8Ball - Premro Album Review

Artist: 8Ball
Album: Premro
Label: 8-Ways/Drum Squad Records
Executive Producer: Drumma Boy

There are very few more well respected southern artists than the legendary 8Ball & MJG. The pair has spent the past 3 decades crafting some of the best southern hip hop meshing hardcore gangsta rap with soulful lyrics and at times crunk music to form their own unique sound matching both men’s unique voices as well. The duo has released a slew of thumping albums together along with solo and collobarotory albums with other artists over the years. Now, ½ of that duo 8Ball drops his new solo street album “Premro” (named after his birth name Premro Smith) which is presented by Memphis super producer Drumma Boy. “Premro” may be called a mixtape or street album, but this one is definitely worth your money.

“Premro” kicks off with the Nitti & Beat Da Knocker produced “Drought” where Ball wastes no time in declaring that Ball hasn’t gone from the rap game and isn’t leaving anytime soon and claims the rap game has been going through a “drought” while he and G have been away from the spotlight. Ball is at his best here with his heartfelt rhymes:

“God put me here, tryin to do my best/
to hold my head up and not be conquered by the stress/
late nights, early mornings tryin to feed my spirit/
it makes it easier to write it down when you know you lived it/
my yesterday’s turn to right now/
turn the music up and speak it from my heart loud!”

Fellow southern legends Bun-B and Killer Mike join Ball on “Allergic” backed by a thunderous Drumma Boy production as the trio kick bars about always keeping it real while Ball proclaims to being “Allergic” to fakes. The concept may seem cliché but the way all 3 men convey the message and spit about their experiences make it come off as much more natural from them, and the fact that all 3 absolutely kill their verses over a nasty beat doesn’t hurt. 8Ball’s longtime partner in rhyme MJG stops through on the DJ Montay produced “Showed Up” and the duo spit those pimpin’ bars we’ve all come to know and love them with MJG doing his best to steal the show. This one is most definitely going to be rattling trunks deep in the south this summer.

After a brief interlude from Drumma Boy at the end of “Showed Up” he takes over the production board as Playaz Circle member and one of the more hyped “trap rappers” today 2Chainz along with Yung Joc join Ball on “Em Down.” Drumma Boy’s infectious beat and 8Ball’s catchy hook headline this trunk rattling thug music. 2 more members of the new era of Southern hip hop Waka Flocka and Alabama native YelaWolf join the legend over yet another thumping Drumma Boy production on “Immaculate Perception.” When anyone sees this combination on a track is sure to assume that this is going to be a resurrection of 2000’s ere crunk music, but instead all 3 thug it up over a laid back beat as Ball says he’d love to make “happy songs” but this is all he knows, his “street poetry.” Waka does the same with his crack rap (and a surprisingly slightly sped up flow in which he doesn’t embarrass himself at all) and Yela attempts to rattle brains with his machine gun flow as he spits bars where he brags about being all that HE knows and original. A pleasantly surprising track from the trio.

The LOX’s Styles P., Houston legend Trae, and singer Ebony Love join Ball on the Basement Beats helmed “Put That On Everything” where Ball talks about his dream of being the best “street poet” while people told him he would be nothing more than a cook in a fast food kitchen. All 3 MC’s are excellent while Love is just kind of there and doesn’t necessarily add much to the track with her hook. Ball recruits Memphis newcomer 2Deep and Drum Squad member B-Hav over the Doughboy produced “Jumpin Up” with the 3 tell us what they like to do with the “pu**y.” Ball gives a shout out to the ladies with “Bytch Like U” and then grabs 112’s Slim to sing the hook on “Washing Machine” produced by 8-Ways Ent. producer T-Mack. Ball and Slim make this more of a duet than just having Slim as a featured artist as they turn the laid back beat into a braggadocios anthem. DJ Krillz provides an awesome piano driven beat on “What’s The Rush” as Ball spits the closest thing you’ll get to an 8Ball love song and does it well. Ball keeps that tempo going with “You & Me & Her” (produced by Chawley Proppa) and Ebony Love returns on the hook. This one touches on Ball’s relationship with both his “main chick and side chick” and the drama because of it in a kind of storytelling manner.

“Bread & Butter” is the posse cut of the album as 8-Way’s Ent. affiliates Kinfolk Thugs & T-Mack along with Drum Squad members Gangsta Boo & GK join Ball and Atlanta, GA newcomer Cheeto Gambine on the Drumma Boy produced thumper with each rapper spitting their hardest rhymes back-to-back. The mood changes on “No Pain” as Ball takes it back to more personal and deep rhymes alongside fellow Memphis native Don Trip over the soulful DJ Montay production with one of the more memorable moments of the album:

“took a long time for me to learn that some people just don’t get it/
you shouldn’t talk about it if you know you never did it/
the hardest thing I ever had to do was see a friend die/
touch me somewhere deep inside the day I had to see my momma cry/
people say we got to leave, momma couldn’t pay the rent/
I was just a lil’ n*gga, couldn’t really do sh*t/
I aint saying that my particular situation is unique/
and I aint saying that you gotta’ believe every word that I speak/
maybe there’s someone out there that’s going through some real pain/
and maybe I inspire them when I talk about my life mane/
never been a superstar, traveled all around the world/
groupies & expensive cars, that’s a better story to tell/
than hard times, stressed out feelin like it’s only you/
going through the f*ck sh*t, feel like that aint nothing you can do/
but negative to make yo life more positive/
its all on you, pimpin’, all I’m tryin to say is… (NO PAIN NO GAIN)”

Things take a different turn on “The Man Under The Bridge” as Ball kicks a tale about enjoying the fruits of his labor when he notices an old homeless man pushing a shopping cart, and realizing that he is someone out there’s son or father he decides to speak the man and then Ball tells the heartbreaking story the old man told him of a football star turned lawyer whose wife died of cancer and his entire world came crumbling down. The man tells Ball not to have sympathy and Ball says that he still sees the man in his mind to this day. Memphis Soul/Hip Hop group Freesol member Elliot Ives provides an amazing chorus while Drumma Boy helms the soulful production on a truly amazing and touching song. If you listen to one 8Ball song from this song, make it this.

Rock-Rap group Rehab’s resident rapper Demun Jones and Memphis rock group Arvada’s Matt Mages join Ball on “Soap Box” in a guitar riff driven track where Ball and Demun take things back to the deep route with a song where they “preach” about life’s vices and Mages provides the chorus. The only way I can describe the final three tracks of this album is…WOW.

8Ball and MJG have always been one of my favorite rap groups and “Lost” (8Ball’s solo album debut) is one of my all time favorite albums. 8Ball has added truly one of his most complete projects to dates with something for absolutely everything: from deep music with a meaning to crunk/party music to music for the ladies to gangsta rap. Great features, great production, great lyrics, and the fact that Drumma Boy (technically the host of the tape) doesn't ruin it by talking all over the songs (rather he talks very briefly at the END of a few songs) make this such a great listen. This album (and I refuse to call this a mixtape any longer) truly has something for everyone and Ball makes sure that no one can say that the South can’t rap!