To me AZ has always been an emcee that hasn`t received the ReSPeCT that he truly deserves! Especially after he dropped one of the iLLeST introductory verses EVER on "Life`s A Bitch" from Nas` classic debut album "Illmatic" back in 1994. A year later he dropped his debut album titled "Doe Or Die", it didn`t do well sales~wise but to most critics it was a great album. He followed his debut up with the 1998 album titled "Pieces Of A Man" which was pretty much a commercial disappointment. It was on point lyrically, but the beats that were mostly provided by the Trackmasters just didn`t really do AZ`s bars any justice. Fast~forward 15 years later (& plenty albums both major label & independently released) even though he`s remained the underdog lyricist he`s still rockin` the mic & is actually workin` on "Doe Or Die 2" the sequel to his debut album. He`s lookin` to cook up a gem of an album too seein` as how this may be his last, so he`s reached out to a good list of producers. Some kats on that list include; L.E.S., DR Period, Pete Rock, Statik Selektah, Buckwild & Baby Paul of Da Beatminerz fame...
To tide his fans over until his 9th studio album "D.O.D. 2" drops he has put together the mixtape that`s hosted by DJ Mr. FX titled "L.O.D.B. (Last Of A Dying Breed)". It features a few new joints, some unreleased joints & plenty of older joints that most of his fans should recognize. After the mixtape`s lil` intro things open up with "We Movin`" which is one of the newer tracks that`s off "D.O.D. 2" produced by Statik Selektah. It`s a solid joint that shows us that AZ hasn`t lost a step lyrically;
"They keep askin` how is his shine lastin`?
I`m too ahead of my time to be a has~been"...
Now I`m not going to review this mixtape track by track because I`m running a lil` short on time, but I will tell ya that between the newer joints, the unreleased joints & the previously released joints you`re definitely in for a good listen so go `head & check it out for ya`self! Oh yeah something to note, the original mixtape had only 21 tracks but the version I posted here has 22 on it. There`s no bonus cuts though, all I did was separate the lil` interlude that was before the "`86 [Rmx]" & made it it`s own track so that way you can get right into the "`86 [Rmx]" without any delays by skipping over the lil` interlude since it`s nothing spectacular anyway. Go on & enjoy...
Released: 2013
Label: N/A
1. L.O.D.B. [Intro]
2. We Movin`
3. Interlude
4. `86 [Rmx] {ft. Raekwon & Altrina Renee}
5. Body Rock {ft. Twista & Dwele}
6. Thank You {ft. DJ Doo Wop}
7. Go Getta {ft. Ray J}
8. Life On The Line {ft. Jimi Kendrixx}
9. Royal Salute
10. Professional Style {ft. Alchemist}
11. The Format {ft. DJ Premier}
12. Exhibit AZ
13. Make Believe
14. How Ya Livin`? {ft. Nas}
15. Gimme Yours {ft. Nas}
16. Rather Unique {ft. Pete Rock}
17. Life`s A Bitch {ft. Nas}
18. Firm Biz [Rmx]
19. Firm Biz
20. Superstar
21. Magic Hour {ft. CL Smooth}
22. Doin` That {ft. Jha Jha}
A few of the tracks featured on this mixtape:
N`JoY...
