Purple City Shiest Bubz: The I.B.D. CD

Recording information: Bubz Mansion.
Shiest Bubz presents his conceptual solo debut THE I.B.D.: THE INTERNATIONAL BUD DEALER, which follows the exploits of the Purple City CEO's alter-ego over 14 off-beat street-hop tracks. After getting busted smuggling 660 pounds of marijuana, the Harlem-based I.B.D. wises off to the judge at his bail hearing, dodges a loan-seeking imposter claiming to be his uncle, smokes "sour" and "piff" with a Chinese restaurant owner, and leaves angry white boys waiting for weed uptown. Shiest passes the mic to Purple City upstarts Smoke Dza, Bway Slim, Den 10, Rozay Richie, and Wes Fif and experiments with Dirty South styles on the ATL trap rap-influenced "Fistfull of $" and H-Town screw-flavored tracks "Posted on the Strip" and "Movin' Byrds."
While Shiest Bubz does less to distinguish himself from the rest of the Purple City collective and even the wider Diplomats ranks than, say, the gruff-voiced Agallah, he does hold his own on the mike. His 14-track solo debut follows the adventures of the Harlem hustler known as the I.B.D., encountered by listeners at his bail hearing after getting caught with 660 pounds of marijuana. Shiest's appreciation for "piff" -- a term he claims to have introduced into the hip-hop lexicon, announcing, "You can market the piff but you already know/I coined the word, urban dictionary flow" -- is referenced on nearly every song. But all inside slang aside, the Purple City CEO brings little to the table that scores of other weed-obsessed MCs haven't offered before. Similarly, his take on the dope game vs. the rap game covers ground previously covered by other hustler-turned-rapper types, most notably Jay-Z, from whom Shiest lifts at least one punch line -- see track nine, the skit "Piff and Sour." Still, whatever Shiest the lyricist lacks in originality, he makes up for with charisma. Over its 14 tracks, The I.B.D. incorporates a number of disparate hip-hop trends -- from the Jeezy-esque "Empire" with its zooming synths and sped-up drums and Shiest's tongue-in-cheek Nelly impression on the catchy pop rap cut "$ Aint Rite," through to the H-Town-influenced "Posted on the Strip" and "Movin Byrds" -- and, of the many styles Shiest Bubz tries his hand at, he manages to execute all fairly well. Though far from groundbreaking, this Purple City effort holds the listener's attention thanks in part to its entertaining narrative thread (woven through a series of inspired interludes) and top-notch production work from the likes of Ill Tone, Cookin Soul, E-Jones, and Tie Stick. ~ Matt Rinaldi