DJ Drama & Young Jeezy - Can't Ban The Snowman

MIXTAPE REVIEW


HHH/LNN Official rating: 2/5
Lyrics rating: 2.5/5
Beats rating: 3.5/5
Music Quality: 2/5


By Do-Well







What's hood wit it? It's ya man Do-Well. I figured it was time to break down Young Jeezy's mixtape with Mr. "Gangsta Grillz" himself, DJ Drama. The joint is called Can't Ban The Snowman and has received a lot of buzz.

At first listen, matter of fact first AND second listen, my reaction to this joint was...it's aight, but they say the third times a charm. I didn't expect lyrical genius from him cause that ain't his style. But when the first line you say is:

"I'm back,
Mr. Magic City blowin' purple
I'll make it rain on your forehead..."

Um...I don't know either, but he sure can make a good ad-lib, AAAAYYYYY! But Jeezy actually addresses my comment on this mixtape:

"They say I ain't lyrical
I ain't tryin’ to impress y'all niggas
If hatin' was a crime they'd arrest y'all niggas."

Now this is something I can respect. At least he knows he ain't the most lyrically gifted rapper in the game. He just do what he do, not being like everyone else. I feel the one of the most undeniable, defining characteristics of an artist is originality, and Young Jizzle definitely has that.

This mixtape is entitled Can't Ban The Snowman with a specific purpose - I was watching CNN and they was hatin' hard on the man about his infamous Snowman t-shirts. People were actually trying to go to Congress to ban the tees. Is it really that serious? We all know that the tees stand for a white powdery substance, born and raised in the beautifully elegant country of Columbia, stemming from the roots of the coca leaf. But that ain't no reason to try and "Ban the Snowman". Plus, it's not like it can be proved that's what the tees (or the name, for that matter) stand for that anyway, so Jeezy's gonna continue to eat off of that success.

One thing he did on this mixtape, which I hate, is make over a song, and do it exactly the way the person who originated the song did. Then he just plugged in his own words. Her butchered Mobb Deep's "Gangsta Party", which pissed me off cause I like that song. He did it again on track #7, "One's For CTE", as well.

The hottest song on this mixtape is track #9, "Say I". I actually think it's Christina Milian's song though, so I can't give him too much credit for it. But #5, "Cadillac" is hot as well. This is really what I want to hear from Jeezy, lines like "run the streets like a nigga on the track team, let my nuts hang like a Sony flat screen." I like when he makes funny lyrical comments and keeps it pimpin’ like this on ol' school beat. He needs to stick to adlibs and hooks. When I really re-examine it, only the beat was hot - he was kind of light on the song, even for his style.

Before this, I liked Jeezy and his album was okay. But now...I don't know. This mixtape is filled with mediocre raps and overall it's a mediocre effort, but that's primarily because I fell his album was waaaay hotter. It's Do-Well, and I'm gone...


Track Listing


1. Third Times The Charge
2. I'm Back
3. USDA's The Click
4. Ya Dig
5. Cadillac
6. Reintroduction
7. One's For CTE feat. Slick Pulla & Bloodraw
8. Gangsta Party feat. Slick Pulla
9. Say I feat. Christina Milian
10. Better Than Ever
11. U Can't Stop These Gangsters feat. Slick Pulla
12. I Know U Don't Love Me feat. Slick Pulla
13. Trap Star Feat Slick Pulla
14. Jeezy The Snowman
15. Burnin Up feat. Slick Pulla & Bloodraw
16. Makin It Look Easy
17. I'm A G feat. Slick Pulla
18. Snitches feat. Bloodraw
19. Studio Gangsters
20. After 2 Million Sold
21. Lil Buddy feat. Bloodraw
22. Still Don't Kno
23. Verbal Intercourse
24. For The Hood
25. We Major
26. Still I Love It
27. We Did It Again