STRaiGHT uP`s "LoUiSViLLe`S OwN STRaiGHT uP EP"...

What`s goin` on y`all? Hope all is well & Life has been treating you good. Today I have a lil` somethin` that comes courtesy of my homie SNiCKLe FRiTZ, so BiG uPs goes out to him! What I have to share with y`all is a lil` EP from a group called Straight Up who reps Louisville, Kentucky. Now to be honest when I tried lookin` `em up online I found that they were also called Louisville`s Own, so I could be wrong about their name. The EP`s cover is not all that clear when it comes to the group`s name, so if I`m wrong & someone out there knows what`s up feel free to school me...


As for Straight Up the group consists of 2 members (brothers perhaps?) Darrin & Terrance Lee (a.k.a. Gangsta T). They both handle the EP`s production as well as the rhyme writing. They released this EP on their own label back in 1995 & I believe that this is their first release. Anyways let`s get to the EP shall we? At 4 tracks deep it`s a pretty short EP, but seeing as how it`s an independently released project it`s totally understandable. When you first glance at all the titles of the songs on this EP you can surely notice that Death or Murder seems to be the main theme of the project, but that doesn`t make it a stale of boring listen...


Now something that you should note before you get to listening to the EP, it was ripped from a cassette tape (not sure if it was ever released on CD) so the sound quality is far from HD but it`s not totally terrible either. I found the original files that SNiCKLe FRiTZ hooked me up with were a bit on the low side volume~wise so I made some small adjustments to make them a lil` louder. Anyways the EP opens up with "Dyin` Is So Easy", a joint that has gloomy & dreary vibe to it. The hook is a lil` simplistic, but their verses make up for it in turn making the song a lot more entertaining. "Death Zide" follows the EP`s opener, it`s got somewhat of a West Coast vibe to it. The hook has more of a harmonized feel to it while Straight Up delivers some aggressive lyrics. It`s my second favorite joint on the EP, definitely one to check out...


The third song on the EP is the title track "Straight Up", this joint without question is the EP`s best song. The beat`s quick tempo & killer loops will get ya` head noddin` while you get into Straight Up`s verses, it`s no doubt the show stealer! The EP  comes to a close with "Victim Of A Murder". It`s another joint that has more of a West Coast vibe to it, I think that most folks will enjoy it. Overall the EP`s not too bad of a listen, 3 of the 4 tracks are pretty solid. The first song on the EP is probably my least favorite of the 4, but it`s not a wack track. I just couldn`t really get into it all that much. You can definitely tell that the group was heavily influenced by the West Coast, at least when it comes to their beats anyway. Lyrically & vocally they carry themselves pretty well over the instrumentals. So there you have it y`all, go `head & give this EP a listen I`m sure you`ll enjoy it...

Straight Up - Louisville`s Own Straight Up EP [Cassette]

Label: Terrance & Darrin Lee Records

Released: 1995

Side A

01. Dyin` Is So Easy

02. Death Zide

Side B

03. Straight Up

04. Victim Of A Murder

N`JoY...