Welcome To The Zoo - Gorilla Zoe

“Welcome To The Zoo” came as the debut solo album from Gorilla Zoe, a rapper who first made his way into the spotlight when featured as part of Bad Boy Records’ Dirty South crew Boyz N Da Hood. It is a 2007 release from the Atlanta rapper and has him coming with material which finds him with others from the group, in addition to Drumma Boy, Sha Money XL and Yung Joc.

1. “Do Something” (Intro)

2. “Hood N***a”

...the track which came as his debut solo single. I have to say that initially I really wasn’t into it, but over time I had to change my perception on it significantly as I could finally appreciate what he does in it and comes out with a fun club tune where he talks of how he fits the description of the person that all girls want to get with, and lists his credentials.

**Five Stars**

3. “Money Man”

Using production ... more

“Welcome To The Zoo” came as the debut solo album from Gorilla Zoe, a rapper who first made his way into the spotlight when featured as part of Bad Boy Records’ Dirty South crew Boyz N Da Hood. It is a 2007 release from the Atlanta rapper and has him coming with material which finds him with others from the group, in addition to Drumma Boy, Sha Money XL and Yung Joc.

1. “Do Something” (Intro)

2. “Hood N***a”

Off a fresh Drumma Boy-produced tune, things turn towards the track which came as his debut solo single. I have to say that initially I really wasn’t into it, but over time I had to change my perception on it significantly as I could finally appreciate what he does in it and comes out with a fun club tune where he talks of how he fits the description of the person that all girls want to get with, and lists his credentials.

**Five Stars**

3. “Money Man”

Using production which has a thornback late eighties to early nineties feel to them, you get another banger from the artist as he gets down to one where he powers through with even more raw Trap Rap material where he concentrates around his side hustler as a dope slinger. It is a powerful one and has him doing it all to some empowering beats to really get you going along the way and feel all that he does.

**Four Stars**

4. “Tryna Make A Jug”

Big Gee of the Boyz N Da Hood is seen to help out with the raps and I felt that he was a nice inclusion to the thing as they come with a track which seems to carry through all the sorts of themes which came through in their work as part of the four piece as they keep to the flows about their hustles and how it seems to be panning out for them and what they are able to splurge these earning on.

**Four Stars**

5. “Crack Muzik”

You get another guest appearance from a Boyz N Da Hood member as Jody Breeze gets on this one with him, but I have to say that in this case it wasn’t as impressive as what had come up to this point. I feel that my feelings were due to the fact that Breeze’s delivery prevents it from feeling enjoyable in any way whatsoever, and it spoils t by having him on the hook as the strong beats run through.

**Two Stars**

6. “BattleField”

On this one you find tha the collaboration with other local names is needed as he gets down to one where he takes things into his own personal warzone (what he refers to as ‘The Zoo’) and has him man-up by recruiting Big Gee and Block as they rhyme united about how they are willing to ride for each other and are not likely to fall off at any time. This A-Town Trap-Rap (their version of Gangsta Rap and includes the likes of Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy and Shawty Lo) doesn’t really appeal to me and so I wasn’t into it at all.

**Two Stars**

7. “Take Ya Shoes Off”

You get another Southern Rap name signed to Diddy’s Bad Boy Records as Yung Joc comes in and lends a hand by rapping with him and introduces him to the club scene (as he killed it there 2006 with “It’s Goin’ Down”). It appeared that he was just the person he needed to help him to make a big impact here and this goes down here as he comes with a fresh tune compete with some of the heaviest 808 bass.

**Five Stars**

8. “I Know”

Finally Gorilla Zoe gets a chance to do things alone gain, but in this case it was for a predictable track on his debut album as for this one he gets into one where he talks of how he has had to compete with so many haters in his life and now that he would say he has reached where he needs to be, things have only got worse. It is clichéd material for a Rap debut and he offers nothing new whatsoever.

**One Star**

9. “Count On Me”

On this one Jay Mac brings some heavy bass drops to help out Zoe and take him to the sort of place where he finds it most comfortable and it means that it allows him to rap in a manner that seem comfortable for him and gets him performing to a reasonably high standard. It suits trends of the time as he has the unknown R&B singer JC on the hook to create a nice contrast and make for a well-rounded recording.

**Four Stars**

10. “Real M********a”

Here all of Boyz N Da Hood Apart from Young Jeezy) come together to perform a track which shows that they are ready to do damage with their music together as they come and make a powerful Gangsta Rap tune. It is a decent one, and will certainly appeal to those who are into material from any of the artists involved, but I’m sure that others will have problems with its harshness and lack of real substance, but it does its job.

**Four Stars**

11. “Juice Box”

Yung Joc returns again for this one and the setting turns back towards to the club in typical fashion and I felt that it was a good time to do so. However I couldn’t help but feel robed by the fact that this one wasn’t quite of he expected level here with the rhymes not being too special and having rather lifeless production from Drumma Boy (out of the Dirty South’s best) and so it just stays as an average one.

**Three Stars**

12. “Money Up”

Here Win gets on the beats and he turns things towards the Crunk style and I felt that it was a nice twist to the music to take things back a few years as the rhymes stay where they are best-suited; the clubs and have him come through with something to recover the inconsistencies in the album to come with a fun and energetic tune which has him just getting loose with it as he goes into further depth on his typical spending habits.

**Four Stars**

13. “You Don’t Know Me”

He goes for another expected tune here and it was predictably of a rather low standard as he gets down to one where he rhymes in a gentle manner towards a girl it is a pointless one here and although I understand that he had to break things up and add to the diversity in the record, it didn’t really do its job that well as it was clearly not one of the better ones that the album had offer in any way.

**One Star**

14. “Lil’ Shawty”

He once again bounces back off a massive low to get back to the high-quality material and I felt that this may have been down to the fact that Drumma Boy was behind the production that came through here, and so although he had disappointed earlier, this didn’t last for long as he comes out with a fun club composition as Zoe lets down his guard and comes with some rhymes which take on a simplistic structure.

**Four Stars**

15. “Last Time I Checked”

The final track on the album is a thought-provoking tune and one which really took me by surprise as I thought it would be a straight waste of time, but here you find that although he loses it a little on the Sha Money XL production (making it sounded too East Coast) as he rhymes about how all the main rappers in the game always rep the hoods where they grew up, but usually they won’t have been there for some time and can’t continue to rap about the same things. He then goes on to talk about how this has given rise o those who haven’t experienced it at all and so likens himself to the greats in 2Pac and N.W.A to himself.

**Four Stars**

This is an incredibly inconsistent album from Gorilla Zoe and one which I can’t really see many enjoying all the way through as he gets into some very weak mainstream material to break up the coldness of the Gangsta Rap in some parts and so it shows lots of sides to his music, but it doesn’t get two conflicting styles of a similar quality at any point.  

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