v5n18-assassin.html

'Assassin' misses target

By Wes Woods, On-Line Forty-Niner
Wednesday, September 23, 1998

Big Ed is obviously a big fan of Tupac Shakur and so is nearly the entire roster of No Limit Records.


CD REVIEW

Master P, C-Murder, Silkk the Shocker, Fiend and Steady Mobbin' have all been visibly moved by Tupac's recordings. From the trademark Tupac passionate lyrical delivery to "thug" subject matter and similar phrasings ("holler if you hear me,"etc.).

No Limit, however, usually puts a different twist to the material without being overly generic or mediocre - usually.

Big Ed's CD debut, "The Assassin," on Master P's No Limit Records is obviously influenced by Tupac. The vocals and songs unfortunately scream of unoriginality and lack of polish, put together generically in the No Limit tradition.

When the Richmond, Calif., native is not claiming to be a No Limit soldier, he is singing about shooting at someone or taking out his girlfriend and buying her things.

Even the dedication to his fallen friend sounds carefully scripted.

Luckily, providing relief from Ed's limited scope are numerous No Limit soldiers. P, Snoop Dogg and Silkk The Shocker all give Ed a much needed helping hand.

The best guests on the CD are Mystical with his reckless throaty delivery and Mia X who shines with her melodic flow.

The beats are consistently slow paced with heavy bass. Synthesizers and pianos interspersed throughout the mix.

The top songs include the slow and sinister sounding "Life," where Ed has to shoot his friend who attempts to set him up and "Make Some Room" with Mia, Mac, C-Murder and Snoop.

The songs engage in an infectious boot camp-style call and response chant, over mid-tempo drums and deep, pounding bass.

The rest of the gangsta influenced material fluctuates between decent and above average. It seems as if "The Assassin" is being used as a tool to tide over No Limit fans until the next album release. Since Ed sings only three songs on 18-track album, it works.

No Limit fans get exactly what they want. The rest of us will just have to wait for more unreleased works by Tupac.