Cocaine Inc (Cocaine Raps 1, 2, & 3)

iTunes Review

Cocaine Inc brings together the three albums that comprise Andre Nickatina’s “Cocaine Raps” trilogy: 1997’s Cocaine Raps (the rapper’s debut under his Nickatina moniker), 2000’s Daiquiri Factory and 2003’s Conversation With a Devil. Without a doubt these are Nickatina’s three most focused albums, and probably his three best. On each album he seemed intent on making the most of each individual song — every track has a distinct sound design, and these songs boast the most imaginative rhymes of Nickatina’s career. With these releases he proved he could embody the entire range of the sonic spectrum, as well as the emotional spectrum. He effortlessly transitions between dangerous emotional states, from rage to paranoia to whimsy. “Dice of Life (The Bottle)” is representative of Nickatina’s singular greatness. Over a beat comprised of an Irish hammered dulcimer, the rapper delivers a melodic rumination that is as bizarre as it is uplifting: “Most of my homies love the bottle / Like Tyson loves Cus D'Amato / So on them days you feelin' real bad / Think of the best week that you've ever had.”