Beat'n Down Yo Block [PA] - Unk > Reviews > Now Hit The Dance Floor

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	All the dance tracks are of the highest quality
Disadvantages:	Lyrics aren't the best

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

"Beat'n Down Yo Block!" is the debut album from the Atlanta rapper (and DJ )who brought the world the dance called "Walk it Out", DJ Unk. Originally DJ Unknown, this rapper made a name out of himself by going under trhe wing of the producer DJ Montay, who makes the beats for much of the album, from here they capitalized on the success which the Dirty South had in Hip hop by adapting to the Snap Music stye of rap. This has been made famous by D4L, Dem Franchize Boyz, and more recently on a bigger scale, Soulja Boy, and release an album which uses this style, as well as others which are popular in the region (such as Crunk) in 2006.

1. Intro

2. Beat'n Down Yo Block

I felt that there were similarities between this track and others which artists from the region have come out with. The closest track to it for me is Jibbs' "King Kong", as these both refer to the booming sound which their cars make as they enter a neighbourhood. I felt that it was a good way to introduce the album as Unk tells you that the LP should be played so the whole street can hear it.

**Four Stars**

3. Walk It Out

This was the first track I heard from Unk, way back in 2006, and as I had just got into the Snap form of rap after hearing a little Soulja Boy and Dem Franchize Boyz, this played up to exactly what I wanted to here; a big dance track from Atlanta.

it seems as though if you make a dance rap track in any of the big southern cities of the US, and accomplany it with an actual dance; , you are bound to do well. This is the case with this track as it blew up the clubs in the Dirty South, and it's popularity spread across the world (at least if you follow this genre).

**Five Stars**

4. Comin' Down Da Street

I felt as if this track killed off all of the hype which the album created in the first couple of tracks, and i should have been put in there a little later as I felt as if he was just putting me into a hype, and he kept building on it track to track, and then he comes with a regualr rap track which had little origianly The only reason why I like it this much is because of DJ Montay's production, and he never goes wrong.

**Three Stars**

5. Bring It Back

This one has Unk come with a track directly for his female fans to dance to, as they don't often get something specifically designed for them them so few popular female rappers in the region. Due to this Unk makes the most out of what he can tell the girls to do for him as the listen to this track in the club

**Four Stars**.

6. 2 Step

Thsi was the second track from the album and it followed on well from where "Walk it Out" left off as DJ Unk came with a big dance for southern kids to get down with, and then came up with let another dance for us to do. This Snap Music tune makes reinvents the '2-Step' which has had so many differnt variations over the years, and finally settles it in Hip Hop.

**Five Stars**

7. Slow It Up

With so many dance tracks around all promoting the sped-up sound, Unk calms things down with this track which tells everyone to "Do The Matrix", as a result forcing the club to chilled-down. The track has the screwed effect applied to it to reinforce this slowed style, and by doing this it is more likely to make you actually dance at half the original tempo. Not many do this, and so I thought that this Houston twist brought originality to what Unk has already displayed.

**Four Stars**

8. Don't Make Us

I thought that this was a good track to hype you up for the tune which follows it, as it requires you to be quite annoyed to fully get into the raps which he performs. However, apart from setting you up for that one, it doesn't hav much to offer as an individual track on the album, especailly hen you hear a verse worth of beats wasted on an instrumental. It was extremly annoying as you don't notice it until the raps come back after you think it's about to end.

**Two Stars**

9. Flatline

As an Atlanta native, DJ Unk makes the most out of what sub-genre of rap which are avaliable to him, and as he had already shown that he is fully capable of doing the genreal Dirty SOuth thing, and he's also killed of the Snap Music scene, so he get's into the other big one in the A; Crunk.

DJ Unk comes with a Crunk track to rival the King, Lil' Jon, as he comes out with such a high energy in a rage about beating on some guy. The intimidating chants from Unk and whoever else is with him on the chorus roar instructions just as Lil' Jon has done in almost all his albums before it.

**Five Stars**

10. Thinking Of You

This one is another poorly positioned track in the album, and I would have thought that had it been stuck as the final tune on the LP, it would have been perfect for the listener to reflect on as we have gone from some big club tunes, to a diffenrt one which deals with difficult subjects.

I previous reviews I've said how annoyed I get when Jazzy Pha sings, but in this one DJ Unk rectifies all of the damage whihc Jazzy Phizzle does in the chorus with his terrible harmonies. Here Unk does an emotionally-charged rap which lets us look back on all the rappers who we have lost over the years.

**Four Stars**

11. Fresh Dressed

I always like tracks which celebrate looking good, because I always enjoy walking out and ffeling good about the way I look, and by having tunes such as this out there, you can finally express it musically. I find it's always southern rappers who do iths, and for me it's a positive. I think that if you think that you are fresh and clean when you go out, then you will like this, so if you're anbel to relate with it it's will only highlight your lack of style.

**Four Stars**

12. Ayyy

I really liked this one as it was just the type of track which fans of this specific sub-genre of rap expect to hear. Unk bigs up his ends; Atlanta, Georgia here in a way which would excite typical fans as I expect that Unk didn't foresee the album spreading across the globe as it did. As a result., this is a real 'hood' tune where Unk raps to his target audience, and although I would be considered an outsider, but I felt that I could really relate to it.

**Four Stars**

13. This Is How We Do

Thsi is one of the shorter tracks on the album, but I don't think that this effected it too much because it was quite refreshing with some fresh voices on it. The one has Unk collaborate with a duo who go by the name of Big Korey & Dru and it was a nice to change in the album, but it wasn't really up there with the rest of the material.

**Three Stars**

14. Hold On Ho

I think that this was one of the biggest tracks from the album which didn't mange to get released as a single, it's a shame that it didn't because it was a big one. I think that I felt this way because of the choices for guest rappers. For someone who sees Atalanta as the best city for Hip Hop, I was excited to hear Baby D and Dem Franchize Boyz' Parlae, who brought fire with their lyrics.

**Five Stars**

15. Smokin' Sticky Sticky

This track is split into two separate ones, the second of which could be considered a hidden bonus track. I expect that Unk couldn't bring up the courage to name a track which has a chorus which goes "Don't hide that p*ssy, divide that p*ssy". The first of the tracks was well composed as it had the production folow the state of mind of what occurs when you smoke "Sticky Sticky" (cannabis). I thought that the second of them was a lot better, although some may not see it as I did, but it's just the type of things which these rappers come with.

**Three Stars**

16. Hit The Dance Floor

This track uses one of the lines from his hit single "Walk It Out", and goes from here. I understand that many will say that this is unoriginal of his, but to be honest he ins't that unique and many Snap rappers do this as they come up with a big line and realise that they can do a lot more with it in the future, and I thought as though he was very successful in this case.

**Five Stars**

17. Say Yes

As the album winds towards a close, Unk decides to change things up by coming with a track for the girls. I thought that it added to the diversity of the album, and shows potential for the future in what he could potentially find within himself.

I thought that DJ Unk was good as he managed to keep it within his distinct style, and didn't go out on a risky R&B-type tune, which probably wouldn't have worked. By keeping comfortably within his southern rap sub-genre, Unk made sure that he kept it as 'hood' as he actually is, and did a song to fit in with what the Dirty South shawtys want to hear.

**Four Stars**

18. Back It Up

Unk does a track specifically for the girls,and I've I've said before, the girls down in Atalnta do't really want any of that sentimenatl stuff, so Unk accomdates for this by making a dance tune just for them. I thought that Unk made hate mos tout of girls not having any female rapper to make tracks of this sort for them, and so he tried to make them do as much as possible when listening to it. it's quite humourous too as you hear beeping noise to signify a large load backing up.

**Four Stars**

19. Brand New Day

Although I previously said that "Thinking Of You" would be the perfect choice for this position in the album, "Brna New Day" comes as the best substistute to it as it offers hope in the future with it's up-lifting production. This track was quite motivating, but I can't say that it inspired me to do anything specfic (just something).

**Four Stars**

It's important to note that I'm reviewing this from the perspective of someone who is targetted for this type of song. More specifically it's for the teen audince who want music to dance to, this being said, I don't see how th "Hip Hop Is Dead" movement is relevant when speaking about LPs such as this as it caters for the new sounds of the Dirty South, and is highly popular. Due to this, it's not fair to say it's killing Hip hop as a whole because poor lyricists have always been around, as have good ones. Here Unk gave me exactly what I wanted to hear, and I thought that he is one of the best in Snap Music.

I thought that this was amongst the best dance rap albums of recent times, and it makes me exicted for future relases from him in the future. The target audience for this is rather specific, and I don't say this to discourage people (as I would like to big it up), but I've found that unless you are a teenage who likes this style of specific style of rap, you will find it too 'pop'.