Various Artists - Now Presents Off the Hook (20 tracks) +Album Reviews +Used CD available for Swap

About time they make a good R&B and Hip-Hop CD!

Buddhaful | MI | 05/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is what I've been waiting for. Instead of waiting forever to see if the regular Now or Totally Hits are any good, they come out with Off The Hook. The great thing about the CD is that there is only 1 song I can't stand, most the time it's half the CD. My favorites include Aaliyah "More Than A Woman", Naughty By Nature & 3LW "Feels Good", and Joe's "Let's Stay Home Tonight". Now to review the songs:1. JD & Ludacris - Welcome To Atlanta - Not a bad song but both JD and Ludacris have had better. 3/52. B2K - Uh Huh - These guys are trying way too hard to be popular. But this song is pretty good. 3/53. Jagged Edge feat. Nas - I Got It 2 - I think it was about time for Jagged Edge to come out with another single. 3.5/54. Lil Bow Wow - Take Ya Home - He annoys me so much, he's not ghetto. He's only 12. WORST SONG ON CD. 0/55. Aaliyah - More Than A Woman - Aaliyah always makes great music. She is my favorite artist ever. God bless. BEST SONG ON CD. 1,000,000/56. Mystikal - Boucin' Back - I really like this song, one of his best. 5/57. Joe - Let's Stay Home Tonight - Have you seen the music video for this? "Better Days" is a really good album. 5/58. Jennifer Lopez & Ja Rule - I'm Real (Remix) - I still think I'm the only one who likes the original version better. 3/59. Nas - One Mic - Not bad but not his best. I'll still listen to it. 3.5/510. Glenn Lewis - Don't You Forget It - I think Glenn is really talented by he's being held back by his material. 3.5/511. Ruff Endz - Someone To Love You - I don't listen to this one much but it's still a hot track. 3.5/512. Keke Wyatt feat. Avant - Nothing In This World - This song is really beautiful. Both Keke and Avant have unlimited potential. 5/513. City High - City High Anthem - City High blends well with each other. Good song. 4.5/514. India.Arie - Video - Even though she was robbed of a win at the Grammies I'm glad she got nominated. 4.5/515. Angie Stone - Wish I Didn't Miss You - The thinsg I wish is that I didn't hear this song sooner. 4/516. Janet Jackson feat. Missy Elliot - Son Of A Gun - Definately my favorite Janet song. I was hoping it would be on Now 9 but it could always be on Now 10. 5/517. N.E.R.D. - Lapdance - Okay song but they work better with other artists. 2.5/518. Mr. Cheeks - Lights, Camera, Action! - Funny name, cool song. The beats are real hot. 4.5/519. Petey Pablo - Raise Up - I respect him but don't like most his music. 2.5/520. Naughty By Nature & 3LW - Feels Good - I love 3LW and to see them work with Naughty By Nature is just awesome. Great way to end the CD. 5/5Now definately redeemed itself after running really thin of Hip-Hop and R&B on the past couple Nows. I definately think you should get this CD if you like this type of music. They certainly weren't cheap when picking out the songs. Pick this up."

I am very into Hip-Hop and R&B, so...

I. Allison | 06/26/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this is the CD for me. I am going to give a review of each song by itself down below, and most of these songs are good, but one doesn't blend well with the other as you will see later in my review. The really good ones are "One Mic," by Nas, "I'm Real (Remix)" J-Lo and Ja Rule, "Welcome 2 Atlanta" by Ludacris and Jermaine Dupri, and I also like songs by N.E.R.D., Naughty By Nature, India.Arie, Mystikal, and so on...here is my review below.1. Welcome 2 Atlanta - This is a hot track to begin on, and it is a hot track period. Ludacris does a great job of rapping on this song, better than Rollout and Saturday (Ooh Ooh!) Also, JD does a good job. Could've been longer though. Listen to this, "cops see me flick my..." Okay, Ludacris, great job and great person to do a song with. One of my favorites aside from Nas. 5/52. Uh Huh - This song will be featured on Now 10 (see the website for the tracklisting.) It is pretty good, I guess. Weird rap lyrics, but better than "Gots Ta Be." 3/53. I Got It 2 - Love the rapping by Nas, very clever talking about the astrology lyrics. Cool song, and it does a great job blending with Lil' Bow Wow's track next. It is a good song, so next track....blends great, as I said before. (this track's rating is) 4/54. Take Ya Home - Oh, not him! Although it is actually okay, and I MEAN okay, it is still like the 2nd worst track on the CD. Bounce With Me was stupid, this is better, wierd beat, ABSOLUTELY no radio airplay, thank goodness, and this has a very wierd beginning. Could have been shorter though. Sorry, Bow Wow hatas, but I am beginning to like this song (some parts.) Some parts are stupid, were stupid, WILL remain stupid. 3/55. More Than A Woman - Played on the radio a lot, but that doesn't matter much, because that was good honoring the death of Aaliyah. Hey, did you know this was also on Now 10 coming out on July 23. 3/5 (sorry, Aaliyah, not the best. Rest in peace.)6. Bouncin' Back - Pretty good song. The chorus isn't the best, but I like his rapping. Not the best instruments. 4/57. Let's Stay Home Tonight - Ooh, great song. Love it! Nice chorus and also great lyrics. Really nice. 5/58. I'm Real (Remix) - Wierd how they started...in the beginning. Great song though, overplayed, but a great chorus. 5/59. One Mic - I love this song, don't love it when he gets angry though, wierd compared to the softer parts of the song. Like it how he talks about God (I'm a Christian.) Is it better than Ludacris & Jermaine Dupri?? 5/510. Don't You Forget It - Good song, not excellent but likeable. 4/511. Someone to Love You - Good song, also, better than Don't You Forget It. Nice chorus. 4.5/512. Nothing In This World - Kind of forgettable. Not the best track out of the R&B starting with 10. Probably the worst of 10-12 also. 2.5/513. City High Anthem - Okay song, good message. 3/514. Video - Nice song. I like the chorus of this song and even though I have never actually fully listened to it it is a good song. A lot of the grade for the chorus, though. 4/515. Wish I Didn't Miss You - Not a great track, and I haven't listened to much of it either. 2.5/516. Son of A Gun - Not really a fan of Missy or Janet, but I like this song and the rapping by Missy. I like it how she says you know at the end of a few lines. Not great chorus. Is this a remake? 4/517. Lapdance - Nice, cool song. It's rockish, but it's just kind of rap. 4/518. Lights, Camera, Action! - Yes, we've all heard it from Now 9. But a good song, but does not blend with N.E.R.D. 4.5/519. Raise Up - Wierd instrumentals, and a good song though. He, like Ja Rule, has a scratchy voice for rapping, but a different scratchy voice. 3.5/520. Feels Good - Great song that I haven't heard on the radio. Nice work on the rapping. 4.5/5Good CD. Pick it up if you like rap and hip-hop."

Are they really off tha hook?

Nick | Louisville, KY United States | 05/28/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"to see if these are hits i compiled a list of the songs and their peak position on the billboard hot 100 chart.1. Jermaine Dupri & Ludacris - Welcome To Atlanta - #302. B2K - Uh Huh - #373. Jagged Edge feat. Nas - I Got It 2 - --HASNT CHARTED YET4. Lil Bow Wow - Take Ya Home - #725. Aaliyah - More Than A Woman--#256. Mystikal - Boucin' Back - #317. Joe - Let's Stay Home Tonight - #598. Jennifer Lopez & Ja Rule - I'm Real (Remix) - #1 for 5 weeks9. Nas - One Mic - #4310. Glenn Lewis - Don't You Forget It - #3011. Ruff Endz - Someone To Love You -HASNT CHARTED12. Keke Wyatt feat. Avant - Nothing In This World - #?13. City High - City High Anthem - (what would you do?) - #814. India.Arie - Video - #4915. Angie Stone - Wish I Didn't Miss You - #82
16. Janet Jackson feat. Missy Elliot - Son Of A Gun -#2817. N.E.R.D. - Lapdance - HASNT CHARTED18. Mr. Cheeks - Lights, Camera, Action! - #1519. Petey Pablo - Raise Up - #2220. Naughty By Nature & 3LW - Feels Good - #60ishhope this was helpful!"

Hanging On The Hook

k. lane | Florida, USA | 08/04/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Urban music has been having amazing success of late on the charts, as have the "Now That's What I Call Music!" series of hits collections. Well, some smart guy decided to pair the two in an all urban hits collection, featuring the same sensibility as those "Now" compilations. All fields are covered here, with R&B, rap, hip-hop, and neo soul all recieving nods with the hits. The best hits on here are led by the ladies, with Aaliyah's bold final single "More Than A Woman", J.Lo's breezy "I'm Real (Murder Remix)", India.Arie's powerful "Video", Angie Stone's slinky and soulful "Wish I Didn't Miss You", and Janet's bitchy "Son Of A Gun" all earning well deserved places as hits. Other noteable tracks include the rich and seductive "Don't You Forget It" by soul man Glenn Lewis, the rocking beat driven "Lapdance" by N.E.R.D., and the carefree party track "Feels Good (Don't Worry Bout A Thing)" by Naughty By Nature. On the latter track, 3LW deliver a suprisingly strong vocal hook for the Naughty boys raps. Lil' Bow Wow delivers a suprisingly okay track also, something I never would have suspected of him. There are alot of patchy tracks and duds though, far too many to name drop, though I will mention B2K, Mr. Cheeks, and Petey Pablo deliver pretty excrutiating songs. This is a great compilation for fans of Top 40 Urban radio or who want to sample a bit of what's going on in the R&B and hip-hop music scenes at the moment."

Off the hinges!!

I. Allison | Sacramento, CA United States | 09/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"..."Welcome to Atlanta", by JD and Ludacris... this hit is definitely off the hook. This song was a definite party-song for 2001. B2K (aka IMX's little brothers and cousins) show up with "Uh Huh"...Jagged Edge and Nas collaborate on "I Got It 2"...Lil' Bow Wow ... shows up with the uptempo, "Take Ya Home". This one is cool from the pint-sized rapper...Aaliyah "Baby Girl" proves even in death she is still "More than A Woman." RIP, honey. I like this one. Mystikal is "Bouncin' Back". At first, I didn't like this one at all...Joe croons "Let's Stay Home Tonight." Unfortunate for him and his voice, I have no plans to. J-Lo and Ja DOMINATED the airwaves in 2001/2002 with this one. JaRule was also the man responsible for putting the n-word in her mouth (and no I don't mean nerd, nice, or nasty either.) Nas talks about needing "One Mic" and this is a different but introspective path to his rhymes. As usual, Nas is deep and socially conscious without being preachy. Newcomer Glenn Lewis croons the beautiful, "Don't You Forget It," and honestly reminscent of a young Stevie. I hope to hear more things from him. Ruff Endz, "Someone To Love You.", Keke Wyatt, "Nothing in This World", City High, "City High Anthem", all songs you might want to press fast forward and quick! India.Arie blesses us with her "Video" and explains why she is not your average girl from one. Angie Stone steals the "Backstabbers" beat from the O'Jays and re-hooks it with "I Wish I Didn't Miss You." ...I looove this song! Janet teams up with Missy and sings "Son Of A Gun," about someone being so damn vain and thinking the song is about them. (Could it be the ex-, Rene?) N.E.R.D. (aka Neptunes) show their "creative" ... side with this... song, "Lapdance." I was NOT feeling this one at all. Mr. Cheeks wants "Lights,Camera,Action", singing he's sorry Ms. Jackson. (I wonder if he did the same thing Outkast did and he's apologizing.)
Definite club-banger right there. Peep the remix with Missy, P.Diddy and Petey Pablo, too. Naughty By Nature end this fiesta with "Feels Good" with the jail-bait teeny bop group 3LW. I didn't care for this one either. I hope you buy and enjoy the songs on here. This CD is good for chillin' to or dancing to. There are some really good cuts on here. I like at least 12 of the 20 songs listed."

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