Bay Area rap outfit, The Pack, return with their second full length LP, Wolfpack Party, following their 2007 LP Based Boys, which expanded on their debut EP, Skateboards 2 Scrapers. It’s been four years since their debut hit single, “Vans”, and The Pack has gained more publicity for the antics of Lil’ B than any song they’ve recorded for this album, which opened with a paltry 843 copies sold in it’s first week.

While The Pack’s debut EP was a bit of a guilty pleasure, like Based Boys before this, Wolfpack Party shows how a little bit of The Pack goes a long way. They’ve matured into full scale douchebags with this album, obnoxiously spitting sex rhymes through just about the entire album, with little creativity or subtly. Case in point is the line, “S-S-S-S bitch give me sex” on “Titties”, for instance, which is actually a recycled line from the last album’s “Oh Go”. Hmm, is “terrible” too strong of a word to use here?

Most of the album is spent in this territory, but few times they do try to change things up a bit; you know, to not seem one dimensional. The title track, “Wolfpack Party”, finds them embarrassingly attempting to cash in on the recent hip-house revival, clearly having no understanding of the current sound, with a track more akin to Alice Deejay’s 1998 hit “Better Off Alone” than anything heard in the club right now. The other curveball here is “Superman”, a lone track produced by DecadeZ, which finds them going for a softer pop sound, with somewhat better results than much of the rest of the record.

Producer Young L handles much of the LP, clearly being the strongest thing The Pack has to offer. Like their previous works, L’s production carries things along, but is shamefully undone by the Pack emcees as they struggle through each verse, many times extending the songs into long four verse epics so that each member can spit. Unfortunately, L’s talent as a producer is eclipsed by the crew’s offensively bad rhymes. Beats like “Red Light” and “Drunk Off Money” could have easily demanded top dollar from guys like T.I. or Rick Ross.

All in all, with Lil B having his share of internet publicity, Young L easily outshining the rest of the group as a producer, and the poor sales response for this album’s first week, The Pack may be better off spitting up and pursuing their own goals. Because let’s face it, this party sucks.

Twitter beef between Lil B and Joe Budden spawned this dis track.Twitter startin’ wars ya’ll.Props to Blunt Rapps for the info on the genesis of this beef.

Lil B (The Pack)- “T Shirts And Buddens” (Joe Budden Diss) (MP3)

New track and video from The Pack. This is the lead single to the Pack’s new album, following it from the groups last album and hit single “Vans.” Check out the video above and look for the new album from The Pack, Wolfpack Party to drop in August of this year.

The Pack – “Sex On The Beach” (MP3)

Caption contest. The best one in the comments section will become the headline.

SMC Recordings continues to attract some of the hottest artist’s out-adding to its already stellar roster. Their most recent signee is former Jive Records act, The Pack. The young group first made headlines in 2006, when their trendsetting hit single “Vans”, took over the airwaves. It was named #5 in the Rolling Stone’s Top 50 songs list for that year, and has sold 300,000 to date.

The Berkeley, CA based group, comprised of members; Lil Uno, Young L, Lil B and Stunnaman were discovered by Hip Hop legend Too $hort, who signed them to Jive Records. They released an album and an EP with the label, quickly achieving a large following for their unique and edgy sound created by in-house producer and group member Young L. They appeal to everyone from hip hop heads to skate boarders. Their music’s influence has had great reach; even making its way into famed comedian; Dave Chappell Skits, who brought up their popular song “Vans” to the delight of the audience at a recent show.

“I tried signing The Pack when “Vans” broke but how could I compete with Too $hort?” remembers SMC Recording’s Chief Operating Officer, Will Bronson.

“The Pack has always been ahead of the curve and with this new album, the songs are stellar and they’ve truly evolved into stars. We’ve got so much in store for these guys its incredible,”

The Pack’s first album on SMC Recordings, Wolfpack Party, (scheduled for an August 2010 release date) features production by Young L with additional help from hit making new comers The Cataracs keeping them musically as leaders of “the pack”.

“The Pack is a great fit for our label, as we have proven success with these niche groups of Hip Hop artists. With their crossover appeal and a sound that stays one step ahead of the trends, they add incredible depth and prestige to our roster” said SMC CEO Ralph Tashjian.

The group has is currently putting the finishing touches to their SMC debut and preparing for their Summer tour.

LISTEN: The Pack “Wolfpack Party”

Last year, the Bay Area quartet of Young L, Stunna, Uno, and Lil B teamed up to form The Pack, making waves with their breakthrough debut single, “Vans”. Rather than living up to the typical rap stereotypes we’ve seen time and time again, The Pack came off a little bit hipper, rocking skateboard fashions mixed with bling, like four bastard sons of Pharrell. A more accurate comparison might have been what we like to call “the hyphy Souls of Mischief”, as this pack of fresh faced Bay Area teens brought back memories of the Hiero crew with their unique approach to making hip-hop. Backed by producer Young L, their debut EP, Skateboards To Scrapers was pleasing guilty pleasure, with easy to digest, spacey, bassy beats, and mind-numbingly dumb lyrical content.

The Pack returns just a year later with Based Boys, their official full-length debut, picking up where the EP left off, now housed under the Rawkus banner. Opening with “Rumble”, the crew gets off to a blase beginning, as they deliver half-assed lyrics over a lazy beat from Young L, utilizing a boxing ring bell; hardly “Mama Said Knock You Out”. You sort of know what to expect from these guys by now, as it shows on signature songs like “I Look Good” and “In My Car”, made up of hypnotic beats from Young L and audacious choruses that you can’t help but get hooked into.

But the problems with The Pack’s Based Boys are just as they are on the EP, as proven on songs like “My Girl Gotta Girl Too”. The beat, which rivals a half-million dollar track from The Neptunes, doesn’t fail sonically, but the group’s oft-lazy approach to lyrics kills the vibe at times (“I spit fire like a nigga named Mushu”; huh?!?!). There is also the severe problem of redundancy. Back to back we find each “In The Club”, “Club Stuntin’”, and “At The Club”, which are more or less different versions of the same song. The latter (“At The Club”, not to be confused with “In The Club”) does show off Young L’s skill as a beatsmith, a crisp Dilla-esque snare and infectious hook from a pilled-up Bay Area bopper.

Thankfully, the LP does have a few redeeming qualities to help give the pack some variation on their sound. Mr. Collipark chimes in for “The Milky Way”, a dope little extended sex/space metaphor, where one member promises “never been to space? I’ma take you there / don’t worry about your phone, it ain’t work up there”. The Replacement Killers drop in on the strangely titled “Rock N Roll”, which has more of a cool slow jam vibe, with it’s keenly freaked Freddie Jackson sample.

The LP ends with a series of bonus tracks, collecting the main singles from the EP – “Candy”, “I’m Shinin”, and “Vans”, each of which were the EP’s best cuts, but seem a little redudant for the early adopters. All in all, what Based Boys proves is that The Pack is good in small doses, like in the case of the Skateboard 2 Scrapers EP. That being said, while they do have a hard time crafting an entire LP, it’s only a matter of time before outside artists on a budget start tapping Young L for beats. – Pizzo

      What first got the crew attention was the EP’s lead single, “Vans”, an original anthem that finds the guys going against the grain as far as hip-hop sneakers are concerned, pushing Nikes and Adidas aside for “a punk rock shoe”.  Much of the EP carries a similar sound to “Vans”, thanks to Young L’s unique, in-house production, which in itself, sells the record. It’s a total guilty pleasure – because when it really comes down to it, The Pack are pretty awful emcees – even from a dumb, commercial standpoint. But that’s a part of it’s charm – where else can you find a club song that shameless interpolates Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me” - off key, even? Young L comes off like a junior Rick Rock with his beats, but have a distinguishable style and sound all their own. Even if you aren’t a fan of the much ballyhooed Hyphy Movement, you can’t help but dig what The Pack is doing, especially on infectious grooves like “Ride My Bike” and “Oh Go”. The booty shakin’ “Candy” almost takes it a step too far, interpolating Miami bass styles, but at this point you are so into the EP that you accept it. 

      The Pack themselves are nothing special – the real star here is producer Young L. Like Rick Rock before him, all he needs is bigger artists to co-sign him, and he could easily be the next hot club producer. At the end of the day, in all of its ignorance, there’s a lot of enjoyment to be had out of Skateboards To Scrapers, despite it’s flaws.