 See Larger Image | Untouchable Artist : Mac Mall List Price : $9.98 USD Your Price : $9.98 USD ProductGroup: Music Release Date : 1996-04-23 Studio : Relativity Label : Relativity Avg. Customer Rating : (19 reviews)
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Reviews Customer Reviews for Untouchable Prime example of Bay Area hip hop (3.5/5) Rating: Mac Mall's 1996 album "Untouchable" is an album that really grew on me. I remember first buying it and expecting a standard Young Black Brotha Records album like Ray Luv's "Forever Hustlin'," Dubee's "Dubee aka Sugawolf," or Young Lay's "Black 'n Dangerous," and this album is pretty different from those other YBB releases of 1995 and 1996. When I first had it, I wasn't very impressed with it at all, but the more I listened the more I really began to get into the deep grooves and Mac Mall's hypnotic flow. The list of producers includes YBB's in-house man Khayree, as well as Mike Mosley and Ant Banks, the Bay Area's three best producers. It doesn't sound like a traditional YBB release because Khayree doesn't produce the whole thing. It's kind of odd, though, because the beats throughout this album are quite similar, at times to the point of monotony. Some of the songs will even kind of run together in your mind. But after a few listens, for me at least, the bass heavy, synth woozy production really begins to make your head nod, and I guess for me it was kind of an acquired case. Mac Mall is a cool MC, he has a really great flow with a kind of high pitched voice that spits Bay Area slang effortlessly. He doesn't sound quite as ridiculous as E-40 but their deliveries are sometimes similar. Mac tells the traditional Bay Area tales of "triple-beams and ice cream," but he also does a little philosophizing at times. His subject matter may get a little tiresome as there is a whole lot of it on "Untouchable." The tracks are pretty well-polished, and they all have nice hooks. This is really simple gangsta rap, so some fans looking for a lot of lyrical substance might want to look elsewhere, but Mac has style and charisma. "Untouchable" is a cool album from a good MC that showcases the unique Bay Area style.
After a cool 1-minute instrumental intro, the album begins with "Let's Get a Telly," which has a hard-hitting standard Bay Area beat and Mac Mall doing his thing. It's a solid song but not exactly a standout. "Straight Lace" is more catchy and upbeat. "Servin' Game" is a decent song speaking of the crime life involved in such activity. "Young N..." is funky and has nice bass. "Dopefiend's Lullaby" is woozy and appealing musically, and Mac Mall adjusts his delivery to it nicely, a very nice track. Lyrically "Ghetto Stardom" is the album's standout, because Mac steps back from his crime tales and talks about the other side of it. He wonders why so many people must engage in such a risky lifestyle, and the chorus is emphasizes it ("They tried to tell us in the verses and the scriptures, but I guess the real message musta missed us..."). The production is also very nice on this track, it's a real highlight. I also love the song "Get Right," which has an inescapable chorus and Mac's hardest verses. This song induces head-nodding from start to finish. The upbeat "Playas With da Choppas" follows, with the similar "Get Away" next. "Pimp or Die" is a nice track featuring Ray Luv (for the record, Ray Luv's verse was just taken from his song "In the Game" and laid over a new beat). The beat is very nice here and it's a feel-good track. The title track is strong but sounds very similar to a lot of the other tracks. He gets autobiographical on "Opening Doors" which has a soulful chorus, which precedes the average "Playa Tip." "Crestside" represents his home, the last song before the outro, which sounds just like the intro.
"Untouchable" is pretty basic gangsta rap, but it's well done and I think it's something that many listeners will find appealing. It's consistent enough that you can pretty much listen to it straight through, and this might be a good starting point for people unfamiliar with the Bay Area genre. I recommend it to fans of E-40 or Celly Cel, and also to fans of YBB, even though it's definitely more similar to the former. It's almost worth it just for "Get Right," "Ghetto Stardom" and the other handful of standouts, but it's definitely a nice disc to add to the collection.
Customer Reviews for Untouchable Cd Mac Mall Comin Wit Nathan But Game Rating: Mac Mall came real hard in 1996 with "Untouchable." With str8 sav mob style beats from Khayree, Mike Mosley, Ant Banks and one by Cold 187 um ("Opening Doors"), u know u gonna be noddin ya head for an hour. And then there's Mac Mall himself. He has one of the best flows of any West Coast MC. He's menacing, but treal throughout. Check out his wordplay on the title track. I love the Ant Banks space boogie beat on "Playa Tip." Mall shows you the real deal of strugglin and strivin for thrivin on "Ghetto Stardom" and "Opening Doors" (with Kokane's funky hook vocals). Mac Mall serves str8 lace game through tthe album. U can't fade this Crestside Mac.
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