Search - No I.D. :: Accept Your Own & Be Yourself

OH MAN, these beats are insane!

SmokaJ | TORONTO | 07/28/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"NO I.D, the man responsible for the incredible production on Common's classics, "Resurrection" ('94) & "One Day..." ('97) - forges his own path on the criminally slept-on "Accept Your Own & Be Yourself."



First of all THESE BEATS ARE PRIME-CUT, AAA serloin type s**t. NO I.D, definitely kept some of his best material for himself, you couldn't ask for more.



The problem within this album lies in the MC's, NO I.D & his unknown buddy Dug Infinite (who appears on every track).

The first time the world heard NO I.D rhyme was on "Resurrection" on the classic track "In My Own World (Check the Method)." Verdict, he was pretty bland but along side Common he came off dope. That's the problem with this album, Common only appears on the track "State to State," leaving NO I.D to fill the void left by Com with the boring but bearable Dug Infinite. He gets the job done, but NO I.D really should have found a pro.

So what we have here is two medicore (at best) MC's trading rhymes over AMAZING BEATS. To be fair, they try their best - you can hear it in their rhymes, alot of the tracks have socially conscious (a la Common) themes and there's alot smart s**t being said by these two. They have brains and heart, just not much talent.



Bottom Line: Overall, this is a really good album. The beats are really dope and the MC's get the job done. I recommend it and I'm glad I bought it. 4 stars, Peace."

Ladies & Gentlemen: No I.D. Featuring Doug Infinate!! (Ratin

Chandler | Atlanta (College Park), Georgia | 01/29/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I want to say this album is closer to an 6 than a 7. Maybe a 6 1/2 out of 10 would have been more accurate for this album. First off, No ID (or Immenslope) is one of the dopest producers who never received the credit that was due. He produced the majority of Common's first three albums while they were both on the same record label (Relativity Records). Every song on here is well produced to make you sit back and chill while listening to the album. Lyrically, this album is a whole different story. No ID really isn't a great lyricist. He did a good job rhyming on songs like "Two Scoops Of Raisins" and "In My Own World (Check The Method)" from Can I Borrow a Dollar? and Resurrection respectively. But when you hear his rhymes, they won't impress you. I guess he felt that he knew he wasn't that great on the mic either, so he enlisted Doug Infinate (also a dope producer, check out One Day It'll All Make Sense) on every song he rhymes on, which doesn't make the situation any better, because he falls in the same boat too (great producer, average emcee). In fact No ID may be a level higher than Doug when it comes to the lyrics. This album would fall into the category of the production being so great that it is going to overshadow the lyrics (think Group Home or Slum Village). When it comes to rhymes, expect every outside contributions to outshine both No ID and Doug Infinate.



Some of the songs that stood out was the song with Common "State To State". The production is great, and Common makes a great contibution on the song. "Fate Or Destiny" has somemore of the signature production featuring a lady named Syndicate. She also appears on "Two Steps Behind" and "Mega Live" and drops real dope verses over somemore hot production. Like I said before No I.D. brings his A game behind the boards on this album. Even Doug Infinate brings some of his style behind the boards like the remix to "Sky's The Limit" and on "Origonal Man".



I can credit both guys for some of their lyrical abilities though (even though there are a few tracks that their voices sound almost identical to eachother). "Fate Or Destiny" you can sense some lyrical ability between the two. And they do a good job on "State To State" as well (even though Common has a much better verse). "Pray For The Sinners" and "Sky's The Limit" are some lyrical chemestry there too. Thats about it though.



Overall, this album has it's ups and downs. The beats on this album are worth the money alone. No I.D. (with the help of Doug Infinate) can make some astounding beats. Lyrically, both should have headed back the drawing board. This album is long out of print as well, and my price for how much you should pay for it is about 25 bucks. As I said, look for the production here to play a huge factor in the enjoyment of this album. Peace.



Lyrics: C- (since Doug rhymes just as much as No I.D. I'll count him as part of the lyrics as well)

Production: A+

Guest Appearances: A-

Musical Vibes: B+



Top 5 Tracks:

1. State To State (featuring Common)

2. Two Steps Behind (featuring Syndicate)

3. Fate Or Destiny (featuring Syndicate)

4. Mega Live (featuring Syndicate)

5. Pray For The Sinners



Honorable Mention:

1. Sky's The Limit (origonal and INF Mix)

2. Jump On It"

The Black Album

Jimmy Garcia | SLC, UT | 09/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of my favorite records in my collection. Not the most lyrical however the beats alone are enough to get the job done. I've beatjuggled the single Jump On It/Sky's the Limit for like 2 years now. It never gets old to chop this up and play with the ill drum patterns. Hedz go out and cop this when you can. A+ material from one of hip hops finest producers!!!"