Artist: J. Period & Game Rebellion
Album: Searching For Rick Rubin
Record label: n/a
Rating:
Reviewer: Alexander Fruchter

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times, I hate mixtapes with gunshots, sirens, and poorly recorded songs passed off as 'exclusive.' Take the extreme opposite and you have The Search For Rick Rubin from J. Period and Game Rebellion. As the title suggests, the mixtape is full of reworkings of classic joints produced by former Def Jam and current Columbia music man, Rick Rubin (that's DJ RR for those in the know).

The Search For Rick Rubin is a conglomeration of rock and rap naturally due to Rick Rubin's production style on early Def Jam hits like "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," "Peter Piper" and others. Here, J. near-flawlessly blends Rick's Hip Hop beats, with Game Rebellion's live performances, while adding his own production to craft unique versions of familiar joints that hit hard each time you pop them in. This is way beyond a 'remix' album, Game Rebellion and J. Period serve up pure and original recreations, while paying homage to one of music's best producers ever.

While J's skill behind the boards and turntables makes the music flow, it is really Game Rebellion's poignant lyrics that standout and make this mixtape a great addition to any music collection. With their motto, "If You See Something Say Something," GR drops socially conscious rhymes that are anything but corny. In fact, they make the music come to life, and revitalize songs such as "Public Enemy Number 1," "Going Back To Cali," and "99 Problems." It is in "99 Problems" that GR's Netic raps, "I got 99 problems, and dog, Bush is just one," before he goes on to point out more than a few of our government's shortcomings. It is also this track that best exemplifies the genre bending of J. Period's production as he weaves Jay-Z into the mix, using Jay's voice as another instrument and band member. I.E. "If I don't play they show, they don't play my hits, I don't give a s**t, so..." raps Jay-Z only to be followed by "They don't play my music, as far as I'm concerned, along with the politicians, all the stations can burn," raps GR's Netic.

Along with the Rick Rubin revisits, the CD also boasts a biting freestyle over Eminem's "Toy Soldiers" in which GR question gangsterism in Hip Hop. They spit:

"Before we imitated Scillians in all our raps/f**king Moolis, we're just imitating movies/stupid rappers, our favorite gangsters are actors/ Al Pacino's and Little Bobby Deniros/Now James Gandolfini, I'm just trying to be me/ I hate to see my people humiliated on TV/ Damn 3 6 Mafia, you just make it so easy."

The Search For Rick Rubin turned up a bunch of dope remakes, and uncovered the talent that is Game Rebellion. I see you Game Rebellion, and now I'm just letting you know!