Artist: The PackTitle: Skateboards 2 ScrapersRating: 2 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Ms. Hite
The New West is on the brink of resurrection and the Bay Area is the main driving force behind all the noise. In the sticky green city of Berkley there were four teens creepin’ on a come up when veteran rapper and Bay Area King, Too Short got wind of the group’s rhythmic flows and mesmerizing beats. He took no time making them official. The Pack AKA The Wolf Pack morphed into the cyber world via Myspace with their cult classic “Vans.” The song seeped into local nightspots and Hip-Hop heads soaked it up. With its super syrupy beat and melodic catchy flow, the group’s producer Young L cooked up a recipe for success. After 50,000 myspace hits, Lil Uno, Young L, Lil B, and Stunna found a spot on Hip-Hop’s map and in turn have released Skateboards 2 Scrapers.
Listening to the Pack’s debut effort one recognizes right away that track-to-track these heads value their skateboards and Vans like a gangster rapper edifies his chronic. With “Vans” the group seemed destined to make noise in the world of new Hip-Pop, but Skateboards 2 Scrapers does little to live up to the single’s hype. After the hit single passes the following tracks are doused with repeated references to the age old shoe boasting nothing more than a reinvented style that we’ve seen time and time again. The Pack took an entire EP to make it known that they don’t respect Nikes and if you do you’re not “cool.” The synopsis of the groups core focus is women, shoes, and skateboards. Which makes for a youthfully boring listen.
The lyrics definitely have an age stamp on them, with songs like “Ride My Bike” loosely based on sex you begin to question whether or not they should be speaking on doing the grown folk. They also show their being influenced by the material side of Hip-Hop on the bumpinh “Shinin’,” spitting, “B*tch I’m shinin’/Somebody’s watchin’ me/Wrist color p###, I’m stuntin’ in this b####/I’m single handcuff your b####.”
The Pack does attempt to offer spice and variety in their sound. With the Luke-like track “Candy,” they prepare the heavily saturated Dirty South market for a taste of the new West sound that dares to go against the gangster rap norm. They flow hard on the unique bass driven beat and try hard to offer the listener something new.
While none of the tracks measure up to the uniqueness of Young L’s “Vans,†the remix featuring Too Short brings the noise, maybe just a bit too late. The biggest challenge in accepting The Pack as true Hip-Hop essentials would be the ability to get used to the each members flow. This won’t prove to be much of a challenge because the tracks tend to sound so similar. All and all Skateboards 2 Scrapers does offer The Pack plenty of room for improvement.