This Is The Life I Lead

by John BushFollowing 2001's Longbeach 2 Fillmoe, his double-team turn with J.T. the Bigga Figga, Daz Dillinger returned with an album that's clearly his own. He not only released it on his own DPG Recordz, but produced every track by himself (with help from Mike Dean) and kept the guest rappers to a minimum. The easy-rolling party anthem "Keep It Gangsta" finds him turning in a deep, lazy-day G-funk cut with no problems, and pushing against the tide of the post-gangster rap mainstream in the process. On "I Live Every Day Like I Could Die Every Day," Dillinger hits out against major labels, as well as ghetto life, though the light chorus keeps it all upbeat. The party joints here sound a lot better than hardcore tracks like "Drama" and "Run tha Street." Another disappointment: "B*tch B*tch B*tch Make Me Rich," with 132295?Too $hort, despite some fine live bass from Shorty B.