Purple City Road to the Riche$: The Best of the Purple City Mixtapes Babygrande 2005 Received like five promos of this album, the last three had the Byrd Gang Sharpied out, so it's just Purple City, but this is a slick posse project that will glare you down. As per usual, it's not really an official album as the title connotes, just a mix-tape comp, but Shiest Bob has the Dipset set on creep like The Wraith with Charlie Sheen. Agallah's beats - wait, the 'fro is down to dude's knees looking like a Warrior clown - ride out in dizzying, low-key piff traces like the sickest cell phone ring tones conceived, the purple pretty much emanating from car speakers on some tinted midnight runs across McArthur. It's like variations on Batman themes for the modern age. This is actually much smoother, and a less gimmicky palette than On My Way to Church , but doesn't match Capo Jim Jones' charismatic shake-of-dice business flow. And I haven't heard Juelz's Back Like Cooked Crack 2: More Crack , but at this point I may not need too (though that fucking title, that fucking title). What is it about the Dips, the world may never know. Dudes exist in this distant New York bubble, sounding as afternoon pristine as their customized couture but ungratefully nocturnal all at once. And Purple City, even on anthems like "Roll it Up, Light it Up" have that odd church-like restraint, like their shadows are catching up to their own snaps. And all day long you'll be thinking about "and noses I chop 'em off" courtesy of Jimmy to the Byrd Gang before he robs the crib of Ghost with "ice cream niggas" before sipping some Sizzurp. Absolute devil dust. - Hunter Sizz Back Next