The Bar Exam: Silverback Guerilla

Artist: Sheek Louch

Album Title: Silverback Gorilla

Album #:3

Label: D-Block/KOCH

By L.D.Williams Jr





Breakdown

At the start of his career Sheek Louch was branded as the third member of the Yonkers based group the LOX. After releasing two solo albums, his 2003 debut Walk Witt Me and his sophomore effort After Taxes, Sheek has improved each time out with each effort and now he is back with his third solo offering Silverback Gorilla.

Sheek starts the album off on the right foot when he partners up with southern legend Bun-B and west coast heavyweight the Game. "Getting Stronger" features Sheek Louch alongside his L.O.X. brethren Jadakiss and Styles P and the chemistry is enough to whet any hip hop fan's appetite for the next L.O.X. album.

Sheek Louch flexes his story telling muscle on the song "That's a Soldier". The song is about a man that goes to jail and discovers a new world when he gets out of jail. Sheek is not short on creativity on this disc. He appraises hip hop and his place in it on the song "Mic Check". The message in "Don't Be Them" is a clear and needed memorandum for originality. Sheek even makes sure that he has a song for the ladies with the single "Good Love".

Even though Sheek Louch shows more growth as a solo artist there are definite moments on the album that are going to make you mash on the fast forward button. "We At War" saw Sheek attempt to make a Jamaican influenced song that was a good concept in theory just not so good in execution. "We Spray Crowds" sounds like something more suited for the D-Block mixtape series. Unfortunately, the song "Go Hoodlums" should have suffered the same fate. D-Block/Dipset looked good looking on the back of the CD but it just didn't live up to expectation, the song was not horrible by any stretch but just but mediocre it could have been and should have been so much better.

Despite these few missteps Silverback Gorilla is a solid album that is worth checking out. This album features something that Sheek has given hip hop for the last five years as a solo artist, improvement and growth.



FINAL SCORE: 3.5/5

Tracklist:
01. Lottery (Skit)
02. Think We Got a Problem (featuring Bun B. & The Game)
03. Keep Pushin' (featuring Mike Smith)
04. Good Love
05. D-Block/Dipset (featuring Jim Jones, Styles P., Hell Rell & Jadakiss)
06. We At War
07. Scrap To This
08. Don't Be Them
09. Gettin' Stronger (featuring Styles P. & Jadakiss)
10. That's A Soldier
11. What What (featuring Bully)
12. We Comin' (featuring Unk)
13. Crowd (Skit)
14. We Spray Crowds
15. Rubber Grip (featuring Fat Joe & Styles P.)
16. 2 Turntables & A Mic
17. Mic Check
18. Go Hoodlums