B.G. almost assembles a Hot Boys reunion of sorts, on this new remix of “Back To The Money”. Weezy’s not really in jail. He and 2Pac are kicking it in Barbados.

LISTEN: B.G.- “Back to the Money (Remix)” (feat. Birdman, Lil Wayne and Magnolia Chop)

   The Chopper City Boyz are made up of B.G.’s younger brother Hakizzle, and three rappers named Gar, Sniper and VL Mike, not exactly household names, but Ghostface headlined an album featuring mostly unknowns and had a fresh sounding disc with More Fish in December. Maybe B.G. and the Chopper City Boyz can pull off an effective posse album too?

    The Boyz show some life after a subpar start on the aptly titled “Bounce,” which proves that every member knows how to flow (or at least knows how to plead B.G. to ghostwrite hot verses for them), Gar even sports a very clean double time cadence. The group follows it up with the David Banner produced “Make Em’ Mad,” which jumps like a kangaroo on crack, featuring a flashy, scene-stealing verse by B.G. The track definitely holds it own as a Southern banger, and with two respectable tracks, its not an entirely bad start to the disc at all, especially for a crew album, except…

     That’s just when this album becomes bogged down by repetitive lyrics, second hand themes, and a lack of good beats to talk over, evidenced most effectively by the manufactured realism on “Thorough Stree N***a,” and “Flatliners.” It doesn’t help that the obligatory girl song, “That’s What I Like About Her” has cookie cutter marks all over it, and sounds about as heartfelt and real as a Mark McGwire steroid testimony. As for the beats, everything begins to sound the same after awhile, like on the generic “Never Had,”” which sounds like a song someone would hand in as their first assignment if they were taking ‘How to make a basic Southern Rap Beat 101.’

       The rest of the album is more of the same, with an occasional shining moment or two. Gar is definitely the best of the Chopper City Boyz, with an impressive showing on “Chopper City,” where he flips a bouncy, double time flow over some nasty pianos and machine gun sounds with a fitting screwed and chopped hook. Save for a few other hot verses here and there though, the album is nothing to write home about and none of the Boyz leave the impression that they’ll be lasting figures in Hip-Hop.

       Another problem the disc has is its lack of coherency. The album is clearly more about giving each of these guys a chance at rapping, rather than an album pulled forward by the group dynamic (like on Enter The 36 Chambers, for example). It ends up sounding like of B.G. took all of his homies that wanted a record deal, threw them together under a group moniker, and told them to make a record together as a group. Naturally, they all want their chance to shine and so the disc is broken up into several individual outings. This results in some poor solo efforts like the Hakizzle helmed “Crucial Shit”

      In the end, its easy to get bored quickly with VL Mike, Hakizzle, Gar and Sniper, because they aren’t saying anything that hasn’t been said before. Yes, just like everyone else right now, they’re pushing drugs, poppin’ bottles of expensive liquor, pimpin hoes, ridin’ cars and making really bad songs with instructions in the hook (“Shake Em’ Off”). Listeners and fans of B.G. will be left a little disappointed and a little confused as to what it is exactly that these Boyz “got,” besides a mediocre album that is.

    The frustration continues on The Heart of tha Streetz Vol. 2 – I Am What I Am, a release that should be utterly compelling in the wake of Katrina, not to mention Juvenile and Lil’ Wayne’s ascension to pretty good and amazing, respectively. The effort begins with promise on “Move Around,” a trunk-rattling, Southern-fried banger with the endearing chorus “I’m from the ghetto homeyyy/I was raised on bread and bolognayyyyy.” That certain hurricane is addressed defiantly and that’s the tone B.G. maintains on that topic throughout. It’s exactly what we would expect and doesn’t disappoint. From this point, however, the release goes through the slow motions. A couple of mid-tempo’s with an R&B refrain here, an ATL whistle there. The requisite Soulja Slim shout-out track “Living Right” flirts with turning into an ear-pleaser, but Tone Tone does it no favors with his foot-dragging rhythm and annoying vocal contributions. When Gizzle is finally given a decent background to ride, the Swisha-style “Deuces Up,” complete with Paul Wall guest, it’s an ill fit.

    The truth is, B.G.’s voice wants to party, and that’s at the heart of the disappointment here. Juvie’s menacing growl can support throwing on a George W. Bush mask and flipping birds amidst the wreckage. Lil’ Wayne’s outer space inflection demands to be listened to no matter what he’s putting out there. But Gizzle was blessed with a turn-it-to-11 tone, but he’s found himself with lofty ambitions he can’t live up to, and surrounded by a posse that lack imagination. “Yeah Nigga Yeah” is the sonic equivalent of a lazy, herb-heavy Sunday on the couch with your boys, but without the fun. “Pussy Pop,” in a very weird way, is the biggest letdown, because if there’s one thing you can count on with the N.O., it’s a good strip club joint. This, like everything else on the release, comes off like high schoolers imagining what a lap dance might feel like; in other words way off the mark.

    He says on “Gotta Get Me,” I told ya/Once my deal up, game over/I’m goin independent/And gettin money like Hova.” After all of it, there is still much to like about B.G, but every choice he’s made on this album (as well as his recent industry trajectory) has been wrong, and while he’ll always hold a special place in the hearts of anyone who ever banged out “Bling Bling,” it may be time to swallow the pride and (gasp!) ask Weezy for some career advice.