Legz Diamond & The Purple Gang - "9 Pistolas" [KM's review]

Tracklisting:

1. Intro (Featuring Bushwick Bill)
2. 9 Pistolas
3. Mary Jane
4. Feared And Respected
5. I'm Not Happy
6. Tommy Gun
7. Made Man
8. So Fresh (Featuring Cold 187um)
9. Anarchy
10. Eternity Missed
11. Woody
12. Cocaine Cowboys
13. Paradise Parade
14. Not In Real Life
15. Top Of The World

First off. To all those who are hating on this album already from hearing one song they gave out or just catching the video preview on youtube? Shut up! This is a proper review and I hope you can respect this review. Thank you. Now enjoy reading! Rich "Legz Dimaond" Murrell is a legendary rock guitarist and engineer from Detroit, formally of the group Coup Detroit. After Coup broke up, he started working with Mike E Clark and ICP. Their first project was 1995's The Riddle Box. He even made an appearance on ICP's 1996 EP Tunnel Of Love where on that same release, there was an advertisement for a Legz Diamond album. That album never came out. From that time on Rich took part on every ICP release since 1995 and has contributed in one way or another to other Psychopathic releases from the likes of Twiztid, Jumpsteady, Blaze ya Dead Homie, ABK, AMB, Boondox, & Esham to just name a few. During that whole time. A lot of us OG's were always wondering...when will we finally see that long-awaited Legz Diamond album? Well here it is! 9 Pistolas by Legz Diamond & The Purple Gang (Not to be confused with the Detroit Rap group of the same name that's affiliated with D12 and the late Proof) is that album. It's definitely a concept album based upon the old Irish purple gang from the mob days of the midwest during the Great Depression/prohibition of the 1930's. The album was recorded at The Haunted Cabin [Violent J's house] which gives out a great DIY feel to the record. Now let's get really detailed with the review. The intro is performed by Bushwick Bill of The Geto Boys. He's always the man who'll do the freaky gangsta rap intros to the rawest songs from the Dr. Dre classic "Stranded On Death Row" down to the intros and outros on Do Or Die's "Head'z Or Tail'z". The title track, "9 Pistolas" is next. The song has that classic rhythmic/ska feel to it that reminds me a lot of some of Joe Strummer's later work. "Mary Jane" obliviously is about weed. Disguise it as a women and you got yourself the best damn lady in the world. I close my eyes listening to this and I see the movie Half Baked. "Feared & Respected" follows. This song is straight up on some old school Detroit Gangsta Shit. Don't forget that this track also thumps on a good system! "I'm Not Happy" can be used as breakup song, one of them songs that you can groove to at a club, or light up a blunt in a ride. The melody reminds me of the Notorious B.I.G. song "Sky's The Limit". It could very well be the highlight of the album. You can't do a "mafia-life" concept album without a track featuring an automatic gun. "Tommy Gun" is that song! This song almost has a Nine Inch Nails feel to it. It was a matter of time before we would see the Acoustic Guitar be broken out on this record. The song "Made Man" is where it happens. I like acoustic rock songs. They give you a sound of how a song is created before you turn on the amps. I'm really enjoying the album so far and the song "So Fresh" reminds me of a mix of New Jack Swing and West Coast hip hop with a touch of jazz/rap fusion to it.  (You hear the upright bass in the background.) The track also features a great rap verse from Above The Law's Cold 187um. A song I really like on this is "Anarchy". It's a song I can relate to when it comes to writing my own material. This song is guaranteed to start a mosh pit or 2. "Eternity Missed" is a track that asks "what could have been?"  This song definitely will make you ask questions about your life, what mistakes you made, and will leave you asking yourself if you could've changed things. What could they be? I see they once again used that "Get Geeked" beat and just tweaked it a tad bit for a ska/rockabilly feel to it. Yea I'm talking about the song "Woody". This song has a good dance vibe to it.  "Cocaine Cowboys" is yet another concept song, this time about coke dealing back in that era. Maybe somebody should've told em that they actually gotta have drug dealing experience in order to actually rap under the perspective of a drug dealer. The next song is another one of those slow down groove joints.  "Paradise Parade" is a song about karma and the rewards it gives you when you are a better person.  It also lends advice for all those who have had their ass handed to them by karma to get out of the rut and make up for your mistakes because there is no such thing as "never" in this world. "Not In Real Life" is a song that seems to have some life lessons in it that you need to listen to. The final track, "Top Of The World", is yet another acoustic guitar track that has some nice pop melodies to it. The chorus is catchy and so are the lyrics. The album has also taken movie clips from various 1930's/1940's Mob films and spliced them in. I can't remember all of them but I do know just by hearing the movie clips which movie era they were made in. All in all, 9 Pistolas is not going to be for everybody. I can't just up and say "Oh because I like it, you all have to."  It's not my place. It's 100% completely your choice. This album reminds me alot of other classic albums like "Sandinsta!" by The Clash or "Life Won't Wait" by Rancid. It has a mix of basically everything: Rock, Rap, Ska, Funk, Pop, R&B, Soul, Dub, Rockabilly, and Acoustic. This is not a regular juggalo album by any means. This album should be in a juggalo category of "only for certain types of juggalos who enjoy a wide-range of music". But as they all say, you can decide for yourself. Hopefully my review will ease some of the tension and hate that this album has caused because let's face it...it's not right to hate on something without actually giving it a chance. I might like this record, but I'm giving it a 3 outta 5 and that's just because Legz Diamond took 2 damn long to put a record out! Sincerely: An OG who has been waiting since the ad was shown in Tunnel Of Love.