Y’all forgot about the Don Chi Chi? Nah, that wouldn’t happen, would it? Making sure that everybody is getting the production credits right, rapper slash producer slash fly guy Jermaine Dupri periodically welcomes us with his nasal “So So Def” introduction monologue and not seldom appears himself in the videos, iced out like a polar bear. And counting billboard smashes like Chanté Moore’s “Straight Up”, Lil’ Bow Wow’s “Bow Wow (That’s My Name)” or Jagged Edge’s “Where The Party At (Remix)” to his 2001 credits, we realize that we’ve seen this tooth gap quite a few times this year.
But now it’s his time to shine. After an absence of over three years (“Life In 1472”, 1998), JD reappears on the main mic with his sophomore effort “Instructions”, letting the world know how the game has to be run. Soon we find out that he damn well knows how to run the production game, but when it comes to his lyrical skills, he should leave the instructing to other cats. And he does. There’s not a single solo track on “Instructions”, but rather an all-star line-up of So So and other Def artists, reaching from Da Brat to Ludacris. Latter opens the album with the infamous anthem-like “Welcome To Atlanta”, a heavy-bouncing, piano-laden track that is certainly heating up clubs not only in the ATL. On “Money, Hoes & Power” (feat. UGK, Pimpin’ Ken & Manuel Seal), JD holds it down for the south, while “Get Some” is much more west-coast-influenced, even though featured artists Usher, Boo & Gotti and R.O.C. wouldn’t necessarily lead to this assumption. Unfortunately, “Get Some” is a really short track, and my inner eye cries when I imagine these asses stop shaking after merely three minutes. Jadakiss breaks down on hatin’ on “Hate Blood”, but the JD beat doesn’t really fit him, better listen to his new solo joint. “Ballin’ Out Of Control”, the first single off “Instructions” is definite satisfaction, no doubt about that, but it raises the question if Nate Dogg’s funkin’ funkin’ will keep selling. I guess we’ll find out soon enough, but on this track, he’s still on point. Bilal brings a little bit of fresh air into the album once it risks getting to monotonous, and souls the heart out of “Supafly”, while “Rules Of The Game” (feat. Manish Man) and “Whatever” ( feat. Nate Dogg, R.O.C., Tigah, Skeeter Rock, Trey Lorenz & Katrina) both deliver very little substance. For all those young cats who “kinda like” that laid-back style, go have a look in the 1995 section of your record shop and listen to the Dove Shack’s “Summertime In The LBC”. They once called this “G-Funk”…
“Let’s Talk About It” (feat. Clipse) brings about a somehow tragic piece of knowledge. The first non-JD-produced track literally boosts the album to another level, proving who’d win the 2001 celebrity deathmatch between JD and the Neptunes. This is kinda hard to admit, especially for an artist that earns his props with beats and guest appearances. Swizz manifests the aforementioned, even though his “Yours & Mine” ( feat. Jagged Edge) is an average track. With “Jazzy Hoe’s Pt.2” (feat. Kurupt, Too Short, Field Mob, Backbone & Eddie Cain), JD brings back the flavour once more, but after an album full of instructions to the game, you’ve either learned it at that stage already or you never have and never will.
“Instructions” contains some nice highlights, but after all it depicts the fact that JD himself needs some instructions to avoid being overrun by the game.