“Based Boys” came in 2007 as the full-length debut from the Berkley California-based Hyphy Rap group, The Pack. It followed on from the success of their hits “Vans”, from their first EP (and which is also found on here as a bonus). It finds Young L leading, Lil’ Uno, Stunnaman and Lil’ B performing the kind of material which blew up in popularity at the time in the Northern Cali Bay Area as Hyphy was brought to mainstream attention by the likes of E-40 Too $hort and Keak Da Sneak.
1. “Rumble”
Getting the album underway you find that (as you get with the majority of the album) Young L takes control of the beats and comes with some Thizz material with the hardest bass being used to guide the rappers as they come with rhymes, which aren’t the best, but are able to engage with listeners with the popular topical references.
**Four Stars**
2. “I Look Good”
Wit this one you see that the club side of their Hyphy material takes a twist towards House quite significantly here and they do this with heavy influence from the Booty Bounce scene of Miami in the late eighties to early nineties. I can’t say that I enjoyed what they came with here, but it had potential.
**Two Stars**
3. “In My Car”
This was one of the singles form the album and I have to say that as a follow-up to “Vans” I was incredibly disappointed by the quality of this oen as you see that in it they decide to take things to a place where i was too interested as they take on elements of Snap music and rap in
the most annoying way to put people off when the rhymes aren’t strong enough to prop it up.
**Two Stars**
4. “My Girl Gotta Girl Too”
In this one they talk about how hard their mack game is as they are able to attract girls which swing both ways. I felt that the strong beats returned with this one and so pulled me back in as it when away from the House style to some degree here. It is a fly joint and the eccentric flows from the rappers suit it for this joint.
**Four Stars**
5. “Gimme Racks”
The bass pounds in this one and I felt that it was just what the album needed here as you get one which uses just the essentials which make the Hyphy seen what it is (and move it went to diversify to make sub-sub0genres such as Jerkin’. It is a powerful one and it has them telling you about the lifestyle in these ends for geeky rappers such as themselves.
**Four Stars**
6. “The Milky Way”
You would expect that there is bound to be a lift as the Bass producer who innovated Snap Music (DJ Smurf, and now Mr. Collipark) gets on the beats and composes one which seen to get them doing things in a style which appears to be a weak attempt to break into the commercial scene through radio-friendly love rhymes.
**Two Stars**
7. “Rock N Roll”
Showing that there is much more to them than what people expect, this one has them recruiting DJ Speedy to help them out and give them a little something different as they jump on top of an eighties Soul groove and get their thing with it. It is an extension of what was found on the track prior to it, but I saw it as a massive improvement with such strong production.
**Four Stars**
8. “In The Club”
Here they are seen to take it directly towards the main place where their music should be bumped and so you see that with it they come up with even more of the heavy, bassy material and power through with it to show that they can take over this area. However I felt that here the rhymes really held it back.
**Three Stars**
9. “Club Stuntin’”
The popular Bay Area producer Traxamillion gets on top of the beats here and so it means that with the assistance of such a popular name, you find that they are able to do something which is more in tune with the most popular side of this Hyphy movement, but I can’t say that it did all that much for me with rather plain beats and average flows from the rappers.
**Two Stars**
10. “At The Club”
Young L returns to the beats for this one, and I have to say that this one was quite clearly amongst the best that you get from the album as you find that in it they perform one here they take on the form which would later be adapted slightly to form the Jerkin’ style with a format which could be likened to how The Neptunes made The Clipse’ “Grindin’”.
**Five Stars**
11. “Booty Bounce Bopper”
The Oakland Rap legend Too $hort is behind both the beats and he also lays don some rhymes here, and I felt that it made for a killer of a collaboration as you find that the established name shows how well he can get down to this new style and create beats which really do what the newer names what it to.
**Four Stars**
12. “Fly”
With this one they are seen to get into a fly and uplifting one as they take on the momentum of the tunes just before it to get into one which really pulls out the best in what they have to offer when it comes to jumping on some of the heaviest beats and coming with rhymes which suits this. The only real weak point was the poor chorus, but this can be ignored.
**Four Stars**
13. “Backseat”
You see that with this one they get back to the material which takes on the House style and it really put me off again as they show just how inconsistent the album is here as they do one which doesn’t really have much to it and just does nothing as they try to show originality by doing one which is clearly taken from the Miami Bass wonder years.
**One Star**
14. “The Milky Way” (Remix)
As a remix to an earlier joint on the album, you see that with this one they choose to re-create it without the Mr. Collipark beats and so Young B shows what he can do with the basic structure, but I have to say that it just sounded like an unprofessional job as it does nothing and has no real structure to it.
**One Star**
15. “Candy”
I have to say that this was one of the tunes which I simply couldn’t resist getting into as you see that with this fast-past one they take on beats which were taken directly from the peak years of Booty Bass out in Florida, and I felt that with this throwback-styled tune, it would be impossible to just ignore its funkiness.
**Five Stars**
16. “I’m Shinin’”
This one was originally featured on their debut EP and it was a highly-popular tune from it as it saw them coming up with an original composition unlike almost anything that had been heard up to that point. You hear them using a little Michael Jackson here for the added lift on what would otherwise be a pretty average one.
**Four Stars**
17. “Vans”
This tune was their big break and it finds that in it The pack get down to one where they simply talk about the type of kick which everyone tends to roll with in their area with such a heavy skater culture going on there. It takes a while to really feel, but it really does its job at a time when sneaker raps were a big trend.
**Five Stars**
Although I have to say that I really can’t stand Young L’s voice, what s thrown down on hear at times is absolutely massive. Of course there are points which really held it back and showed just how inconsistent it is, but there are also some heavy hitters which are bound to appeal to those (primarily) from the area where they are based.
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