Crucial Conflict - The Final Tic (1996)

C-H-I-C-A-G-O It's The Final Tic and here we go!!! GIDDY UP!!!!!!

Once again! I bring you one from Home, Chicago, that is. Crucial Conflict is:

Coldhard, Wildstyle, Kilo and Never.

They come from the Westside of Chicago with that rapid spitfire, rodeo flow, native to most Chicago Artists.

Crucial Conflict put Chicago on the map when they dropped this Gold classic.

Let's not waste time, I'm about to go thru the ENTIRE LP.

Intro- Don't Let it
this is a talker joint where they talk about not letting money and business go to your head and change you and who you are.

Final Tic

Think of this track as an introduction to who Crucial Conflict is and what the Final Tic is. It's done so over a typical Chicago west side beat. A true CLASSIC. Final Tic sets the CD off NICELY, Wildstyle shines on this joint.

Showdown
This opens with a nice Synth and horses galloping. the bassline and Drums kick in and the pre-chorus follows. It's Gangsta tale of the streets and is done so properly. Crucial Conflict warns clowns not to come around! This beat is so nasty and the flow is on par with the beat and it meshes perfectly, making Crucial Conflict known as Lyricists and certifying their Gangsta. The flow is so rapid you might have to listen back a few times.

Desperado
One of my favorite cuts on the LP, this song is about the usual gangsta street tales depicting how life is for a Chicagoan in the cold streets of the West Side. The Flict are masters of Wordplay and Multies. the beat has a nasty 808 kickdrum and odd SFX that bring you closer into the Rodeo style. you can picture Cowboys on horses going to war on this joint.

Life Aint The Same
An awkward beat that's all too familiar to Chicago Natives. The Flict relate how life has changed as they get older and got into the gang banging lifestyle and live with one eye over the shoulder watching out for clowns. The flow is a bit more relaxed as is the beat. Artists from Chicago are known for following the Hi Hats, they never miss a single tick. This song features more of the usual street tales about making it out of Hell. if you are from Chicago, you understand.

Hay
If you don't know this joint, WHERE THE FUCK YOU BEEN HIDING OUT AT!!!!!! This is the song that single handedly put Chicago on the Map and garnered major mainstream success.

I LOVE THIS SONG, I still play it to this day! The Music Video is crazy too! this song is all about smoking that Ganja! This joint also introduced the world to the Chicago slang (We ALL LOVE THAT SHIT, What Down Joe?)

Trigger Happy ft. Sheena Lee
This joint has SO MUCH BASS. I love this weird ass beat. Sheena Lee handles all the verses, Crucial conflict does the chorus. More of the Rodeo!

1-900-OFF-YOUR SQUARE
a skit about being off point AKA off your square, it's pretty damn funny, but true. Too many cats get off they square and think they hard.

Lil Advice
here's a little something I think you should know/ A Pimp is a Pimp and Hoe is a Hoe. Nuff said.

Tell It To The Judge ft. Q-Ball
this is a story teller about being a gang banger and going to court facing multiple charges. It's just more Street Tales. But, it also shows off the court system and how Gang Banging is what you were brought up into back int he nineties in The Chi. Which is VERY TRUE, you have to read between the lines on this joint and several others on the LP.

Ride The Rodeo ft. Toi
This whole LP aint just about Guns blazing. this song is about relaxing and partying, sipping on something and laying back with a female. Me and The Wife LOVE this song. This was also a single of theirs. The beat makes you want to party!

To The Left
Back to the Gang Banging, if you didn't know Crucial Conflict are/were Vice Lords, this song is about how a goofy clown would've seen another day if he only broke his cap to the left. In Chicago, which side your hat is broke is NOT something to fuck around with, cats is losing their lives over which side their caps are tilted. they also speak about being in County (Cook County Jail, located on California Ave.) This song also introduces more Chicago Slang.

Just Getting My Money

title says it all. But, this joint was an Anthem to many in Chicago. With such a laid back cool beat, it is easy to see how and why!

Get Up
More horses galloping and the all too familiar west side Rodeo beats. The Flict urge you to Get Up! Ride, Who's Dangerous!?

Hay (REMIX) ft. T-Babe and Toi

This is just a bonus remix of the highly acclaimed Hay track.

CONCLUSION:

Crucial Conflict can spit highly Lyrical Lines with precision and follow the Hi Hat like it aint nobody's business! But, the LP is drowning in Gang Banger tales and Pimp and Hoe raps, making some of it suffer. Wildstyle proves to be the most CRUCIAL member of the group with his ever recognizable tongue twister style. If there was more cuts about something else this LP would have been EVEN BETTER.

GRADE:

Lyrics= A- (FAST AS FUCK! BUT NOT ENOUGH SUBSTANCE FOR THE MIND)

Production= A (some of the cowboy Rodeo beats are awkward but they work!)
Replayability Level= 9 (I'm still bumping this Chi Town Classic)

Overall= A

GO COP THIS CHICAGO CLASSIC!!!!

Final Tic hit number 12 on the Billboard Top 200 Charts!
Hay was number 2 on the US Rap Charts!