reading this hasn't yet, then please - check this out!!

Best Tracks: Time 4 Sum Aksion, Da Funk, So Ruff, Rated "R", Jam 4 U, Redman Meets Reggie Noble, Tonight's Da Night, How To Roll A Blunt, A Day of Sooperman Lover

Worst Tracks: Watch Yo Nuggets