Z-Ro Album: “Still Living: Chopped & Screwed [PA]”

the album is pretty solid throughout

my favorites are city streets,life is a battlefield,still livin,keep on,remember me,love aint live,and probably my favorite from the album is let the truth be told...

i got a couple more z-ro albums coming in the mail and i definitely look forward to receiving them

All too often every rapper in the south is written off as a bad lyricist or materialistic before they are even heard. Everyone in the south is lumped in with the worst in the game because that's who gets radio play and incidentally sells the most albums.

While I won't sit here and say that the south is brimming with good, intellectual music I will say there are some artists who shouldn't be overlooked. There are people like Z-Ro (and his cousin Trae) that make incredible music that is pure quality regardless of where it comes from. Z-Ro puts his heart and soul into every album and every track. He speaks of the struggle, pain and hardships that most people have experienced or are living through now. It's not a stretch to say if you liked 2Pac you will like Z-Ro. That doesn't mean he's another in a long line of Pac imitators, far from it, it just means that Ro is the closest thing in terms of pure skill, smooth flow, and lyrics that are introspective, heartfelt, gangster, and relatable.

Though he's made 9 full length albums and several mix tapes and collaborations he has never enjoyed much commercial success or respect outside of Houston. At this point I'm not sure if he will ever get the national respect he deserves because he's stuck on a bad label in Rap-A-Lot that refuses to promote him and he can't seem to stay out of jail. It's depressing that so many of the less talented Houston artists have blown up while a guy like Z-Ro who refuses to sell out and make poppy, radio friendly music is stuck struggling to survive. It's almost cliché to say he's under-rated but the term has never been more appropriate.

Most of Z-Ro's albums don't even have the samples to check out on Amazon so if you've never heard him you will have to buy on faith. I know that seems risky, but trust me when I say that if you buy "I'm still Livin" or any of Z-Ro's albums you can rest assured you will be hearing not only the best artist the south has to offer but arguably the best in all of rap.

Z-Ro is back with about the 17th album he's been a part of since he came in the rap game in '98, and his 3rd solo on Rap-A-Lot. This is only the 4th album of his I have (I be checking more of his out in time) and of them 4, 2 get 4 stars (this is 1), 1 gets 4.5 and 1 is a classic so the man has some skils (he's kind of like Scarface & Bun B mixed -- he's got deep lyrics and a tight flow). With 15 songs on here, 1 is almost a classic, 3 are ok, and the other 11 are good, with a couple of them being real good songs. Guests aren't heavy, like all of his albums I have, on 4 songs rapping and doing the chorus on 2. Production is handled by the people who do most of Rap-A-Lot's work. Mike Dean does 8 songs, Enigma & Z-Ro each do 2, and Mr. Lee, Bigg Tyme and Dani Kartel each do 1. A nice album to have from one of the few rappers that can actually rap from the south.

#1 - 8

#2 - 9 (upbeat track -- f/ Tanya Herron)

#3 - 9 (deeper song with relaxing beat)

#4 - 7 (nice song but the hook is horrible)

#5 - 8.5 (f/ Trae & P.O.P.)

#6 - 8 (f/ P.O.P. & Bun B)

#7 - 9 (great beat)

#8 - 8.5

#9 - 8.5 (f/ Lil Keke -- relaxing beat)

#10 - 9.5 (great remake over Scarface's classic "I Seen A Man Die" -- uses the same tight beat and also on Face's "My Homies part 2")

#11 - 8.5

#12 - 7 (f/ Trae & Big Hawk {R.I.P.})

#13 - 8.5 (a song more for the ladies but decent)

#14 - 7.5

#15 - 8.5 (f/ Tanya Herron)

Joseph W. McVey -- b. around 1978 -- Houston, TX

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