It's the 5th video from "Armageddon" cd if I'm not mistaken. Wow.
Peep the review we did at
BayUndaground.com:
Renz Julian - Armageddon
Field Of Dreamz Entertainment (2009)
Rating: 4/5
01. Intro (skit)
02. Armageddon
03. Draft Day
04. Friday Night Lights f. Big Rich & Hoodstarz
05. Pop N' Lock f. Twista & E-40
06. Customer
07. Grindtime f. Fed-X
08. One For The Money f. Mike Marshall
09. Run
10. Survive The Night
11. 3 Floors
12. Payback
13. Clap, Clap f. Clyde Carson
14. Get Work
15. I Can't Live f. Jacka
16. Purple Skies
17. Picture This
18. Pop N' Lock (remix) f. Twista
Renz Julian is a West Oakland representative, but he lived in various cities while growing up. This artist's biography is pretty rich, so I'll just focus on the most important milestones. The cat went through many things in his life, from pimping and drug dealing to a professional football. His music career began sometime around 1999 when he came out with a very underground, nowadays impossible to get album "Fingaz Of Gold" under the name Playa Renz. Then he took a hiatus, but returned after a couple of years and started polishing his style with a series of various mixtapes (I don't know whether any of them were pressed): "2 The League" and "Armageddon" with DJ Cali as well as "Legal Crack" with DJ E-Rock. 2008 brought a self titled EP presented by Field Of Dreamz Entertainment, the same label that after a year drops a highly anticipated solo entitled "Armageddon" - don't confuse it with the above mentioned mixtape, sharing the same name.
Renz Julian does have a criminal past, yet he turned back and focused his talents in something more advantageous. You can hear echo of this decision on the currently reviewed "Armageddon". Mainly due to the fact that it is a very personal record. Notice that it's been dominated by solo tracks, while guests appeared only on a couple of songs. I reckon nobody likes to be compared to other people, however I can't help myself to do so, as it's my first encounter with Renz' music. This cat combines sophisticated and thought out content typical for J. DaVinci with street delivery by T-Luni from Oakland. Other than that you can recognize him by a low-pitched, grown-up voice that reminds me of these artists. He at the same time doesn't show too much emotion, rather spits yet another middle-paced verse stuffed with picturesque descriptions. He generally smoothly follows the beat, which lets you steady bob your head to the rhythm from start to finish. However he sometimes does come up with a slightly longish line and then he kind of misses the drum hit. One of the most important aspects of the hereby album are polished and meaningful lyrics spiked with superb rhymes. After you hear such combinations as "commodity", "monopoly" or "epiphany", just don't think that this cd represents hip-hop, East Coast type of lyricism. Definitely not, "Armageddon" was based on solid, Bay Area foundation. Here's a little quote for you:
Bad business niggas doin' counterfeit deals
Actin' like they cannot be killed
(...) walkin' round with the force field energy shield
Same shit that got Kennedy killed
As I've already mentioned, echo of the street past resounds on numerous songs. However Renz Julian presents a mature insight of a grown-up man who is aware of mistakes he's made and now gives advices to to the younger generation. He comes up with social topics ("Draft Day"), talks about business, contacts and networking ("Customer", "Grindtime"), but also warns of shady females who are out there only for the loot ("One For The Money"). He reminds you that we are not able to run away from the ghosts of our past who will get us, one day or another ("Run"). What is more, I liked the way he depicted consumption and consumerism of the western society - he clearly says that he doesn't need a car, fancy clothes etc., but on the other hand he can't imagine life without them ("I Can't Live"). Such tracks are usually characterized by slow tempos and great production that skillfully mixes the elements of traditional West Coast music as well as some modern type of vibes. You can as well relax to a couple of easier joints, for instance party-like "Pop N' Lock" or "Clap Clap" - by the way this is the only track I wasn't satisfied with. Paradoxically, as it is a single that got serious radio play, yet I feel it doesn't musically match the rest of the project. Other than that you'll receive a few strictly street-related songs - hard, heavy-hitting "Survive The Night" as well as "Payback" with a gangsta feel to them. Production is undoubtedly a strong asset of this album and a the major part of it - 13 cuts - was handled by the Field Of Dreamz Ent in-house composer by the name of Salim. The rest was delivered by Mr. Collipark, Traxamillion, Rob Lo and C-Major. "Armageddon" is directed to a more demanding listener. You will mostly hear tracks with some merit, meaningful lyrics and brilliant, surprising rhymes. One could think that Renz Julian isn't a charismatic performer, yet for example "Friday Night Lights" proves that his seemingly impassive flow goes really well with the lively, modern music. If you're looking for some intelligent entertainment, then you'd better look for this one.
The hereby album can be purchased on rapper's official website:
RenzJulian.com; I also encourage you to visit his
MySpace profile.
I'd also like to thank Field Of Dreamz for providing a copy for the review.
