This album was released on July 8th in 2008. I really have nothing to say before listening to this project. The album cover is ghetto as fuck to be honest. This shit is an hour and fifteen minutes long. Hopefully it’s enjoyable because I don’t wanna sit through mediocrity for that long. I know it won’t be complete trash though. It’s got a couple exciting features on it. That Ice Cube track is probably hard as fuck. I think this is gonna be dope.

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1. Intro produced by Brandon Bailey & Tec Beatz

This is an overly aggressive speech about how this isn’t a regular rap album. The production sounds pretty generic. He’s talking about how he wants this to be the soundtrack people listen to as they’re working. He keeps talking about “the grind.” I’m not really gonna judge this as an actual song since he isn’t rapping. I’m never gonna listen to it again, but I don’t mind it being here.

2. 10 G’s produced by Young Sears

The beat on this track is nothing special, but it works. I’m not crazy about the hook, but it’s definitely not bad. It just doesn’t really stand out that much. The first verse was fine. Same goes for the second verse. This is an okay song, but there’s pretty much zero replay value. It sounds kinda dated. It’s not bad, but I won’t be listening to this song ever again. It’s decent though.

3. Can You Hear Me produced by CKP

I’m really not feelin’ this autotuned hook. Whoever that uncredited vocalist is just sounds like a rip off of T-Pain. The generic female vocals sound dumb too. The two verses from Killer Mike were pretty good though. He’s the only reason I don’t think this is a wack song. I definitely wouldn’t call this good though. The production didn’t stand out at all. This is a mediocre song.

4. 2 Sides featuring Shawty Lo produced by Wonder Arillo

This beat is decent I guess. I liked the first verse from Killer Mike. I love how aggressive he always sounds whenever he raps. I’m not really sure how I feel about this hook with Shawty Lo. It sounds ghetto as fuck to be honest. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s not really that enjoyable for me though. The second verse was fine. I don’t know, man. this just isn’t really that good. It’s not bad, but it’s just a really flat song. I’m not really feelin’ it. It’s okay though. I guess.

5. Pressure featuring Ice Cube produced by Tha Bizness

The track starts with an audio clip of Malcolm X talking about how white people erased the history of the people they enslaved. The first verse from Mike is cool. He’s being the militant, pro-black liberator that we all know and love.

I never behave
Rather be a dead man than a live slave

The production’s decent, and I like the hook. Ice Cube’s verse was solid. It’s not gonna blow any listeners away, but it was sufficient. Killer Mike definitely outdid him in my opinion. The third verse is great. This is a pretty long song, but it doesn’t overstay its welcome. GODDAMN. That final verse was fucking awesome. He fuckin’ snapped on that shit. Yeah, this is a great song. If it wasn’t for that last verse this would still be a good song, but it wouldn’t have been pushed to that next level of dopeness. This shit is dope af to me.

6. Big Money, Big Cars featuring Chamillionaire & Messy Marv produced by Cutmaster Swiff

The beat on this track is actually pretty dope. I’m not crazy about the hook though. They sampled Mind Playing Tricks on Me by the Geto Boys, and the beat is discordant with this song’s production. The first verse from Mike is pretty good. Messy Marv’s verse was not good… It’s generic as hell lyrically, and his flow is wack. Chamillionaire’s verse was fine. This is an okay song. It’s far from greatness in my opinion though. I won’t be listening to this shit again. It’s not bad though.

7. God in the Building produced by The Cancer, Kidz with Machine Gunz & No I.D.

I really like the beat on this song. The first verse from Mike was great, and I even like the sung hook from an uncredited female vocalist. He’s rapping about Jesus, but it’s not done in an annoying way like when Chance does it. Mike kinda kept it gangsta despite the religious theme.

If Jesus came back, Mother, where you think he’d be?
Probably in these streets with me

The second verse is even harder than the first verse. That shit he said about ruling in a black hell instead of being a servant in white heaven was awesome. The way the verse ended was kinda weird, but it’s not really a problem. This song is dope. I fuck with this track.

8. Super Clean / Super Hard featuring 8Ball & MJG produced by Tyrice Jones

This beat is smooth as hell. The first verse from Mike is decent. The hook’s not bad. MJG did his thing on the second verse. 8Ball did a nice job with the third verse. The final verse from Mike wasn’t bad. This is a pretty solid track. The lyrical content wasn’t really that interesting to me in all honesty, but I think they all had decent flows, and I really like the production. This is a good song to me. It’s not as entertaining as the previous track, but I still like it. This is dope.

9. Woke Up This Mornin’ produced by Chris Crak

The beat on this track is pretty nice. I’m not crazy about the hook. It’s kind of dumb. The song is about some super attractive girl. The first verse is decent. This is an okay song so far. It’s definitely not a bad track. It’s just not really for me. I don’t care for the content. It’s kind of entertaining sonically though. I don’t think it’s good. I’m never gonna listen to it again. The best thing about it is the production in my opinion. The verses aren’t really that bad I guess. I’m just not that interested in what he’s rapping about. This is mediocre to me.

10. Bang! produced by CKP

I actually really like the electronic production on this track. The first verse from Mike was pretty hard too. I’m definitely not feelin’ that hook though. I don’t like the light female vocals. It doesn’t fit with the way Mike was rapping in my opinion. He should’ve just done the hook himself. The second verse was nice. The third and final verse is hard as fuck. The hook is definitely a major flaw in this song to me. It’s not bad enough to completely ruin the track though. I fuck with this one. It’s dope.

11. Grandma’s House produced by X.P.

I don’t know who that is performing the hook. It’s not too bad though. I definitely don’t think I can call it “good,” but it works. The first verse was ok. I don’t know… The more I listen to the hook, the less I like it. The production’s kinda flat. It really doesn’t stand out very much, especially compared to some of the other songs on this album. I’m not ever gonna listen to this shit again. The hook was annoying, the beat was lackluster, and the verses were just sufficient. Nothing about this song impressed me. It’s not even bad. I just think it’s kind of underwhelming. It’s an okay song though. I guess.

12. If I Can’t Eat Right featuring Gangsta Pill & Rochelle Fox produced by Young Sears

The first verse on this song is kinda fucked up. It sounds like he’s detailing the manner in which he broke up with a girl who slit her wrists because Mike loved money more than her. I don’t know if that’s what he was trying to say, but that’s definitely how it came across. I’m really not feelin’ the sung hook. I don’t know who that is… Was that Gangsta Pill singing? Yeah… I think it was him. He’s on the second verse too. This song is pretty much just a glorification of avarice. Rochelle Fox’s verse was decent I guess. This track is a lot longer than it needs to be. The entire last minute just consists of Mike saying random bullshit that I don’t care about. I’m not feelin’ this track. It could be a lot worse, but that’s not saying much. This shit is wack to me.

13. I Gotcha produced by Smiff & Cash

The beat on this track is solid I guess. The first verse was cool, and I actually kinda like the hook. I don’t know who that is saying “I gotcha,” but it sounds pretty cool. Damn. I just sat through the entire song. I don’t like this song as much as I want to. The hook was cool, and the verses were decent. The beat is okay too. That’s the best word to sum up how I feel about this song though. It’s just “okay.” Nothing about this song stands out enough to make it worth returning to. It’s just a nondescript, average Rap song. I won’t be listening to this again.

14. I’m the Shit!!! produced by B-Don

This beat is actually really awesome. It’s driven by an electric guitar loop that comes in and out. I usually hate electric guitars, but I think Mike sounds fantastic over Rock influenced beats like this. The first verse is hard as hell. The hook is kinda boring. It works though. That line about having a pussy burping in the second verse was absolutely revolting. The third verse was cool. This is a good song. The production was the most intriguing aspect of the song to me, but Killer Mike did a pretty good job with the verses, and the hook’s not bad. I fuck with this track. It’s dope.

15. Can You Buy That featuring Rock D the Legend produced by D.R.U.G.S. Beats

I kinda like the beat on this song. I like Rock D’s verse at the beginning of the song too. His flow was real nice. I even like the hook on this song. It sounds like a line sampled from a movie. I don’t know exactly what film it’s from. Mike fuckin’ killed that second verse. The final verse where they both went in was pretty nice too. Honestly, I think this is even better than the previous track. It’s actually one of the best songs on the album in my opinion. I think the feature was great, the beat was really nice, and the hook was actually pretty good too. This shit is dope af.

16. You See It featuring SL Jones produced by Tec Beatz

Oh no… This sung hook is really shitty. I’m not really feelin’ this beat either, and the first verse from SL Jones isn’t good to me. I don’t like his slow paced flow at all. The second verse from Mike wasn’t too bad, but the first half of this song is just really crappy to me. That hook is really the main thing I dislike about this song. I think that’s SL Jones singing. It’s not good. I’m not feelin’ this song. It’s wack to me.

17. Good-Bye (City of Dope) produced by Malay

Wait a minute… Malay produced this song? As in the guy who co-produced most of Frank Ocean’s Blonde? Damn. I had no idea he worked with Killer Mike at some point. This beat is really dope. The first verse from Mike was alright I guess. It definitely wasn’t bad. The hook on this track is decent I guess. Is that Malay singing? It’s definitely not Mike. It’s tolerable. The second verse was fine, and the final verse was decent too. I just don’t think this is that good of a choice for an outro. It’s a decent song though. The way the third verse ended was kinda weird. I’m never gonna listen to this song ever again, but it’s an okay track.

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This is an okay album I guess. It’s just waaaay too fuckin’ long. There’s a decent handful of songs that I enjoyed, but there’s just way too much filler. Most of these songs aren’t worth returning to in my opinion. I think I liked the first Pledge album a little more than this. I’d honestly only give this a listen if you’re a really big fan of Killer Mike. It’s not anywhere close to his best work. My biggest issue with it is definitely the length. There aren’t any songs on here that I thought were complete ass, but at the same time there weren’t any tracks that truly amazed me. However, as I said before, there are a handful of enjoyable songs, so it’s not a trash album. It’s just very flawed.

Favorite Song: Can You Buy That
Least Favorite Song: You See It

C