By shelz.

The caste system in Hip-Hop has been harsh and unwavering for years. Certain cities grab the ball with their regionally crafted style and run while almost everybody else lives on the sidelines. It’s quite unfair, and no city knows the tragedy of unrealized success more than Philadelphia.

Yes, The Roots have been a staple for those who vibe off the organic underground sound, but the rest of the brotherly love brethren seem to be stifled. There are glimpses of their brooding talent base on large projects but superstardom seems to evade Philly on the regular.

They still keep plugging away though and the most recent project out of the home of the Liberty Bell is Young Chris’ The Network. With lots of features and a roster of big deal producers, the more talented half of the Young Gunners is making an ambitious attempt to burrow back into the Hip-Hop nation’s psyche. However, this time around he’s not doing it as Jigga’s protégé, but as his own entity.

The epic concept of this mixtape is kicked off with the intro. Yes, that movie studio theme music is getting to be a bit played on these offerings, but if you are creating something of sweeping cinematic proportions it can actually fit. The tape then drops immediately into “Super Flyness.” If you aren’t familiar with the youngster, your immediate thought will be, “Damn I’ve heard that flow before.” Argue amongst yourselves about who sounded like that first. It’s tight regardless. Don Cannon makes it immediately and painfully obvious that he mixed this release up, but it’s an awesome introduction and will cement your desire to listen to the rest.

“Fresh to Death” finds Young Chris musing about how he’s as slippery as his lyrics. There’s a little name dropping and descriptions of gun play layered over some tinkling of the ivories and a well placed “La Di Da Di” sample.

Then there is the rhyme marathon known as “Hot Shyt.” It’s an interesting take on having a high post lyrical ability that you can’t even give away and it’s truly apropos for a group of emcees out of Philadelphia. The feature-heavy song incorporates Peedi Crakk, Black Thought, Tu Phase and Wale (yes, I know he’s not from Philly) and clocks in around 5 minutes, but doesn’t lose you along the way. “Last 2” is just hard. Chris shares the slow atmospheric track with Freeway and Beans and there are lots of lyrics about people in caskets, which is totally expected when that trio gets together.

“Not Going to Fold” showcases Chris’ flow wonderfully and “Kickdrums” with Rhymefest is fun with its high pitched chorus and Fest’s animated delivery and adlibs.

It’s not clear who produced what except for the offerings from 9^th Wonder due to the shout outs. But contributions are reported from Chad West, DJ Green Lantern, Pete Rock and Ritz as well.

There are some issues with the tape. “Rap Money” has a decent track and Tom Hardy does his thing but that still can’t really save Chris and Freeway’s flat lyricism and that boring hook. The incessant panting on “Ride With Me” is a little irritating. The Young Gunners’ reunion track featuring Neef, “Young G Sound” is forgettable. Cannon taking space on the tape to talk about other DJ’s is really unnecessary. Also, even though the production is generally tight throughout, all the slower songs being herded to the end of the tape could lull some listeners into disinterest.

All in all it’s a good release. It’s not great, but it’s a mixtape, so problematic songs are expected for the price. Young Chris is a talent worthy of your attention and with a bit of polishing and an understanding that his flow may have been absconded with years ago, he might be able to contribute to the real success that Philadelphia has been missing out on for way too long.

Out of 5

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