Search - Rbl Posse :: Ruthless By Law

Yo, kickin' bac to sum dope G-funk man!

Loco-E | Watts, CA | 02/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I truly believe this is one of the dopest albums to come out of the Bay from Vallejo to Frisco in a long time. Alot of people have really slept on bay area rap, granted E-40 and Rappin-4-tay have gotten their props, but the small underground groups haven't, and I think that is weak. Mr. C, Black C & Hitman (no, not that punk fool from Aftermath who's been treated by my loc CJ Mac.) spark up the herb on the joint Bluebird which is a sick G-funk joint thats a Cali classic, M.N.O.H.P. is a creepy funky joint that has a Freddy Krueger groove to it, another good joint is Pass the Zig Zags which is about smokin locin' zig zags with the diggydiggydank, and Dedication (Bitch or a Hoe) is a tight joint thats talkin' about stupid tricks, oh yeah! Mr. C (R.I.P.).



R.B.L. get their Mack 'n buddah sac on songs 1, *2, 3, 4, 5, *7, 8, 9, 10, *11, 12, *13, 14 & 15.



"

Hardcore

Ecentrik | cali | 05/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Man RBL.......What can I say? I came across this and just had to write a review. I grew up listening to these guys. This is straight up, uncut, RAP. No shiney suites no high budget video or heavy MTV rotation.Just hardcore rap PERIOD Can't say the lyrics have much depth, but the lyrical ability and beats more then make up for it. 5 stars for the homies across the bay."

Standard issue g-funk (2.5/5)

ctrx | 'bout to show you how the EAST COAST rocks... | 07/28/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"R.B.L. Posse's 1994 album "Ruthless By Law" is the group's sophomore effort, and their best known album. I'm surprised by all the great reviews of this album, calling it "one of the all time greats" or "the best from the Bay." This album is average the majority of the time, and never outstanding. San Francisco natives Mr. Cee, Black C, and Hitman execute the g-funk product with little flair or originality. In 1994, the west coast was churning out albums by the truckload of The Chronic and Doggystyle imitators, and "Ruthless By Law" is a product of the g-funk explosion. R.B.L. Posse brings nothing new to the table. Their lyricism is average, and their stories have no individuality. They rap about bustin' caps, hustlin' rocks, runnin' the block, ridin' whips, and basically match every gangsta rap cliche you could throw at them. Their flows are regular and don't stand out, and they are about as generic gangsta rappers as you could find. They're not bad, but take a look at the tracklist and you basically know what you're in for, the songs' titles are as generic as the telling subject matter. The production is pretty much what keeps this album afloat. While also not especially original, there's enough heavy basslines to go around plenty. Each beat is basically built with a heavy bassline, an upbeat drum pattern, and a woozy synth that usually works pretty well. It's simple but gets the job done. No songs really stand out on this album, and there's no classic single to make it memorable. "Ruthless By Law" is one for the collection only for the west coast purists, casual listeners will find it redundant and boring in most instances.



The album starts pretty strongly with "Bounce to This" and "Blue Bird." which both boast upbeat, funky, and raw production. "I Got My Nine" has some nice bass, it's pretty solid, and the same goes for "Funkdafied" and "Listen to My Creep," which offer some simple bump-worthy beats above all else. "The Sound" isn't awful but is forgettable, but the murder-raps of "M.N.O.H.P." are okay. "Livin' That Life" is a low point, over six banal minutes of generic gangsta raps and a weak chorus made from a Too Short sample, wasting a decent beat. "N...s on the Jock" is lyrically weak but musically okay (except for the hook), and "Feels Good to Be a Gangsta" is boring. "Pass the Zigzags" is a weak weed song, and "Smoke a Blunt" is basically the same. "Dedication (B... or a H..)" is nothing good. "Still Ain't Learned" is just regular, until the end when the beat switches up, which is pretty cool, it's one of the album's highlights at that point. The album closes with an outro featuring Herb Lewis giving a speech about avoiding violence and establishing a black community in the Bay Area, trying to give the album some relevance. However, this comes off as hypocritical following an album celebrating violence and crime, and ends the album on a sour note.



"Ruthless By Law" is an album of faceless g-funk, but being from 1994 it possesses quite a few of the qualities that made much of the music from this era so enjoyable. In any event, if you're looking for an underrated g-funk gem from this time period, this isn't it. Instead, allow me to steer you towards Lil Half Dead's The Dead Has Arisen, Twinz' Conversation, or Pooh-Man's Ain't No Love, which are all conceptually similar but much better. As sad and tragic as R.B.L. Posse's story would become (both Black C and Mr. Cee would be killed in their twenties), "Ruthless By Law" is not an album I highly recommend, except to the real g-funk fanatics."