Baby Drew "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle" ep (Milwaukee,Wi)

Intro: Baby Drew has dropped many projects as a solo artist and a member of the Country Boy Clique over the years in the rap game. Hailing from the Milwaukee,WI this is one of his earlier projects from 1998 before Country Boy Clique was formed. This ep features appearances from Verse, Gina Lee,Pimp C, Troubled Souls(Troubled Son,Spoiled Rotten,Napon Kaboom) and K-Money. The production is handled by Chris Rosser & Conrad Rosser for bread & water productions.

Interlude: "Tightrope" is the first song up and kicks the ep off perfectly. The production is a mellow mid tempo beat with some aggressive hi hats and jazzy guitar riffs. Baby Drew drop some real proficient flows on this song and adds a solid midwest and down south vibe as well. The chorus display some soothing background vocals by Robin Reese tops off the song in great fashion.Too bad this song didn't have more verses to it because I was really feeling the vibe it was bringing. After the quick interlude "Calling Porter T" up next is "Fort Knox in Panties f/Verse & Gina Lee". The production is very fast paced with some thunderous chimes and heart pumping sound effects.The verses by Verse, Gina Lee and Baby Drew come off very tight but Baby Drew's flows were the best on this track. The chorus is handled by Baby Drew and he does a great job in pushing the song along. Overall it's a hard hitting song that's a must play. "I sold d%p%" is solid but not a mind blowing song overall. The production has more of a texas influence that was inspired by UGK, its simple but effective. A beat that gives off riding clean in a chevy or any old school car and just balling type of feel. The flows are adequate and Baby Drew rides the beat well along with a well performed chorus also. "20 inches & 4 nickels f/Pimp C Of UGK" is a song that has grown on me and has made me change my feelings about this song. The production features some trunk banging bass reminiscent of UGK production and showcases a "smoke & ride" vibe. The quality of the verses by Baby Drew & Pimp C are at a high level and show true professionalism. The chorus is nothing spectacular but a not weak link of the song by any means. Good shit to turn up loud and bump. "Too Much of A Thug f/Troubled Souls" is easily my favorite song on this whole ep. The production is so laid back and smooth that it's pleasurable to the ear. The beat is flat out perfect for night time riding and smoking. Troubled Souls performance is super tight and it's sad to know their "Troubled Shit" album is pretty much unfound able. The chorus features some super slick vocals from Gina Lee that gives this song a slight "space age" feel. I bump this song multiple times. The skit "Sumthin Awful f/k-money" follows then the last track "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle f/Gina Lee". The production has a booming spaced-out feel at mid tempo pace with atmospheric and spacey sound effects. Baby Drew and Gina Lee come tight with the flows and makes me wonder what happen to Gina Lee because I never seen her on any other CBC shit. Gina Lee also does some harmonizing for the chorus also. Overall this song was great way to end the song.

Outro:The production by Chris Rosser & Conrad Rosser was on point and precise while providing a mixture of midwest and down south influences within their beats. Baby Drew style and flows is somewhat a hybrid mix of influences from texas and milwaukee also. For some reason I never hear attention paid to this release.It seems like it's been overshadowed by the group albums he has done with Derrick Note or his other more current solo releases. I believe this is a extremely local release and may be hard to find at this moment in time. Nevertheless this would be welcomed addition to any midwest rap collection in my book.

Rated:4 out of 5