“The Antidote” is gangsta, minus the sex appeal, hustlin’ minus the flashy steez — it’s just gully, grimey and gritty. With beats by the likes of DJ Premier and Showbiz, you know Smiley’s street to the soul, all hood. Smiley never tosses label-types a bone on this one — no joints for the ladies, no self-censorship for radio spins, no cheesey-ass hooks for kiddies to sing. This is the type of music to bump in the whip when hyping yourself up to execute some shady business. It’s tough and angry as hell.

    The shiners on here would be “No Love” with the “…life is so crazy…” vocal hook produced by Nitro, Green Lantern’s haunting keys and moody guitar riff on  “Pig Latin” and the long-released Primo-laced “The Wake Up Call”.

     Smiley’s gruff, unforgiving and apparently lacks any sense of remorse for any wrongs he may have committed, noting only the necessity of his actions at the hand of a savage enviornment. If you miss the days of hard music before the current onslought of slick, often lifeless, production and the infiltration of R&B-songstress-driven hooks, then Smiley’s the guy for you. Definitely “The Antidote” to the soft, pop shit poisoning the hip-hop top 40 charts.