Search - Various Artists :: Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits 7

Hip Hop in '03

Person | 12/21/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Every year since 1997,Source magazine has put out their year end compilation, Hip Hop Hits. The series has had it's ups and downs over the years but still remains entertaining. Hip Hop Hits Vol.7 is more on the positive side of the spectrum. A breakdown:
1.Ludacris"Act A Fool"A-.Ludacris is one of the best rappers out there and this track from "2 Fast 2 Furious" is just plain cool.
2.Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell and Uncle Charlie Wilson"Beautiful"B-.This is a good song, but the beat and Pharrell keep it from it's full potential.
3.2Pac feat. Anthony Hamilton"Thugz Mansion"A-.With songs like this 2Pac's legend will live forever.Very powerful and deep.
4.Nelly feat. Murphy Lee,Ali and Kyjuan"Air Force Ones"C+.This song is kinda fun,but "Hot In Herre" and "Dilemma" put it to shame.
5.Lil'Kim feat. Mr.Cheeks"The Jump Off"C.The beat overshadows everything else and Mr.Cheeks has nothing to do.Lil'Kim has had MUCH better songs.
6.Fabolous feat. Lil'Mo and Mike Shorey"Can't Let You Go"A.This song is catchy,artistic,wonderous and resounds with you.The track is one of the year's 10 best songs.
7.Benzino feat. Mario Winians"Rock The Party"B.Benzino is a co-owner of the magazine,thus he will be on every album,no matter how bad the song.This one is pretty decent entertainment.
8.DMX"Where The Hood At"B+.Not great DMX,still a good hard rap song. It's Catchy if not the same as his older works.
9.Bone Crusher feat. Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes"Neva Scared"D+.Busta and Jadakiss are very talented but this song gives them nothing to work with. It is annoying and degrating to the ears. Poorly made.
10.David Banner feat. Lil'Flip"Like A Pimp"B-. An above average rap song which is very hip and cool. Just not the best song.
11.Ja Rule feat. Ashanti"Mesmerize"B.Not in the same league as "Always On Time" but still good. Shows Ja Rule softer side, despite all the trash about him, he still rules.
12.LL Cool J"Luv U Better"A.Shows a different side of LL,I love this passionate song. One of his and the year's best.
13.Panjabi MC feat. Jay-Z"Beware...(Jay-Z Remix)"B-.A catchy and different foreign track. My doubts are attribute to the song, Jay-Z helps it alot.
14.Missy Elliot"Work It"A.I think she has just one another Grammy, great rap song, alot of meaning. Just terrific.
15.Untouchables feat. Benzino"Untouchable"C.A bonus track should be a good thing. Not a plain, boring and generic rap.Bottom Line:***.Not the best Hip Hop Hits, but still a worthy buy because of a number of songs."

Best Compilation to come out this year by far

Person | 12/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Source Hip Hop Hits have always producec the best compilation of hits and this years doesn't dissapoint. 60 bucks to anyone who can name a better compilation of rap hits this year! I can't. Rather then spending 100's of dollars on cd's you can get all the hits for 10.99.Songs like Air Force Ones, Beatiful, Neva Scared, The Jump Off, Work It ect have rulled the radio's and hip hop charts! This album is perfect to have as a archive of what was hot this year or to introduce a youngster to hip hop. Or just to have great music.2 Thumbs up!"

Are we living in the past?

musiqstar87 | Huntington WV USA | 12/10/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"TRACK LISTING1. Act A Fool - Ludacris
2. Beatiful - Snoop Dogg/Pharrell/Uncle Charlie Wilson
3. Thugz Mansion - 2Pac/Anthony Hamilton
4. Air Force Ones - Nelly/Kjwuan/Ali/Murphy Lee
5. The Jump Off - Lil' Kim/Mr. Cheeks
6. Can't Let You Go - Fabolous/Lil' Mo/Mike Shorey
7. Rock The Party - Benzino/Mario Winans
8. Where The Hood At? - DMX
9. Neva Scared - Bonecrusher/Jadakiss/Busta Rhymes
10. Like A Pimp - David Banner/Lil' Flip
11. Mesmorize - Ja Rule/Ashanti
12. Luv U Better - LL Cool J
13. Beware... - Panjabi MC/Jay-Z (jay-z remix)
14. Work It - Missy Elliott
15. Untouchable - Untouchables/Benzino (bonus track)Last year, i bought The Source Presents Hip Hop Hits Vol. 6 when it came out. When i bought it, i gave it a 5-star review for having what i said to be "a perfect mix of hits", i take those words back now that i have heard Hip Hop Hits 7. In all of the HHH's collections, there is nothing current. True, the are all "hits", but none of them are up to date with the current music scene. Looking at the tracklisting for HHH7, you would think it should've been released earlier this year, maybe then it would have been able to sell, now it's very outdated and i'm sure it won't sell much at all.The Source has a way of putting together the most overplayed songs on hip-hop radio. The fact is that the album is boring. It begins with the Ludacris single, "Act A Fool", from the soundtrack of 2 Fast 2 Furious. This might be a good adddition for the ones who did not purchase 2F2F, but for the others who heard it a million times on radio and TV, it's not worth it. Luda's current (chart-topping) hit "Stand Up" would've been a much better addition ("Act A Fool" didn't make it past the top 40 on the charts).The same thing happens over and over again with tracks by Snoop Dogg ("Beatiful"), Missy Elliott ("Work It") and Ja Rule ("Mesmorize"), these songs are all very very overplayed and have been on several other hits collections before this one. Most of the songs on this album are "hits", but for others like Lil' Kim's "The Jump Off" and David Banner's "Like A Pimp" (that only reached positions over the 40 mark on pop radio charts), they are nothing but fillers in the album. One of my biggest problems with the HHH collections is the fact that Benzino always has to include himself. I stomached the remix of "Bootee" from last year's HHH6 since it had guest spots from Fabolous and G-Dep, but this time around is unforgivable. Benzino adds his own "Rock The Party", which was NEVER a hit and not even close to being one. He also adds himself on the bonus track "Untouchable" which i had never heard previous to hearing HHH7. Doing this is nothing more than trying to shine the spotlight on himself knowing that no one likes his albums.The last thing i have to say about HHH7 is that it is complete garbage. It is not current, nor is it even full of "hits". It is nothing more than an attempt at milking as much money out of you as possible. If it were a true, current, "hip hop hits" collection for today's urban market, then it would feature such current hits such as the previously mentioned "Stand Up" by Ludacris, "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" by Young Gunz or even "Holidae Inn" by Chingy.I'm sorry, but i see no reason why this album should even recieve 1 star from me or anyone else. This "hits" collection needs to shape up or never put out another volume of HHH's again (at least one without Benzino)."