The Jacka's The Verdict Song-By-Song

 This building is actually a library in South San Francisco

The Jacka's second album in the trilogy about the flaws in the American judiciary system just came out this past Tuesday. The Jacka is one of my favorite Bay Area rappers of all time and according to the press release attached to these albums, has sold over half a million records independently. The Jack Artist, Tear Gas and his Devilz Rejectz albums with Ampichino are some of the best rap music the Bay Area has to offer. Is the new album on that same level? As promised when we reviewed The Indictment, here is a breakdown of The Verdict:

1.)  The Verdict 1
The album begins with the sound of people chanting "guilty," presumably outside of a courtroom. Not really sure how to feel about concept albums in rap music, they never really stick to the concept too well, so what's the point? It doesn't really matter. The verdict is announced as guilty and the crowd is excited, I wonder what this audio sample is from?

 LOL

2.) Everyday


 The first song kicks off with Jacka's synthesized voice crooning on the hook over a dope beat that buzzes away with layers of guitars, organs, and other shit. The way the beat builds up its layers and then is stripped back down again is real tight. The chorus is actually really catchy, it's nice to see the album kicking off with a true solo song. One of my biggest complaints about the last album was that there weren't enough songs with just The Jacka on it. This is a great song, strong start to the album!

3.) Time Still Tickin' ft. Lil Rue
This song has one of those piano and violin sampled melancholy beats that Jacka seems to love for his Sad Rap style. The Jacka is singing again on the chorus, this time in a much more subtle fashion. I've run out of clever things to say about Lil Rue's slurred style, I wonder if he is going to join Jacka's The Artist Records? That would probably work out well. The song is only two verses, but it's another good song, if not a bit too recognizable for those that know Jack's music.

 4.) OMG ft. J. Stalin


This song is a sequel to Jacka's smash hit, "ROFL" (joke). Are serious rappers starting to use internet slang now? If a gangster rapper came out with a song called "Lettuce Be Cereal" I think it'd be humorous. The beat has a real polished feel to it, like something a popular rapper would use for a song about reaping all the rewards of his success. There is some guy that sings the hook and he does a good job, a lot of R&B singers that do rap hooks sound hella annoying/homosexual, but this guy is alright in my book. The Jacka keeps a fast pace for both of his brief verses, with the second verse being notable for the melody he holds at the beginning of it and how his verse bleeds into the chorus. J. Stalin comes in for the third verse about women loving him despite his oblong body shape (joke). Another quality song, it breezes by super quick, with three verses and a hook all in under three minutes!

5.) Verdict 2
An audio clip of a jury announcing it has found the defendant guilty of murder. Ok.Take a minute to listen to some Suffocation or something.

Reason #45435 teenage girls should not be given internet access

6.) The Rain ft. Smigg Dirtee & Vince V
If you are familiar with Jacka then you know the guy loves making songs about rain. He should move to the Northwest so that he can be around rain all the time and be the token black guy. I'm sure all the hipsters in Portland would smoke him out whenever he wants (via white guilt and wanting to be cool enough to have a black friend). Back to the song: it opens with a fruity vocoded hook by some no-name singer before the beat kicks in. The beat is pretty tight and it's always good to hear Smigg Dirtee. Pretty sure Jacka's verse is recycled, but I cannot recall from what at the moment. Not feeling the hook at all on this one, it sort of ruins the song for me.

8.) Let It Go


The song opens with some dramatic synths, like something in an intense movie scene before the beat kicks in with Jacka rapping. The beat is driven by a soul music sample, bass guitar and guitar picking that has a nice throwback feel to it. This song is about learning to not get tied up with all your life problems and let go of all that stress. I haven't mentioned it thus far, but Jacka's raps have been dope so far, he mentions unicorns in the second verse as a reference to coke. Awesome! Jacka epitomizes the fact that you can be a lyrical rapper that still makes interesting music, something 90% of those "real hip hop" rappers haven't figured out yet. The third verse gets pretty hardbody, his delivery gets more intense as he raps about another senseless murder in his neighborhood. Tight song.

9.) Knock Her Down ft. Smigg Dirtee & Lil Rue


This beat is produced by Jeffro, who has done tons of quality beats for Jacka such as "All Over Me," "Aspen" and "We" and features angelic female vocals over some strings that I am going to assume are a harp. Is this what heaven sounds like? The Jacka sings the hook about having sex with other guys' women, oh Jacka, you're a card! I believe the reason there are a lot of Smigg Dirtee features is that Siccness.net is putting out these albums and he has very close ties with them. There is some guy that sings on the fourth verse that sounds really horrible, his voice goes really low halfway through and he honestly sounds like a rapist. Lil Rue's verse uses the analogy of a mixed martial arts fighting for sex that makes little sense; "like a UFC fight when I pin her down, make her tap out when every round." That's not even a coherent sentence. Sans the rapist in the middle this song it is pretty swell.

10.) All Around The World ft. J. Stalin
Stalin does the chorus on this song and discusses his predilection for financial assets over female affection. Does anybody know who the rappers are on the second and third verse? They're uncredited on this song and do not sound familiar to me. There is nothing in particular about this song that stands out and it has too much no-name rappers and not enough Jacka.

11.) Here We Are ft. Joe Blow, Young Lox & 12 Gauge Shottie

Hey it's Joe Blow! So the rappers that are "signed" to The Artist Records at this current moment are Joe Blow, Young Lox, Street Knowledge and Jacka. Am I missing anyone? Jacka is singing on the chorus of this song again and following the melody of the violins in the beat. His verse really stands out on this track because it starts out at a normal pace, but gradually gains speed before reaching a pace that sounds like he is barely breathing. For another example of rappers rapping without breathing check out Nickatina's verse on this song.

Bros

12.) They Need That Mob Shit ft. Cellski & Stevie Joe

Cellski and Jacka collaborations are always welcome in my book. "Won't Be Right" was one the best songs on Tear Gas. Jacka's chorus on this song is recycled from "2 Took and The Jack" off Cellski's newest album, which is kind of a bummer. I would imagine most people didn't hear that album though, so it won't be a problem for most. Stevie Joe raps on this song, "white folks can't understand how we came to be neighbors," LOL. Raps about white people being bummed out by a rapper's success are never not funny. Decent song.

13.) The Verdict 3

A bunch of audio clips of people reacting positively about the person being found guilty. Ok. Take a minute to listen to Immolation or something.

SWAG KING

14.) Imma King ft. the Game

I don't have a strong opinion of The Game, but remember fondly Yukmouth and his crew releasing endless diss songs directed towards him. My favorite parts were when Yukmouth made fun of The Game's butterfly face tattoo, tongue ring, and claimed he used to be a male stripper. Hilarious! This song is cool, but Jacka is barely on the track, delivering one verse and then leaving the rest of the song up to "The Gayme" as Yukmouth used to call him (so clever!). As good as this song is, I don't think it was a smart move to end the album on a song that barely features Jacka.

I enjoyed this album a great deal, I think it is a better album than The Indictment and greatly benefited from slightly less features and more Jacka. The album's first half is its strongest and gets a bit lost with all the features in the second half. If you are a fan of Jacka then you should probably check this album out. I put up DL links for the best songs on the album for you to check out.

On Tuesday a full cup of water was accidentally poured on my computer and now it doesn't work. I put this post together on my girlfriend's computer and am not really sure how long until I get my computer back, which has all of my music on it. I hate everything.
I'm going to try and keep doing posts though as I slump into a deep depression due to the fact that my happiness is based almost exclusively on access to a piece of technology.

What do you think of the album?
Do you think it's better than The Indictment?
Have you guys seen any good movies lately?