David Banner Album: “Certified [PA]”

Okay, I'll admit that I was a little ahead of myself when I deemed David Banner a one-hit wonder because of "Like a Pimp" (but just for the record, I still don't like that song). And I REALLY didn't like Mississippi: The Album. But I found myself liking "Play" (although it really shouldn't have been released as a single because it had to have so many edits), so I decided to give him another chance by checking out Certified.

I listened to the album once without being able to get into it, but then I listened to it again and discovered that it really isn't that bad. One problem, though, is that there are too many guest stars on here; Banner is only alone on three of the seventeen tracks ("Lost Souls", "Play" and "Westside"). Fortunately, those are all good songs.

Other good songs are "Gangster Walk", "Treat Me Like" and "Bloody War". Also good is the obligatory song featuring Bun-B, "Take Your". The song also features Too Short and Jazze Pha (another necessary guest star), and it has Too Short dropping a less-than-memorable verse. But that's not too bad because everyone else handles themselves well.

There are still some slip-ups to be found, though, like the tolerable metal-rap attempt on "Crossroads". "2 Fingers" sounds like Banner jacked the beat from J-Kwon's "Tipsy", and it features an out-of-place hook by Jagged Edge. And singer Sky's vocals on "My Life" start out okay but then crash and burn by the end of the song. Furthermore, tracks 6-8 ("F'ng", "Thinking of You" and "On Everything") are pretty skippable.

But the song that made a lot of people upset (myself included) is "Ridin'" with Talib Kweli and dead prez, because to call it racist to be an understatement. I know some people may look at it with a fight-fire-with-fire mentality, but I think there's just TOO much white-bashing there. Aside from that, while this isn't a flawless album, Certified is a pretty solid album that turned this naysayer into a believer.

Anthony Rupert

This David Banner CD, as well as the other ones he has put out, is not that good with the exception of a couple bangers. I am not feeling most of the songs on Certified mainly because they sound pretty much like his other songs on previous albums, and they kinda slow. His lyrics are not the best either.

However, the songs that I do recommend are: Treat Me Like and Play. The ones I think are good are: On Everything and Certified, while Gangster Walk, Westside and X-ed are ok. The other ones I usually skip when I hear this cd.

Believe it or not, David Banner is one of my favorite southern rappers to ever hit the rap scene. I haven't heard MTA2: Baptized In Dirty Water yet, but what weighed his first album, Mississippi The Album down was wack guest appearances, and not enough of David Banner to actually show off his rhyme skills. This album also has a lot of guest appearances, but Banner has enough experience to keep up with them this time around. Also, he didn't do as much production on this album as the last couple, but it still works out well.

This album Certified would have the same amout of guests in his first album, but these are more popular and have a little more experience than those no names on there. The first single "Ain't Got Nothin" had a nice appearance from Magic (formally part of No Limit), and although Lil Boozie verse was wack, it didn't matter because the song was good enough to keep you in tuned. Other notable guest appearances are Twista on the song "On Everything" and former Cash Money member B.G. on "Bloody War". Singer Sky who appeared on the last couple of albums comes to sing "Lost Souls" and "My Life" which doesn't appeal to some people, but I enjoyed them. Sky also does the hook to "Westside" where David Banner names all the popular rappers from the West Coast which is comes off decent but not as appealing as the first two songs.

Now David Banner has a few sexually explicit songs that can be hits or misses. The second single "Play" produced by Mr. Collipark (yes people, the same person who produced The Ying Yang Twins song "Wait (The Whisper Song)", you wonder why it sounds the same) would come off nice as David Banner softly recites his verses, but you've probably heard this track already. The very next track "F***ing" ("Touching" for you virgin eared people) features production and vocals from Jazze Pha. I'm not a a Jazze Pha fan, but as explicit as this song is with his soft tone production, it does quite a good job.

Many reviewers are complaing about the song "Ridin" featuring M-1 and Talib Kweli as being too racial. Many of those people approach this song only in one direction and never look past the racial slurs that are tossed, as the song is about how the south really was (especially in Mississippi) way before our times. If anything, IT'S JUST A SONG PEOPLE, quit crying!

Although David Banner has improved with this album, there are some lack luster songs on this also. "Thinking Of You" that features Case, is slighly weighed down by David Banner's scratchy voice, even though the lyrics are good. "Take Your" featuring Too Short and Bun B sounds kind of forced, especially Too Shorts verse. "X-ed" and "Crossroads" are other fillers that I have no care for either.

Overall, a big improvement by David Banner from when he debuted in 2003. Many people like him for his production, but this time, he doesn't produce most of the tracks and lets other producers sit behind the boards on this one comming off in a good way (not saying he's a bad producer). I recommend this to fans of southern music who are also looking for some lyrical content also. Despite the few flaws, this album is far from being Certified as a drink coaster.

Lyrics: B-

Production: B-

Guest Appearances: B-

Overall: B-

Favorite Tracks: Play, F******, On Everything, Ain't Got Nothin, My Life, Ridin, Gangsta Walk

Honorable Mention Track: Lost Souls

I absolutely love David Banner!!! Play, Gangster Walk, and I Aint Got Nothing have already been hits on the streets since the beginning of summer!! Certified just brings more icing to the cake, with killa guest appearances and lyrics. Yeah!