2 Pistols - Death Before Dishonor

Florida has played a pivotal role in Hip Hop’s development. Way back when, Luke [click to read] and 2 Live Crew helped usher in the era that made the girls get down on the floor, and then went to battle with the government over their right to make music that made girls get down on the floor. Trick Daddy [click to read] emerged in the ’90s, Slip-N-Slide crew in tow and the new millennium unleashed Rick Ross [click to read], Plies [click to read] and T-Pain on the world. It’s a new year, and it’s 2 Pistols‘ [click to read] turn to rep the Sunshine State. Hailing from Tarpon Springs, his first round in the clip, Death Before Dishonor is a rollercoaster of an attempt to put his city on the Hip Hop map.

With fellow Floridian T-Pain in two, Pistols (or the more radio friendly alias, “2 P‘s”) scored a radio hit with “She Got It.” The only problem with the track is that P fails to craft a memorable verse, allowing Pain to outshine him with the catchy hook. No matter how much you hate the song, when you hear the beat drop and T-Pain comes in with the “I know she got cause she lookin’ at me like she want it/droppin low make me wanna throw some D’s on it…” there’s nothing to be done but sing along.

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Death Before Dishonor suffers the same fate as many of today’s albums: limited subject matter and poor execution of said subject matter. In what has to be one of the worst blunders in album sequencing history, “Been Throwing Money” is immediately followed by “Getting Money Mane” with the latter offering the following lyrical gems: “Young boss, I got tall money/you comin’ short dog, with your midget money” and “Put a hole in ya ass like a hula hoop.“

The J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League produced “Let’s Ride” is easily one of the album’s most enjoyable cuts. It’s here that the listener will find 2 P‘s in his comfort zone, flowing easily over a potential summer anthem. On the flipside, “Flexx 2008” will find its way to a youngster’s “get the draws” mixtape, but will elicit cries of musical blasphemy from anyone old enough to remember the Mad Cobra original. It’s a hit and miss track, the beat hits, the lyrics miss.

Beats and hooks aren’t enough to save “Death” from becoming a disaster worthy of FEMA‘s assistance. Ray J [click to read] pops up on “You Know Me” while Trey Songz lends his talents to “That’s My Word” but, in the end, it just isn’t enough. Note to rappers and label executives: all the swagger and overpowering bass in the world does not a good album make. The excesses of life are fully on display “Lookin Down On Em” and “Candy Coated Diamonds”–both of which will have unsuspecting listeners clamoring for the forward button.

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To be fair, there are a couple tracks that show some promise, but with the bulk of an album full of rehashed and overdone commercial Hip Hop themes, 2 Pistols may not get a chance to have a sophomore jinx.