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The Ball Street Journal - E-40

December 5, 2008 | Author: Rhydian H.M.

“The Ball Street Journal” showcases E-40’s flow throughout a plethora of tracks, while bringing up some harsh stories of life in California. The 11th solo album for rapper E-40 was leaked onto the internet November 20 and features quite a few guest appearances, including The Game, Snoop Dogg and T-Pain.

The album takes on an early aggressive tone in “Break Ya Ankles”, as E-40 is backed by Shawty Lo. The duo drop some menacing lyrics on top of a threatening and rousing beat.

Next up to note is “Wake It Up”, the first single of the album. On this single, E-40 takes a back seat to Akon, as the contrasting pair combine to sing and rap about a girl for whom they are “about to wake it up”. With differing styles, Akon employs the Auto-Tune technology and soulfully pours out his intentions, singing “I’m here to change to your whole life girl” and “treat you like a superstar that you are”.

E-40 on the other hand, seeks to eliminate the competition for his desired girl, as he rhymes “Get rid of that clown, get with a factor, Patna don’t count, he a lame, he don’t matter” and tries to convince of his simple intentions “I’m just tryna know you, hold a conversation”.

With cool and varied rhythms complimenting the artists, E-40’s on tempo flow is moderated by Akon’s extended and enhanced vocals. “The Ball Street Journal” features another sample of Auto-Tune technology, as T-Pain’s synthesized vocals join E-40 on the track “Give Her The Keys”, where the duo tandem to a catchy sound.

In “Pain No More”, E-40 let’s you into the anguish of life growing up in Vallejo and the forms of escapism used to achieve “pain no more”. Here E-40 teams up with fellow California rappers The Game and Snoop Dogg to showcase their storytelling skills. E-40 is tries his best to escape the pains, as he justifies “That’s why I’m popping these pills and smoking this draw and drinking this Henney straight” and reveals how untrustworthy the life has bee, rhyming “I hand pick my friends cause people ain’t trustable; Feelings like broads, their motives is questionable”.

The Game leads us down a raw path of California, ultimately showing what makes him detached “See my brother lying dormant, IV’s in his arms”, adding “Can’t you see he got a p*ss bag; 17 years old, and you n**gas wonder why I’m so cold”. Next up is Snoop Dogg, who re-emphasizes the hurt from their hood, “So much pain I overcame, same thing; me, E-40, and Game came from the same gang”.

“The Ball Street Journal” was released on November 24 on iTunes (you can check it out here), marking over a decade of LPs for E-40 as this release brings us a modern style worthy of 2008.

“The Ball Street Journal”