Artemis Records
2005
Ruff Ryders, Vol. 4: The Redemption (Explicit)
About This Album
Surprise! The fourth volume of Ruff Ryders' something-for-everyone, multi-genre, everybody-Ruff Ryder-and-their-brother series is uneven, but hardly as uneven as usual. The collective/production team has dropped the Ryde or Die title for this one, going instead with Redemption. Maybe it's a reference to the collective's three-year absence from the scene, a long time when you consider the first three volumes all came out within a year of each other. With more than their fair share of highlights, the first three volumes built a momentum other series couldn't, but take three years off in hip-hop and you might as well start at zero. Utilizing new blood and new genres, Redemption sort of does start at square one, but familiar names like DMX and Swizz Beatz bring reminders of the Double-R in their heyday, as does the urgent spirit and shoulder-rockin' beats. DMX and Jadakiss give "Get Wild" their best, but it's newcomer Flashy who breathes new life into the collective. The Ryders will go twice as far betting on Flashy than they did betting on Jin, "Stay Down" being the proof. As he's proved before, Akon can't go wrong when he plays it plaintive, but Flashy is the one to make the track come alive.
Track List (try tracks 5,7,8,9,10,14 and 15)

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