Memphis Bleek
534

Memphis Bleek has always been in Jay-Z’s shadow. How this average emcee managed to stay on Roc-A-Fella Records after three failed attempts, I don’t know but with the Jigga Man stepping out of the spotlight and passing the baton, Bleek hopes to get some shine on his fourth album 534.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t bother listening to his second or third albums (I didn’t even know they existed) because his first album, over-hyped because he was Jay-Z’s right-hand man, was a disappointment. Maybe he just isn’t destined for fame.

Regardless, he doesn’t stop the hustle and comes out strong with the opener “534,” spitting raw street lyrics. The Swizz Beatz-produced “Like That” already gets play on the radio and is a sureshot party starter. On “First, Last, and Only,” east coast gangsters M.O.P outshine the young emcee with their hardcore thug style. He even makes a couple tracks for the females, “Infatuated” and “The One.” The album closes with the mature, honest, and humble “Straight Path.”

The song everyone is talking about, though, is not his own but Jay-Z’s “Dear Summer”, even though it appears on this album (Bleek doesn’t mutter a single word on the track). On “Dear Summer,” Hova says farewell to the season of his success proclaiming that he’s left her for his “new bitch corporate America,” leaving her with a plead to “please be kind to my friends.”

Summers haven’t been so sweet for Bleek; he’s never received much success. For those like myself who have been sleeping on Bleek, 534 is the wake up call. - Zoneil Maharaj