Straight Outta Ca$hville

Rappers don't often get second chances. If they're talented and lucky enough to get signed, money, riches and diamond things are far from guaranteed. In 1997, when the then-seventeen-year-old Young Buck signed with up-and-coming Cash Money Records, it was an opportunity for him to stretch beyond local ciphers in Nashville. But the label was occupied with Juvenile, Baby, B.G. and Lil Wayne, and Buck's career was put on hold. But instead of fading into obscurity, Buck met 50 Cent and traded his Cash Money piece for a spinning Gorilla Unit medallion. On Young Buck's solo debut, Straight Outta Cashville, he explodes with more energy than a neutron bomb. The album title derived from the N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton speaks for itself. Following the success of 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks the pressure was on Young Buck to keep the ball rolling both in terms of sales and fan approval.

The album has a lot of southern flavor; it also has a somewhat 'grimey' New York feel to it. Straight Outta Cashville features phenomenal production by Dr. Dre, Eminem and Lil' Jon. Along with appearances from the G-Unit's own 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo, it also features some well-known Southern artists including T.I., Lil' Flip, David Banner, and Ludacris. The production heard on Straight Outta Cashville is a diverse and sonically cohesive blend of bi-coastal beats, catering to the tastes of ears from all areas of the globe. Needlez lifts the haunting Nancy Sinatra sample on the dark and ominous Bang Bang, while Midi Mafia abandons their usual Neptunes-sounding backdrops on Thou Shall, blessing Young Buck with moody vocal samples that sound like a true street opera. 50 Cent and Tony Yayo check in on the soulful yet gritty Bonafide Hustler, and Ludacris rips apart the rowdy bass that should damage any speaker on the club-tearing Stomp. Prices on My Head thumps with a hypnotic bass kick as the artist, Banks and D-Tay trade verses about living a life of infamy. Buck is equally impressive when he holds his own alongside fellow Dirty South MCs Lil' Flip and David Banner on Welcome to the South.

Although Young Buck doesn't receive nearly the same amount of appreciation as his general, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, this album displays his potential as a solo artist, and he represents the Nashville slum to the fullest. Straight Outta Cashville lives up to the N.W.A. reference in its title. Like N.W.A., Buck delivers lyrical blows – sudden, blunt, and ruthless – without forgetting the importance of a powerful hook to seduce the listener into his murky world. Just how N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton jump-started the prolific careers of members like Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, Straight Outta Cashville is the genesis of a hip-hop heavyweight. Young Buck has hustled hard to get his chance and on this effort he offers a powerful panorama of street life.