I'm a Hustla

by Cassidy

Overview

A pair of plush, ladies' man pop-rap singles made Split Personality a gold-selling success for young Cassidy. For a lot of the fellas, these songs turned an MC known for his punch lines into a punch line, the street cred suddenly more Skee-Lo than C-BO. How to change this perception? Introduce your follow-up album with a lead single titled "I'm a Hustla," replete with a Jay-Z-sampling rally call -- just like another Swizz Beatz concoction, T.I.'s "Bring 'Em Out." Another way to make people forget about your pretty-boy looks and soft songs? Catch a murder rap. Less than two weeks before I'm a Hustla's release, that's exactly what Cassidy did. Whether or not he's guilty or even happened to time the act just right, it gives his second album some extra attention. It's certainly harder overall than Split Personality; the seductive tracks are fewer in number and not nearly as melodic (R. Kelly does not return, likely wrapped up crafting Pied Piper Radio Hour). There's even a message track -- titled, naturally, "The Message" -- that makes as much sense on a Cassidy album as a hip-house throwback. Despite the concerted attempt to come off differently, I'm a Hustla isn't much more effective than Split Personality. It does start off excitingly enough, in the form of "The Problem vs. the Hustla," in which the MC conducts a battle rap between two sides of his personality, perhaps inspired by T.I.'s "T.I. vs. T.I.P." The Hustla wins, unsurprisingly, with "You should switch flows, nigga, your sh*t gold/When I drop, I'm a sh*t more than your sh*t sold." The Problem takes the advice, but it doesn't get him very far, even with guest spots from Nas, Lil Wayne, Raekwon, Mario, and Mary J. Blige. [A clean version of I'm a Hustla was also made available.] ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	06/28/2005
Label:	J Records / Full Surface/J-Records
UPC:	0828766870725
Rank:	121328

Tracks

1. The Problem vs. The Hustla
2. I'm a Hustla
3. On the Grind
4. Crack
5. B-Boy Stance
6. A.M. to P.M.
7. Can't Fade Me
8. Kick It Wit You
9. C-Bonics
10. Bellybutton
11. Get 'Em
12. So Long
13. 6 Minutes
14. The Message
15. I'm a Hustla

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Cassidy   Primary Artist,Rap
Raekwon   Primary Artist,Rap,Featured Artist
Fabolous   Primary Artist,Rap,Featured Artist
Quan   Primary Artist,Rap,Featured Artist
Swizz Beatz   Primary Artist,Rap,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Mario   Primary Artist,Rap,Featured Artist
Mary J. Blige   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Lil Wayne   Primary Artist,Rap,Featured Artist
Mashonda   Primary Artist,Rap,Featured Artist
Nas   Primary Artist,Rap,Featured Artist
DJ OnPoint   Voices

Technical Credits

L.E.S.   Audio Production,Producer
Hot Runner   Audio Production
Neo DaMatrix   Audio Production,Producer
Drop   Audio Production
Swizz Beatz   Audio Production,Producer,Executive Producer
Kirk Lewis   Assistant
Malcolm Grand   Producer
DJ OnPoint   Cut
Rampage   Producer
Brian Holland   Composer
DJ Scratch   Producer
Timothy Mosley   Composer
Manny Marroquin   Mixing
Dwayne Carter   Composer
Beloyd Taylor   Composer
Oscar Brown, Jr.   Composer
Bram Tobey   Assistant
Mary J. Blige   Composer
Nasir Jones   Composer
Angel Aponte   Assistant
Syl Johnson   Composer
Eddie Holland   Composer
Vince DiCola   Composer
Rich Keller   Mixing
Peter Cor   Composer
Chris Theis   Mixing,Engineer
Patrick Dillett   Engineer
Shaffer Smith   Composer
Chris Hanlon   Composer
Gerry Hludzik   Composer
Jonathan Mannion   Photography
Shawn Carter   Composer
Melvin Miller   Composer
Chris LeBeau   Artwork
Antonio Serna   Logo,Design
L.F. Daze   Producer
Brian Lodato   Assistant
Bill Kelly   Composer
Alli   Art Direction
Shatek King   Composer
Carl Siracuse   Composer
Terrence Pender   Engineer
LeShan Lewis   Composer
George Spivey   Composer
Kamel Abdo   Engineer
Shatek   Producer
Nerve   Producer