Lil’ Boosie is the voice of the streets. Hailing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Boosie has brought mainstream hip-hop to the ‘hood with more explicit bars and a lot less thugs-in-their-feelings. For instance, Boosie’s tracks “I Feel Ya” and “I’m Wit Ya” from his Life After Deathrow mixtape, are like motion pictures that wax the black youth experience. And if you’ve witnessed or been part of an argument about Boosie’s mic skills, then you’ve heard a version of the statement, “Boosie is one of the realest in the rap game.”
SEE ALSO: Watch Part 1 Of The Boosie Badazz Documentary
Since his 2000 debut, Youngest of da Camp, Boosie has consistently set the streets aflame by delivering tales of pain, hustle and triumphs of an underdog. On Tuesday (May 26), the Trill Entertainment artist released his sixth studio album, Touchdown 2 Cause Hell, with the same, signature fiery realness his other projects have carried. However, there’s a small change in Boosie’s realness—it’s matured. As it should have after serving a five-year prison bid in Louisiana’s infamous Angola State Penitentiary. On this LP, Boosie transforms from a braggadocious, codeine-sipping gangster to a humble, Mary Jane-loving man.
Before the rapper born Torrence Hatch dives into his newfound sense of balance, the former McKinley High School basketball star aggressively unloads rounds of fire to remind everyone of his struggle and the street morals he stands by, as heard on Touchdown 2 Cause Hell’s hard-hitting opener, “Intro – Get’em Boosie.” The excitement of Track 1 is almost reminiscent of the promising freestyle he spit after being released from prison almost a year ago. On both flows, fans witness a youthful Badazz and his renewed hunger for rap glory.
After bodying the intro, Boosie waxes his coming-of-age story. The 5-foot-6, brolic MC has always been proficient in delivering sharp, telescopic views of everyday #thuglife. He drops that same biting flow on “Window Of My Eyes,” and the Jeezy and Akelee-assisted “Mercy On My Soul.” On the former, Badazz delves into the throbbing torment of serving a prison sentence over a dark thunderstorm backdrop produced by Kenoe, with zero signs of boasting. “Mercy On My Soul” reeks of woe and anguish—listeners will definitely feel Boosie’s pain. He and Jeezy then shed their egos and send a prayer up to their maker while seeking forgiveness.
The middle sequence of TD2CH finds Boosie taking shots at radio and club singles alongside big-name features like Chris Brown (“She Don’t Love Me”), T.I. (“Spoil You”), and the hater-proof record “All I Know” with crooner PJ. Each of the aforementioned gets an A for their contributions while Boosie strictly sticks to the G Code. Boosie then brings the nostalgia by linking with partner-in-rhyme, Webbie, for “On That Level” and “Hip Hop Hooray,” recreating that early 2000s feel with the same sweet ratchet music the duo delivered with Webbie & Lil Boosie: Pimp C Presents Ghetto Stories and Gangsta Musik, respectively. The grown man biz on TD2CH continues with the potent “How She Got Her Name,” a gripping story about women—he calls his subjects Dirty Diana —who become lost in the allure of the street lifestyle.
SEE ALSO: Boosie Badazz, Keyshia Cole and J. Cole Wonder About ‘Black Heaven’
Fittingly, Badazz ends the album with the tear-jerking—and probably one of his most emotional songs to date next to 2009’s “Pain”—with the selfless cut “I’m Sorry,” where he apologizes for his prison bid to his seven kids, brothers, mother and fans. Criticisms are few for a rapper trying to do right. Some of Boosie’s day-one fans may comment that his music isn’t as immature or raw as it once was. However, Touchdown 2 Cause Hell shows that even the baddest spitters are destined for growth. Even ‘Pac once said: “I guess change is good for any of us.”
Head over to iTunes to cop Boosie’s Touchdown 2 Cause Hell and stream the album below.