One of the West Coast Bay Area's most prominent rap collectives,
Get Low Playaz (
GLP) move deeper into gangsta territory on
The Family Business than they had on preceding albums. Originally an underground rap group known more for their mic skills than for their machismo posing, it seems that they seem to be modeling themselves more after
Master P's No Limit army than the wholeheartedness of fellow West Coast underground rappers such as
Dilated Peoples or
Jurassic Five. Though
JT the Bigga Figga and
San Quinn function well as gangsta rappers, particularly with the accompanying bass-heavy funk productions, it seems that they lose a bit of their esoteric personality by taking the approach drifting dangerously towards generic status. Furthermore, as they rap about money and power they tread on highly clichéd subject matter, possibly alienating themselves from their audience. In the end, sure, they serve well as gangsta rappers, but it's sad to see such a talented collective arguably compromise their initial values for commercial viability on their best produced album yet. ~ Jason Birchmeier