Albums That Deserve Another Chance: Mannie Fresh “The Mind of Mannie Fresh (Pt. 2)” Posted by Burmy on 03/04/11 | Filed under Albums That Deserve Another Chance

Last time on "Albums That Deserve Another Chance," we went over the first part of Mannie Fresh's solo debut album, which proved he was truly the brains behind the signature classic Cash Money sound (as well as explaining that he truly masterminded the sound of his former group the Big Tymers). For the first part, he made sure the theme was mainly positive, even expelling Lil' Wayne from the album for sneaking into the studio to spit Carter 1.5-era street freestyles (though Weezy did make an impression on the hooks he did for "We Fresh" and "Lady Lady"). And now, we bring you Part 2.

#18 "The DJ"
Basically an interlude completely made up of samples from various standout Mannie productions for those keeping score, the ones I could detect are below (listed by artist):

Big Tymers (6):
"Top of the Line Nigga"
"Big Ballin"
"No Love"
"Still Fly"
"Get Your Roll On"
"Gangsta Girl"
Juvenile (4):
"In My Life"
"Back That Azz Up"
"Set it Off"
"Soulja Rag"
Lil' Wayne (3):
"Bring it Back"
"Go DJ"
"Shine"
B.G. (1):
"Cash Money is an Army"

That's fourteen samples I could recognize (and a couple I couldn't). That's gotta be a record (considering the track's only 1:28 long, it's even more impressive).

#19 "Real Big"
The only promoted single, this is Mannie Fresh in his purest form. It's the ultimate Southern swagger-anthem as only Mannie can bring it, with his entire accessory collection "real big," from his house to his cars to his jewelry to his...depends on which version you listen to (the clean version says it's his belly).

#20 "Great Moments in the Ghetto #1 (Petey Pablo)"
Petey Pablo hosts the first edition of this series, documenting all the great inventions people in the lower class came up with, mainly accidental. For this episode, we go back to 1985, when Sunday school teacher Ms. Gertrude Spell couldn't quite fit into her white hard-bottom shoes. Making some innovations, she cut some parts out of the front (and certain areas of the back), therefore inventing the open-toe sandal. (You know, I always thought they were around for way more than 25 years...)

#21 "Tell it Like it Is"
Mannie tells the story of his encounter with somebody else's wifey, and he enjoys every moment. In a possible tribute to "Big Poppa", Mannie's liason is laced with him having the woman make him a "sammich" in the middle, then with him getting busted while looking through her man's fridge. Good thing he had his gun by him, otherwise we wouldn't be hearing this album today!

#22 "Dinnerlude"
Mannie goes to the "Alligatoresque BBQ," seeing a certain woman order the lobster & shrimp along with some wine from 1987. A random onlooker notes that as the year when Salt-n-Pepa broke up (it's also the year this author was born!). Just then, Mannie insists the woman order from the appetizers' side instead, because what she's ordering is from the "fuck side," meaning she has to do just that tonight if she expects him to pay for it. He still can't believe that knowing her for 2 1/2 hours, she's not letting him smash (to a pimp, that's a lifetime!)

#23 "Day in the Life (Cadillac Doors)"
Once again, we get the car anthem, displaying Mannie cruising on his old-school GM (either Chevy or Lac) with the 24-inch rims, and making people jealous because he's constantly running off with other people's women. To him, it's just another day in the life!

#24 "Great Moments in the Ghetto #2"
Mannie hosts the second episode documenting another great achievement. On a summer's night, Sha'Queta and Antoinette were fighting over a card game, which quickly went to blows. All of a sudden, Sha'Queta tore Antoinette's t-shirt in a certain manner, therefore inventing the v-neck cross your heart haltertop.

#25 "I Know You Ain't Happy"
This time Mannie wishes he could settle down with a certain woman, knowing she's not happy around her man, but for some reason sticking around with that dude. Certainly in the vein of his Big Tymers classics "Oh Yeah" and "Gangsta Girl" among others...enjoy this smooth jam, but I can't help but wonder how it would have sounded with the ol' Birdman doing a verse too...

#26 "Phone Message #3 (Skit)"
This time, that nagging woman has settled down considerably, apologizing for her past rachetness, but still asking Mannie for exactly $8,998.61. More subdued than the first two (and not as entertaining considering there's no answering machine sounds), but I still can't help but think Mannie just erased that message too.

#27 "Fight Song"
Remember when Mannie kicked Weezy off the album because he didn't want any violence? Well, consider that rule thrown out for the second part, as Mannie warns anybody who might violate to keep their distance, otherwise it would certainly come to blows. Considering its purpose, I can't really blame him, as he's just letting off some steam.

#28 "Mayor Song"
Mannie's adventure through the political system. Calling in on a nightly news show where the people can talk to the mayor, Mannie asks about the projects' situation, where he's promptly given the runaround to the Housing Department. Remembering that they did the same thing, Mannie's quickly cut off. Moving on, he heads straight to Baton Rouge to visit the governor, but is quickly escorted out by the security because that governor's busy playing her PlayStation. Meanwhile, over in the White House, the President is asked what he's going to do about this latest crisis, and he replies "What kinda question is that? I'm gonna play golf!" (which is just as much true for Obama as it was for Bush).

#29 "Swingers & Singers (Skit)"
The introduction to the finale, which introduces us to the Swingers & Singers lounge, "where you're greeted with a smile and you leave with your fingers smelling like some pussy." Which sets us up for that last track:

#30 "Shake That Ass (ft. Lil' Mo, Tateeze, & Reel)"
Cash Money's slow-jam specialists shine here, with Mannie sharing co-production duties with Keith Sweat this time around. Mo & Rell's voices perfectly counterpoint, while Tateeze (who previously played hard-to-get on "Conversation") mellows down and gets significantly flirtier. A smooth jam, but not the high-powered ending I'd expect from a Mannie Fresh album.

FINAL SCORE: Again, entertaining, feel-good Southern rap tunes at its best. Not many hip-hop albums can have you laughing out loud, but this certainly ranks among the few. For that, I give it a 4.25 out of 5-better than solid, but not quite 'near-classic'.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? : Less than a year after the album's release, Mannie announced his departure from Cash Money, claiming it was a "business decision". However, Birdman was so upset that he took all Mannie's beats off Weezy's "Carter II," which he promptly sold to other artists. Nonetheless, this move allowed Mannie to get back on good terms with the artists who had previously left Cash Money (most notably Juvenile and B.G.). Soon afterwards, Mannie patched things up with the CMB camp, signed to Def Jam, and took a hiatus after his sister's murder. However, he recently announced his comeback, with sophomore effort Return of the Ballin seeing an independent release. Though the days might be past when Mannie Fresh was an industry heavyweight, he'll always have a place in the ears of every die-hard fan of Southern rap tunes.