Young Buck – Live Loyal Die Rich

Buck has put out a lot of music since leaving G-Unit but maybe nothing that really came close to his last official album: “Buck the World” (2007). He has proved through his many mixtapes to be true to his roots and has kept his realness intact. Sometimes it’s good when artists evolve and sometimes it’s good when they stick to their guns. Either way it’s because it’s got to sound good.

I was going to overlook this mixtape because of the few songs about “money” and “haters” but it would have been wrong. Young Buck really deserves a second and deeper listening. He is much more of a motivational rapper than a materialistic one.

All in all Buck doesn’t try to bring the ‘hood’ out of the hood so it’s one more chapter in the tales of his life. If you’re not tired of him on his ‘fuck ‘em all’ attitude then there’s some of that in here in a more or less forgettable way depending on the beats. ‘Money in the Walls’ has a nice backdrop that endorses his resentment. Then his big voice shoves everything to the side on ‘Get it All’. For a short while I was thinking: wouldn’t it be great if Young Buck was shouting about more exciting issues. But some people say that everything in life is political; if so then being “crunk” (or “buck”) must be also political.

For those who want to follow him, Young Buck makes us crawl on the concrete with the track ‘Something got me on it’ and gets passionate with narrative verses on the nicely A One produced ‘Drugs related’. He always proves to be a perceptive eye for his surroundings. Street wisdom comes with a real compassion here. The last few years he has been struggling like no other rap star (except the ones who went to jail); so when he gives us the ups and downs of the story on the powerful ‘Touch the Ceilings’ and on one of the highlights of this mixtape ‘I’m Ready’, it makes a lot of sense.

Somehow a Trae the Truth of his own hometown Nashville, he shines when he raps the blues on more dramatic tracks like ‘No Place for Me’, ‘Closer’, and ‘No Smiles’ while ‘Think they Know’ recalls the magic of the collaboration with Drumma Boy like on last year wonderful ‘Round Here’ with 8-Ball & MJG.

Although Buck is doing quite fine at the moment redefining his own in the aftermaths of his downfall, he seems a little bit lonely in his ride. We would wish for him to form a clique - Trae, 8-ball & MJG, Bun B would be the right partners, all grown-up artists, something like a Slaughterhouse of the south.