In 2002, Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz’s had the whole world Crunk! If you were a DJ and needed a song to get the party started, you could have played any song from Kings of Crunk, their fourth album, and taken your pick. This is the album I want to discuss.
It’s safe to say Kings of Crunk was a party in album form. No matter if it was a song like, “Nothings Free,” the tale of a female determined not to give up the romance without finance. Or your typical song about jewelry like “Diamonds.” Either way, it was still “crunk!”
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Of course, there’s a flip side to that scenario. If there were any rivalries attending the festivities, things may have gotten violent when the DJ played “Bitch,” “I Don’t Give A Fuck,” or “Knockin’ Heads Off,” among others!
“Ya’ll need to repeat after me, RIGHT-NOW: I ain’t scared of no n***a, I ain’t scared of no b***h, I ain’t scared of nobody in your muthap***a click,” Jon chants in the latter.
Let’s keep it real: yes, we all have seen somebody get their a** whoop to a Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz track. But aside from that, there were things to admire about this album that was nonviolent. For example, Jadakiss and Styles P, two East Coast emcee’s, spitting impressively over the dirty South production on the aforementioned, “Knockin’ Heads Off.” I thought the same about Fat Joe on “Play No Games.”
Also, I admired the humorous skit such as “Pimpin’ Ken Speaks,” “Weedman,” and “Luke Talkin’ Shit.”
The Crunk wave had already been big in south, but thanks to Lil Jon, Big Sam, and Lil Bo it would eventually hit all 4 regions and overseas. Being an Alabama native and a fan since, Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album,” I was happy to see that.
Some people didn’t get this style of Hip Hop. Hell, some would even get mad if you’d called it, “Hip Hop!” However, it reached number 2 and 14 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Billboard 200, respectively. In addition to, going double-platinum. Apparently, somebody respected it.
Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz’s ‘Kings of Crunk’; Classic, Dope, Regular, or Garbage?
Polls Are Closed!!
Classic! – 67%
Regular – 17%
Dope – 17%
Garbage – 0%