Koch Records
2005
The Truest $#@! I Ever Said (Explicit)
About This Album
It's the "album the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center didn't want you to hear!" from an incarcerated rapper who gets more dissings than he does praise, but C-Murder's Truest $#!@ I Ever Said is compelling for the most part and a major display of the rapper's growth as -- hold on to something -- an artist. Being captured by a hand-held recorder straight from his Gretna, LA, lockup gives the album a sound like no other. C-Murder's bleak and surprisingly poignant/surprisingly assured lyrics are delivered close to the mike and in a subdued manner that's quiet enough to not attract a security guard. There's no indication whether these vocals were done in C-Murder's cell or -- more likely -- the visitor's center, but concrete and glass are close by, adding that last bit of coldness to the man's voice. Besides being an unexpected deep line from the rapper, imagine "See, I'm trained for pain/Even when I lose everything, I gain" delivered in this chilly environment and you've got a taste of the album's fascinating hopeful/hopeless duality. C-Murder offers plenty of insight into day-to-day life in the clink, but what really puts this collection over the top are the tracks that face what he's done to those around him and question whether or not he's a lost soul, forgotten by his homies.
Track List (try tracks 2,5,6 and 9)

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