Beeda Weeda - Homework: The Mixtape and Turfology 101 Review
by Patrick Muldowney
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Beeda Weeda is a 22-year old rapper/producer who has definitely provided himself a crash course in the music game; there is no other explanation for the quality of his products. His street savvy approach to mc-ing is reminiscent stylistically to Too Short (in fact he nominates him for a lifetime achievement award) and Noriega, while his work as a producer can be likened to Dre, mixing early synthesized sounds with larger than life club beats. The industry is more competitive than ever, requiring seamless flow, six-figure beats, plenty of capital, and a degree in rap history; Beeda Weeda possesses the prerequisites, and is poised for that next step.Homework: The Mixtape
Released early in the summer as a foundation for Turfology 101, Homework is entrancing. Upon first listen, I immediately found myself leaning on the console of my SUV and nodding like it was my job, until I realized what I was doing. I looked like a graduated from Jamie Kennedy's School of Hard Knocks. The highlight of Homework, which will wake you the hell up from the trance caused by the constant transitioning of tracks, occurs between tracks 6 and 8. "Solid", "The Throne", and "Hard Knocks" jump out of the speakers, coupled with sirens and gunshots that sound so crystal clear they become more a part of the rhythm than a cliché sample. Homework, intended to be a warm-up, is actually more appealing than Turfology 101 all the way into the early teens trackwise, but the mix gets old and uneventful during the last handful of tracks. Turfology 101
Turfology 101, the most recent release, and the main course, is not as energetic as Homework because it concentrates more on Beeda Weeda the rapper, and is less about the producer. The disc has definite moments though, and, similar to the earlier release, these moments seem to come in track clusters. Like Juvenile, Beeda Weeda's weakness lays in the street rhymes, so his best work comes on club tracks like "Turf's Up", "Wet", "My Name Is", "Rippa Slippas" and "Back of the Club". "Soldier" is the track that fits neither club nor street, but as the romantic slow jam it makes sense and possesses the truth found in Tupac's love raps. "I love ya 'til you're grey, old, and toothless," is a polar opposite image to the surreal and transient glamour of Jay-Z/Beyonce, but I'd much rather have Beeda Weeda's picture than some Tina Turner wannabe raining perspiration up and down my suit pants. Turfology 101 has more consistency than many of the charting artists who blow their entire budget on one or two platinum beats, but Beeda Weeda is entering his prime at this point rather than peaking. It's time to start noticing this man, though the best is yet to come.
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Beeda Weeda - Homework: The Mixtape and Turfology 101 Label:Hieroglyphics
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