Down for Life [PA] (CD - 2005)

Audio Mixer: Mike "Hitman" Wilson.

Recording information: D4L Studios, Atlanta, GA; Dee Money Studios, Atlanta, GA; Patchwerk Studios, Atlanta, GA.

Photographer: Shannon P. McCollum.

Atlanta collective D4L released their debut, DOWN FOR LIFE, in 2005. The tracks are built around heavily stripped-down electro beats and wiry synth lines, giving the set a gritty, lo-fi sound. And while DL4 doesn't necessarily display the mic technique of fellow Atlanta artists like Outkast and Goodie Mob, what they lack in agility they make up for in passionate delivery, as there are plenty of hard-hitting, adrenaline-charged cadences throughout. While perhaps not the very best the Dirty South has to offer, D4L make an appropriate soundtrack for bouncing the jeep on a ride through A-Town.

Subtract "Laffy Taffy," one of several outrageously sleazy dance-rap singles that inspired revelry as often as contempt during the early 2000s -- depending on listeners' tolerance for cleverly produced tracks with sharp hooks and crude sexual euphemisms -- and D4L's Down for Life wouldn't be much of a story. "Laffy Taffy" eventually became the most downloaded song, hit the top of the Billboard chart, and helped prove that the single was back (if not in the physical sense), especially since its success didn't translate to spectacular album sales. Most listeners heard it as a novelty track, as it came out of nowhere with freaky vocals and minimal backing à la Ying Yang Twins' "Wait (The Whisper Song)." Though its rhymes are far lewder than those of 50 Cent's "Candy Shop," the song's simplistic hook is the real hook. A similar production sensibility holds throughout the remainder of this Atlanta group's Atlantic-distributed debut. Apart from a couple clever tracks where the MCing is of little consequence (generic rhymes about making money, busting caps, and busting other things), a lasting impression is not made. T.I. and Young Jeezy they are not; but give them some credit for coming up with one of the most enjoyed and talked-about singles of late 2005 and early 2006. ~ Andy Kellman minimize