Meet the Young Gunz, Chris and Neef! They’re the latest rappers to shoot out of the blocks in the race for hip-hop superstardom. Signed to Damon Dash’s Roc-A-Fella imprint, their arrival coincides with the retirement of the label’s star turn, Jay-Z.
Unfortunately if Tough Luv is anything to go by, the ghost of Jay will haunt Roc-A-Fella records for some time. His surprise guest appearance on ‘Never Take Me Alive’ only illustrates just how much more swagger than his protégés he possesses.
Elsewhere the production relentlessly evokes old Jay-Z records. From the plastic soul of ‘Future of the Roc’ to the low riding grind of ‘Look in your Eyes’, this is a record which could only have been released on Roc-A-Fella. As a result the Young Gunz have trouble carving their identity onto the hard metallic sheen of the beats.
But ultimately they get away with it. They are most interesting in their plaintive moments, like on the bleak ‘North of Death’. It’s as hard-hitting a hip-hop lament as you’ll find, and it rubbishes the idea of rap thugs as two-dimensional cartoon villains.
Another highlight is ‘Take It How U Want It’ which sounds like electro-clash reaching the ghetto. It’s a gloriously unlikely culture clash.
Despite the lack of any hard hitting character on the mic, the Young Gunz can be satisfied that they’ve made a promising and uncompromising debut. And real hip-hop fans will have no trouble going eyeball to eyeball with Tough Luv.