Rating:
Genre:
Rap
Release Date: 02/19/2008
Diplomats member
Jim Jones began 2007 with the number one single/number one ringtone
"We Fly High," then spent the rest of the year suffering a series of setbacks. His
Byrd Gang crew stalled with main member and
Jones protégé
Max B sitting in jail, then
Jones and his
Dipset brother
Cam'ron stopped talking, putting the future of their purple crew in question. Then there's the way his rival
Jay-Z dominated the end of the year with his
American Gangster soundtrack, an album
Jones'
Harlem's American Gangster apes in great street fashion. No, this isn't a
Jay-Z raps over
Dipset beats bootleg, but it is a street-level mixtape now liberated, rearranged, and cleaned a bit before seeing official release thanks to
Koch. Former
Jay-Z associate
Dame Dash is brought in to host and upset the Jigga man a little while
the Byrd Gang are pimped with the hooky
"Byrd Gang Money," which is also the street-worthy highlight.
"Love Me No More" is the standout club track, but its short run time is a disappointment repeated throughout the release, with only a handful of tracks allowed to develop past the three-minute mark. If this was still a true street-level mixtape, the short run times would be easier to explain, but with fadeouts and cold endings the flow feels bumpy and ragged. At least the money spent on licensing
Schoolly D's
"Gucci Time" isn't wasted, since
"Lookin' at the Game" rocks that funky beat for four glorious minutes. One track later,
Jones spits venom all over the war on drugs and the
"Rockefeller Laws," offering something surprisingly substantial in the fourth quarter of this frustrating release. It suggests
Jones is growing as a lyricist, but most of
Harlem's American Gangster just suggests he had some dues to pay at
Koch before moving on to his new deal with
Columbia Records. Think of this one as an almost-out-the-door, "hardcore fans only," or everyday stopgap release.
~David Jeffries, All Music Guide
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