Rewind << Review: Tangled Thoughts - Philly 2 Cali

    So I’ve been picking up a lot more new music than usual lately. Some of it is music I’ve been waiting to become available physically again because hard copies are out of print, and some of it is music I picked up randomly. Most of it, if not all, are albums and compilations that date back a few years and as I wanted to write about them, I thought I’d start this new series of “Rewind<<Reviews”.

    First in line is an album I bought randomly for less than €2 and what a gem of a find that is! “Philly 2 Cali” is the debut album by rap trio Tangled Thoughts. Clocking in at 19 tracks, full of Dr. Dre-sounding beats and with DPGC rappers Kurupt and Roscoe heavily featured throughout, this album has been in heavy rotation this month. Let’s jump into this.

    Tangled Thoughts consist of 3 Philadelphia rappers: Young De, Casanov and Tek Nizzle. I was already familiar with De (now named Demrick) who after releasing this group album went on to collaborate with Ca$his, Cypress Hill and more before forming the Serial Killers group with Xzibit and B-Real. He’s got really dope flows and lyrics. Tek Nizzle doubles as the main beatmaker/producer for the group and he brings high quality instrumentals that are nothing short of amazing considering this probably was his first project.

    Now, this album came out in 2007 when the West coast rap scene was yet to make a comeback. But the whole premise for the album is that Kurupt who has roots in Philadelphia knew these guys and convinced them to make the trip to L.A. to secure the big break. I guess that 14 years later you can’t really say it worked out that well for them, but the album definitely holds up against some of the commercial rap albums of that era. The production sounds polished, mixing west coast and south side sounding beats. The lyrics, while varying from average to good at best, are really on par with what you would get from other rap releases back then. And the group has the sign ups from the OGs with west coast vets Sen Dog, Mellow Man Ace, Kurupt featuring on the album.

    The album kicks off with an intro where the group re-enacts their arrival at LAX to get picked up by Kurupt. They’re ecstatic and can’t wait to get a taste of the Cali life, get introduced to all the right connections. On the title track “Philly 2 Cali” each rap about their come up in their home city and the blessing of connecting with Kurupt who brought them over to the west coast. Immediately after this song we get a proper (re-)introduction to the west side signature sound thanks to the track “All I Ever Knew” and it’s banging beat that would have you wonder if Dr Dre and Scott Storch were not assisting with the production. This is the first of the 5 songs that feature a guest verse from Kurupt who also appears on the next song (the single "Jumpoff" for which they shot a music video) alongside his brother Roscoe.

    Fast forward to the song “Puttin Work In”, another dope west coast beat over which the group and the Reyes Bros. (vets otherwise known as Sen Dog and Mellow Man Ace) tell stories of their rap hustle. Young De blesses his verse with a smart play on words using the Cypress Hill members names. Another standout song is “Anutha Night in LA”, a classic laidback Cali instrumental on which the group raps about the pleasures of life on the sunny coast. “Real One” is a club anthem with its aggressive and head nodding beat. Kurupt and is then wife Gail Gotti steal the show on this one. The latter part of the album features more of the Philly rap scene with cameos from Freeway on the dope “Til Tha Sun Come Up” and Gillie Da Kid on “Product Of My Environment” (another amazing Aftermath-sounding instrumental). The 3 rappers wrap up the project with the track “Been Thru Sum Thangs” on which they rap about their past struggles and state that they’re here to stay.

    All in all this album was an amazing find and well worth the few cents I paid for it and I’d recommend you pick it up while copies still last. The music is far from original but it felt great to be able to listen through an entire album many times without skipping any tracks.