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| Sputnikmusic |
 There’s something instantly grabbing in The ONE… COHESIVE, fourth record of Alabama-native-and-proud duo G-Side. Hearing the record play out, a lot of ST and Clova’s music feels fuelled by simple desire and ambition, by a want for being more than a small hip-hop act and the wish to be recognised as a fully-fledged music symbol. As guys who have spoken in interviews of working at gas stations and barber shops, The ONE… still reflects this longing, and in a sense, their talk paints them as guys who want to be this and that rather than guys who are- on “Y U Mad,” a track driven by this theme of frustration, they vent that “everybody in the crowd want to be on the stage / the stars look so bright when you come from a city of no lights.” But at the same time, G-Side have come into 2011 with such certainty, such assurance and experience, that it’s like watching them shed this part of themselves; no longer mere aspirers, The ONE… has G-Side rapping about what often feels like the end of their journey into self-realisation and has their music boasting just as loudly, with the same fiery impatience to have its brilliance noticed. And that’s what gives it its tight grasp: this ambition, when channelled into the huge record G-Side has spawned with it, comes out a new thing. It comes out the other side as G-Side’s wannabe global masterpiece, their emblem in which ambition gets its payoff. The ONE… is that payoff.While confidence readies G-Side to make this masterpiece, it’s the knack for synthesis that makes The ONE… such an achievement. ST and Clova are pacemakers first, and their record is certainly all about setting the tone: tracks as different in mood as “Pictures,” a track that’s basically about a guy staring at naked girls on his phone, and “Moneyintheskyii,” a track that rattles off the serious ambition G-Side embodies, are bolstered upward by their tremendous arrangements and the work of a very special production team indeed. The sprinkling of piano notes isn’t here and there; on “Moneyintheskyii” it’s used to launch G-Side into their verses, and let’s not forget where they find themselves, with the lines “if I don’t do this *** / my food don’t sit right / my heart beat too slow and my brain think too quick” backed by the symphony and pulsing beats to match their theme of compulsion....full text |
| Hiphopdx |
| G-Side's latest album is indeed Cohesive. The group's unpredicatability and totally unique style is grassroots Hip Hop at its best. "The stars look so bright / When you come from a city with no lights," says ST 2 Lettaz on "Y U Mad." Hunstville, Alabama's duo G-Side are most certainly a product of their environment, and contrast nicely against a mainstream still focused on bright lights and big cities. Like Meridian, Mississippi's Big K.R.I.T. or Gasden, Alabama's Yelawolf, newness and amplifying the once voiceless is an ongoing revolution in Rap right now. G-Side's latest self-released album, The One...Cohesive has the hustler's conviction found in Young Jeezy's early work, without the lyrics about peddling dope. Rather, Clova and partner ST 2 Lettaz rhyme mostly about hope - between surviving today's uncertain times, and making it as the Rap voices they've been trying to be for over a decade. As the case with much of the G-Sides catalog, Cohesive is self-released and both charms and disappoints with its rawness. The crew's extended family does not all possess the same naturally gifted abilities they have, evident the rushed busy-ness of "Never." It's a crowded house, and while the album enforces a family environment, it's easy to get lost in the personnel. Still, the musicality allowed by having talented singers, emcees and instrument players in one place makes this arguably minor album appear major. As was the case with 2008's Starshipz & Rocketz, the sound employed by G-Side and production team Block Beataz is as spacey as their rhymes. "Pictures," a slow motion track with a light dash of female Pop vocal samples feels like the sexual rhythms that the duo and GMane are chronicling. Similarly, "Nat Geo" has a worldly feel, with hard, dramatic percussion and soft background vocals. Through this diverse soundscape, G-Side is able to project their surroundings on the world. Yes, dozens of Rap songs are recorded daily, about packing two Magnums - one for a pocket and one for the kick-panel, but on Cohesive, it's felt. Perhaps because Huntsville is just now getting attention, ST 2 Lettaz and Yung Clova are forced to do more to explain their world, or why the stakes are just so damn high. While they do an excellent job, their entourage and production add deep reinforcement....full text |
| Metallungies |
| Hip-hop artists have a knack for creating brands around groups and labels. Examples include Wu-Tang, Bad Boy, Roc-A-Fella, G-Unit, and Young Money. These brands are usually built around a philosophy or lifestyle and its accompanying visual style and slang lexicon. On their new album The ONE…COHESIVE, Alabama duo G-Side illuminate the principles of their Slow Motion Soundz imprint. According to their about page, Slow Motion Soundz is “an entertainment research and development company based out of Huntsville, Alabama.” Founders Codie G and Cory Parham avoid the word “label;” they prefer “incubator.” Slow Motion is at the forefront of Hunstville’s burgeoning hip-hop scene and ST 2 Lettaz and Yung Clova comprise SMS’ marquee group G-Side. The dominant tenet of the SMS philosophy is unity. The buzzwords repeated throughout The ONE…COHESIVE are “one” and “cohesive.” It was released on 1.1.11 at 1 AM. Despite the spiritual wisdom, familiar underdog rap themes permeate Cohesive. Clova and 2 Lettaz fathom the countless places music will take them on “How Far” and they reject mainstream success in pursuit of riches on “No Radio.” “Came Up” chronicles the trials of the struggling artist (it also has a subtle Antoine Dodson reference: “Like the Lincoln Park rapist, I’m coming through your window.”) Tracks are reinforced by glossy elephantine beats. G-Side’s inspirational overtures sound even more inspirational when set to shimmering production provided by Block Beattaz and A-Team. Even “Pictures,” a sex anthem, sounds like a brilliant proclamation. For the most part, the musicality on Cohesive is genuine, not self-indulgent; the violin on “Came Up” and the piano on “Y U Mad” are part of an aesthetic of elegance that’s supposed to parallel SMS’ refined approach to music....full text |
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