ARTIST: Suga Free
TITLE: Just Add Water
LABEL: Laneway/Bungalo
GENRE: Rap
BITRATE: 187kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 1h 17min total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-05-09
RIP DATE: 2006-05-03
Track List
----------
01. Intro (Feat. Katt Williams) 1:27
02. What U Want (Feat. Strange) 3:53
03. Tune The Fuck In 0:04
04. Like What 4:17
05. Put Ya Hands Up 3:47
06. U Know My Name 3:55
07. Free - Call Snoop 0:39
08. So Fly (Feat. Snoop Dogg & 4:17
Katt Williams)
09. The Ranger 3:31
10. New And Improved 0:10
11. Peace Of Mind (Feat. Debra 3:32
Edwards, Cody Elles)
12. U Ain't Knowin (Feat. 3:42
Knoc-turn'al)
13. Suga Cain (Feat. Kokane) 4:33
14. Fox Is Comin' 0:07
15. If You Feel Me (DAIS West 3:33
Coast Mix Feat. Asami)
16. How I Get Down 3:42
17. I'm Gone (Feat. _Dead) 3:53
18. Person 2 Person (Feat. 3:53
Blaqthoven And Klu Dogg)
19. Don't Worry 3:45
20. Short Khop Interlude 1:26
21. Where U From 3:44
22. Happy (Feat. Marlon) 4:16
23. Change 3:24
24. Boyfriend (Pimpin) (Feat. 3:55
Blaqthoven)
25. So Fly - Remix (Feat. Snoop 4:25
Dogg, Mannie Fresh & Katt
Williams)
Release Notes:
In order to be considered a supreme rapper, youÆve got to have a slick mouthpiece. And
no one in the rap game has a mouthpiece slicker than Suga Free. Respected in the
streets and by artists alike, Suga Free has appeared on albums from Snoop Dogg and
B-Legit, among many others.
After making hits with long-time recording partner DJ Quik, the Pomona-based rapper
strikes out on his own with his tremendous third album, Just Add Water. Full of
razor-sharp wit, lyrical pimpery and musically advanced production, the stunning
collection sums up Suga FreeÆs perspective on life.
"Whatever the problem might be, kick back for a minute and analyze it instead of going
off at the moment or reacting heavily," Suga Free explains. "Just add a little water
and make it easy for you to deal with."
Suga FreeÆs addictive music is especially easy to deal with. Already exploding at
radio throughout the West Coast, lively street single "You Know My Name" details his
affinity for pimping and displays his next-level lyricism. "I wanted to put that one
out there just to let them know that I was coming," Suga Free says. "IÆm on my way.
The timing is always good for a brother spitting some game across the microphone
because we live in a land of gangster rappers."
Nonetheless, music icon and preeminent gangster rapper Snoop Dogg teams with Suga Free
on the silky smooth "So Fly," an ode to both of their stylish ways. Suga Free then
freaks his signature brand of pimpnosis over a wicked, Middle Eastern-inspired beat on
the intense "Like What" and explains the ins-and-outs of pimping on the sonically
laid-back "Now That IÆm Gone."
Each of these songs, like the rest of Just Add Water, are loaded with Suga FreeÆs
unparalleled humor. "IÆm a jokester," he explains. "I like comedians. IÆm a huge
Richard Pryor fan and for a long time, I didnÆt realize how funny my stuff was when it
came out."
But as funny as Suga Free can be, he also can be serious as a heart attack. He flexes
his artistic reach by rapping in his normal and in a falsetto style on the elegant,
guitar-driven "Lone Ranger." After hearing the beat and while conceiving the song,
Suga Free let his guard down, not allowing anything to bother him for an entire week.
He dug deep into his emotional core, resulting in one of the most powerful, lasting
songs of his career.
"I canÆt stand being lonely," he explains. "I do not like being by myself. I donÆt
like being home alone or being anywhere by myself. But then, other times I donÆt
want people around me and IÆll go be by myself. I donÆt think anyone likes to be too
lonely. Pimps are some of the loneliest cats on the planet. I was kind of leaning on
that with æLone Ranger.Æ"
Then, Suga Free approaches the opposite end of the lyrical spectrum by addressing
domestic strife on "Why Are You Talking." "I was dealing with personal stuff," Suga
Free says. "æWhat are you talking upset because youÆre closing the cabinets too hard
in the house. Baby, are you all right? Are you cool? You canÆt tell me whatÆs really
going on? Is your moms OK? We can step to the side. The kids donÆt have to hear us
discussing like this. Lower the tone in your voice. IÆll respond better if you take
some of the bass out your voice.Æ ItÆs the typical stuff a cat goes through at the
pad."
In addition to Suga FreeÆs incredible lyrical display, Just Add Water shines like
the Milky Way because of the top-notch music supplied by a host of up-and-coming
producers. Freeze, Tony Ruffin and Big Saccs are among the promising new beatsmiths
who breath sonic breath into the album.
After falling out with DJ Quik, Suga Free began seeking out new talent to provide
production for Just Add Water. "I just listened to people," he says. "It was as
easy as, æHow are you doing, brother? This is your shit? Thank you.Æ It was a simple
as that. I want to help get some other cats famous and boost them up in the game a
little bit. I want to give other cats a shot."
Growing up in Oakland and Compton before settling in Pomona, Suga Free got his
introduction to music through his father. Rock acts Steely Dan and the Rolling
Stones were among some of his early musical influences, but rap eventually became
his passion. At 15, Suga Free was already catching wreck on the microphone with his
friends. A few years later, he caught the ear of one of DJ QuikÆs partners.
"I rap because I can," Suga Free says now. "When Black Tone and them found me, they
heard me rapping on a tape. They asked me if I wanted to make records. I said, æWhy
not?Æ And here I am."
Suga Free released his debut album, the acclaimed Street Gospel, in 1997. But
because of a stint behind bars and some behind-the-scenes situations, Suga FreeÆs
second album, New Testament, did not arrive until 2004.
Fortunately for rap fans, Suga Free is now focused on his rap career. "I just wasnÆt
together like I am now," he says. "There was a lot going on -- accepting this
business, accepting this life, how it affected the pimp game and how the pimp game
affected the music business."
HeÆs going as far as building a music studio for himself in Big Bear, California,
taking advantage of his natural beatmaking abilities. "I figured that if I could
make beats on the walls or on a jailhouse block, I could do it on an MPC," he says.
"WeÆre finna get in there and get real musical. IÆve latched on to this."
"IÆm happy to be in control of my situation this time," he adds. "These are my
brains, my ideas, my thoughts and it was my way. IÆm like the Johnny æGuitarÆ
Watson of rap music. Straight pimp."