Andre Nickatina Album: “These R the Tales”

In this CD Andre comes out with some sick beats and some more of his great lyrics. This one seems a little more chill. This is a must buy for any rap fan.

Just because its Nickatina, you cant rate this too harshly.

I can listen to about 2 or 3 tracks on this CD over and over.. which is worth it to me.

I have been a Nickatina fan ever since The New Jim Jones had its record release when he was down with IMP and Totally Insane, so I think I can truly say that Nicky is falling off slowly but surely. Raven In My Eye (Cocain Raps Vol. 1) was no joke and had countless tight tracks. He then followed up that CD with Tears of A Clown which didn't have as many songs as I would have liked, but all of them were quality. The beats were the sickest he's ever had...and his lyrics were clever and on point as always. However...as soon as Daiquiri Factory hit...I was a little disappointed. Some of the songs on the album (Alphabet Soup for instance) had NO business on a professionaly pressed CD. There were some highlights though...but for the most part, his beats got more and more abstract to the point where I'm not even feeling them anymore. But now...he comes back with These R the Tales which is by far his most abstract album yet. Apart from I Saw A Gangsta Cry...I don't think there was a song on the entire album when I didn't say to myself, "I think Dre has finally smoked one chewy too many." I might even have to sleep on his next album (or cop it online). Hopefully he will get back to some of the concepts that made him so raw in the past like...Scottie 15, Wack MCs, Smoke Dope and Rap, I'm A Pieces and so many more.

"These Are The Tales" is an awesome follow-up to Cocaine Raps Vol. 2. Those who say Nicky fell off with this album are complete idiots. "These are the tales" is just as good as CR2, if not even better. As I've said in previous reviews, Andre Nickatina a.k.a. Dre Dog is one of the greatest rappers in the industry, period. He's most definitely one of the most talented and original ones out there, with a special style of his own - both lyrically and both musically. He doesn't follow the lead, and each one of his album sound different, Nicky always steps his game up. He always innovates, never duplicates, and he's one of the few who menage to come out with something noone has ever heard and yet still doesn't sound weird, but dope!!. Andre Nickatina is amazing, all of his works are peaces of art, and the man is a genius. I mean, who else can rap over those Irish/Scotish beats and STILL SOUND DOPE?! Only Nickatina!... On These Are The Tales, Nickatina once again comes out with a masterpiece. The album is perfect from beginning to the end. You get what we all love from Nickatina, even though the album is (as usual) not a long one. The title track is a tribute by Nicky to one of his favorite rappers, Bay Area legend, Too $hort: it's a Nickatina version of Short Dog's classic "Freaky Tales", yet "These Are the Tales" is even funnier (the beat is just a as addictive)!! "Rose" is without a doubt one of the top 5 greatest rap love songs, for real! All those suckas these days (like those G-UNot fools or wanna-be pimp Snoop Dog) TRY to make love songs, yet are afraid to come out "too soft", so the songs they make always sound fake and phony. Well, on "Rose" Nickatina delivers one of his greatest songs ever, it's so touching, so real, you actually are able to feel everything Nicky is feeling. That's what being a REAL person and artist is all about! He reminds me of Pac in that way. Nicky never pretends he's somethig he's not - he's not a gangsta, he's not a dope dealer- he's an artist, a person with feelings, trying to survive in this rap game, and he does it to the "T". "I Saw a Gangsta Cry" is another tremendous song. So are "Candy Rain" and "One Ticket Please", There are so many others... As usual you get a few interludes, where there's only (awesome) music (or Nickatina saying a few lines). Most songs are short (2 verses long), which leaves you with a hunger for more... I can't say enough about this record, Nicky delivered again. His voice is so captivating, a quality all great rappers got. It's not only about his lyrics, but also about the way he deliveres them (unlike all those boring-a** New York MCs that you can fall asleep listening to their "sophisticated" lyrics with boring flows) I think this one is even HARDER than CR2, which had more laid-back songs... Get this album and support one of the greatest artists in the music industry! Andre and his label Fillmoe Coleman Records did it again!

I really like Andre Nickatina, but this was dissappointing. The production seemed lackluster and his flows were just not as good as the patented King Nicky that we all have grown to love. Oh yeah I didn't even notice any ninjas.