K.D. - G-Fluid Album Review

Artist: K.D.
Album: G-Fluid
Label: Hollow Ent.
Executive Producers: K.D. & DJ Burn One

Since 2007 Birmingham, Alabama’s K.D. has released 4 street albums/mixtapes with Atlanta DJ/Producer DJ Burn One (“Last Man Standing”, “Playa Prezident”, “Untouchable”, and “Soul Inn”). 2009’s “Soul Inn” project was K.D.’s last true street album (he’s dropped a Best Of and B-Sides Mixtape since) and his most critically successful thus far. Now, in 2011 K.D. returns for “G-Fluid”, a street album that features production from Hollow Ent. In-house producers B-Flat & B. Kirk as well as DJ Burn One himself, Sweatbox Productions, and Ced L. Young as well as guest appearances from underground Alabama mainstay M.P. and newly signed CTE (Young Jeezy’s Corporate Thug Ent.) member Freddie Gibbs.

The album opens up with DJ Burn One’s signature tag followed by a funky beat (produced by B-Flat & B. Kirk) boasting some crazy guitar riffs on “G-Fluid Intro” as K.D. opens up by talking about the G-Fluid “dripping out my lips” suggesting G-Fluid is inside him (on a Youtube video he also explains how to make the G-Fluid drink). It’s a short but effective opener to get the listener hooked and then we move right into the MP assisted rowdy “Whoa” where both KD and MP shine over another banging beat from B. Kirk & B-Flat. On “Come & Kick It” KD laces the infectious beat (B. Kirk & B-Flat again) with some slick wordplay:

“b!tch I’m back smelling like cognac and cigarillos/
but a little bit of weed in the middle/
I go hard like peanut brittle/
but im smooth like yo pillow/
smokin’ homegrown put you in a hospital/
able to walk but still feel like you crippled/
save a penny for yo thoughts cause yo mind aint worth a nickel/
everything you speak is nonsense, its straight up pitiful/
let us see what imma get at you, want hesitate to sh!t on you/”

Following a sample of Smoky from the movie “Friday” the album moves into the thumping “My Dawgz” where K.D. shines with his aggressive flow and lyrics. He shouts out his boys but also warns turncoats over another stellar B. Kirk & B-Flat production. K.D. switches things up on “Last Time” where he contemplates leaving the rap game due to the fakeness in hip hop while proclaiming his music not to be hip hop but “Country Rap Tunes.” K.D.’s contemplative tone and lyrics fit perfectly with B-Flat & B. Kirk’s laid back production and K.D. screams that he’s “gonna let my nuts hang so they (wack rappers) can suck on em mane!”

K.D. says he’s going to “get everybody gone” over a crazy old school sounding beat (B. Kirk & B-Flat) on “Running Away” where it feels like K.D. is rhyming over a track from the 70’s. On “Party” K.D. recites street tales over the “Country Rap Tunes” production and an impressive hook. K.D. doesn’t shy away from some extremely controversial lyrics on this one either:

“Barack showed us a dream in the form of hope/
but he the main one supplying the hood with all the dope/
sent 40,000 troops over to Afghanistan/
that’s where they making all the dope, you n!ggas understand?/
yeah I know that he a black man/
but he was put in place to carry out the Midas plan/
yeah I talk like I don’t give a d*mn/
just puttin’ yall up on this game, yall listen d*mn/

If that aint controversial then I don’t know what is but he definitely can make you think with everything he has to say. KD follows up with another crazy smooth jam produced by DJ Burn One, this time, called “Let Me Ride” where KD takes a listener on a ride through the streets of Birmingham, Alabama and gets in plenty of Alabama Crimson Tide references in saying he’s “big as Julio Jones” in the state as well as as stellar guest feature from Indiana’s Freddie Gibbs. “Let Me Ride” is most definitely a standout track.  B. Kirk & B-Flat returns behind the boards for “Dope Game” where K.D. puts on his story telling cap as he spits his autobiography of coming up in the dope game.

KD shouts out his homies again on the first release from the project, the B. Kirk & B-Flat produced “For My Homies” where KD spits uplifting lyrics hoping for the younger generation. Sweatbox Productions handles the funky production on KD’s anthem for the ladies “Bottom B!tch.” Next Up B. Kirk & B-Flat return behind the boards for “Juice” where KD takes it back to the streets and proclaims that he has the “Juice like Pimp, Slim, BIG, and Pac.” KD takes us on a ride again with another smooth, bangin’ track on “Cruizin” and then starts “Runnin” over the B-Flat & B. Kirk beat. Ced L. Young heads behind the board to produce the incredible “Relax” with one of the most laid back, smooth tracks on an album chocked full of them. KD follows that up with another one of the tracks that was released before the album’s release on the DJ Burn One produced panties dropping anthem “Drop.” KD closes out with a spoken word outro over another funky B. Kirk & B-Flat production.

The most accurate thing that can be said about “G-Fluid” is what DJ Burn One and KD proclaims themselves to be making: COUNTRY RAP TUNES. The laid back, funky production and lyrics ranging from all over the spectrum flow together perfectly to form one of K.D.’s finest efforts standing up to the large expectations off the heels of his classic “Soul Inn” album. K.D. has surrounded himself with producers and artists that mesh with his style as perfectly as anything. One thing is for sure K.D. isn’t going anywhere except up in the southern hip hop scene.