Street Scholars

iTunes Review

Signed to Death Row back in his mid-‘90s heyday, Pittsburgh rapper/producer Sam Sneed waited in the wings for years, only to be unceremoniously jettisoned after the legendary label collapsed. One of Dr. Dre's in-house producers, he is probably best known for his work on "Natural Born Killaz" and "Keep Their Heads Ringin." Street Scholars is an unusual project in many ways — some of it was recorded over 15 years ago, which is apparent by the classic latter-era G-Funk vibe on several tracks (good or bad depending on your age). The songs range from moody Non-Phixion-esque revolution inciting ("The Exodus") to generic club jams ("Gorilla Pimpin'"), and for a debut "solo" album, there's an overwhelming amount of guest spots, mostly from completely random no-names. The sound here is so all over the place it's kind of hard to pin down. Plenty of good stuff in the mix though; check out the autobiographical joint "The Survivor," Neptunes-channeling "Marriage," and "U Better Recognize" with Dr. Dre, originally released in the good old days of 1994.