Even though it often brings me into conflict I take pride in my independence – I’m not forced to conform to groupthink in any way. I’m not one of those people who will switch on the day of a primary just to get in the door then switch back afterwards. I’m also an independent minded voter – I’m one of those so-called lunatics who voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 in fact because I’m registered as an independent I was unable to participate in my state’s delegate selections this year. For whatever reason I’m unable to check my coat at intelligence’s door and decide that as a martyr to hip-hop all of Shakur’s albums immediately became 10 out of 10.
You have to be independent to not unquestioningly accept 2Pac’s “All Eyez On Me” as a rap classic. That’s just one of many independent minded points of view that has set me apart from my peers. As a youth I couldn’t accept a convincing argument why dinosaurs weren’t in the Bible if it purported to contain a record of the Earth’s entire history. In fact I knew what “independent” meant long before Mos Def spelled it out in the song “B-Boy Document 99.” Much to my own chagrin I’ve been an independent thinker my entire life.
Merriam-Webster confirms I already knew what “independent” meant long before Webbie spelled it out. (3): not bound by or committed to a political party (2): not looking to others for one’s opinions or for guidance in conduct (2): not affiliated with a larger controlling unit
Executive producers Turk and Mel waste none of this progress and enlist an A-list set of guest stars - Bun B, Rick Ross, and the late Pimp C, just to name a few - plus beatmakers with Mannie Fresh and B-Real supplementing the work of the Trill label's own Mouse on tha Track.“I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T, do you know what that means?”ġ: not dependent: as a (1): not subject to control by others : self-governing While a top-shelf MC could add insight and answers, Webbie is at least able to offer vivid, eye-level views of his situation now that he's upped his lyrical game. On the other there's the shotgun under the bed and the mean streets to which millionaire Webbie must remain connected in order to stay credible. On one hand there's the sleeping with beautiful women and the stacks of money. In an effort to balance the album, the usual hooky club tracks like the horribly infectious "Independent" mix with deeper, more ambitious numbers like "Just Like This" where the paradox of hood stardom is explored.
His mouth is still foul, his ego is still huge, and his allegiance to the game - plus all the misogyny that comes with it - is still strong, but there's little doubt that Webbie wants more than just hit singles. The implication that it meant "sequel" had been abused by a long line of albums where "2" just meant "we hope it sells as much as the first." Webbie's follow-up to the first, very successful Savage Life should have dropped the numeral altogether because here the rapper sounds much sharper and significantly more mature. In 2008, putting a "2" on the cover of your album meant little in the world of hip-hop.