Some things never change. Growing up in the Bay Area, it was impossible NOT to be exposed to the thriving local “gangster rap” scene. Most of these artists have little to say other than the usual topics of drugs, sex, and crime, but a few possessed a unique flavor that kept me interested even after I converted to more creative underground hip hop. While many listeners won’t see Andre Nickatina as anything more than one of these thugs, his gritty voice and constant experimenting have convinced me that he deserves to be separated from the rest of the pack. After breaking off of Dogday Records, Nickatina released the album Tears of A Clown on his own. With no promotion whatsoever, this album still thrived in the Bay simply by word of mouth. Now on his 5th effort, Daiquiri Factory (Cocaine Raps 2), Nickatina again has stayed away from labels, but falters where his other albums succeeded.
The thing that attracts listeners to Andre Nickatina (previously Dre Dog) is the same thing that hurts him: his originality. On his last album, the circus-style beat on “Last Breath of an MC” worked beautifully. But on Daiquiri Factory, we find Nickatina making use of several interesting samples which more often-than-not fail. The title track is one of these awkward-sounding beats, accompanied by a horrible hook. Though the lyrics of the song are decent, the overall sound of it will have listeners fast-forwarding. On “Alphabet Soup,” the sample is… you guessed it, the ABC song. You will either smile at the creativity, or find it annoying and skip it. This song brings up another problem with the album: the overuse of Nickatina’s female colleague, Lolo Brown. She has worked with him on his past releases, and continues to ruin several tracks each album. Her screechy voice and style reminiscent of a female E-40 cancel out any decent rhymes she may spit.
When Nickatina isn’t using strange beats, he is usually on point. However, the majority of the tracks on Daiquiri Factory reach no higher than mediocrity. Songs like “Baking Soda in Minnesota” and “Nickatina Says” are not horrible, but really don’t warrant multiple listens. Only a couple of tracks contain a beat I can really feel – particularly “Gingerbread Man” and the way-too-short “Fears of a Coke Lord.” “Ghost of Fillmoe” wastes one of the best beats on the album for a 30 second interlude. “Little Coco” is a nice reminiscing track, even more enjoyable if you are from the Bay and can relate to some of the hometown references.
Andre Nickatina’s voice differentiates him from the average MC in the business. For this reason, his acapellas are usually better than a lot of his actual songs. On Tears of a Clown, it was “Close My Eyes,” and on this album it is “Last Rap I’ll Ever Write.” Here, Nickatina creates a vivid scene with lines like, “Stevie Wonder even gonna regain his sight/ On the night of my last rap/ Africa gonna be run by blacks/ And nowhere around will there be crack/ Jamaica gonna get Bob Marley back…” and he continues on with dope references and rapid-fire delivery. Unfortunately, after about a minute, the ensuing track comes in, and the song ends not nearly as nice as it started.
This is one emcee that truly doesn’t wish to be thrown in the pile with the thousands of weak thug rappers. Sadly, that is all he is to most listeners. But if you really listen to Nickatina’s lyrics, he makes references to greats like Rakim, and rarely wastes a track on a useless topic. Despite his unconventional style, he comes off quite personal on the mic, and for the most part represents a good cause. When you put yourself on the line, sometimes you win, and sometimes you don’t. Daiquiri Factory is far from Andre Nickatina’s best material – probably even his worst – but don’t let it form your whole opinion of this artist. Go out and pick up one of his earlier albums instead.
-Joe Kostelnik
