The last time we checked in with Mic Geronimo here at TimeIsIllmatic was back in November of 1995 with the release of his debut album, The Natural. I was excited to finally review the album, thanks largely to his majestical single, “Masta I.C.” But my excitement quickly turned to disappointment as the album fell short of my high expectations. I must not have been alone in my assessment of the project, as its sales numbers also reflected my sentiment. Regardless, his label, TVT, would give him one more chance to redeem himself. He would release his sophomore effort, Vendetta, in November of 1997.

Vendetta would feature production from Pete Rock, Buckwild, Puffy and his Hitmen, Irv Gotti (RIP), Havoc, K-Def, and a few others. It would also include cameos from some pretty prominent names we’ll discuss a little later. But even with all of its star-studded support, Vendetta wouldn’t gain much commercial traction and received average reviews from the critics, including a 3.5 Mic Rating from The Source.

This is my first go-round with Vendetta. Hopefully, it’s a better listen than The Natural. The half-reality, half-animation album cover artwork looks pretty dope, so things are off to a good start.

Nothin’ Move But The Money – Without any familiarity with this album, the moment I heard Puffy’s ad-libs and the shiny-suit instrumental (credited to Diddy and one of the Bad Boy Hitmen, Prestige Vanderpool), I knew this was the album’s lead single, which was later confirmed with a little Googling. Mic Geronimo sounds like he’s auditioning to join Bad Boy with his flossy, slightly designer bars that don’t sound authentic at all rolling off of his tongue. To add insult to injury, Kelly Price (who always sounds great and apparently was Bad Boy’s go-to for harmony hooks at the time) sings a struggle chorus that kind of contradicts our host’s rhymes.

Vendetta – The title track finds Mic playing peeved, pissed off, and vengeful, as he issues violent threats to his adversaries. Unfortunately, he doesn’t sound the least bit convincing, but the darkly tense piano chords that the instrumental is built around (courtesy of The Legendary Traxster) sound incredible.

Survival – Havoc (from Mobb Deep) creates a gravely gully instrumental that our host uses to declare that he’ll never settle for just surviving, despite the song title. Once again, Mic’s rhymes ring hollow, wasting yet another really dope musical bed. I wish Havoc had sprinkled those amazing harp chords that come in at the end of the song throughout the rest of the track.

Life N Lessons – Mic plays the role of a common street thug having a conversation with God over the trife life he led. Unfortunately, the conversation is taking place after he was shot and murdered. The concept was cool, and Mic’s execution of it was decent. Irv Gotti’s backing music was solid, but something more dramatic or cinematic-sounding would have given his bars and storyline more life.

For Tha Family – Our host uses this one to pledge his allegiance and loyalty to his crew. Mic’s shoutout of Marley Marl during the track’s opening ad-libs led me to believe he produced it, but the liner notes credit the backdrop to Marley’s protege, K-Def. I love the clouded melody in the instrumental. The sample, along with the cowbell, sounds like something Premo would use.

Street Life – Mic does some self-reflecting, as he searches for answers to why he continues to play in the dangerous streets, knowing the potential consequences of his actions: “The evidence of circumstance, but still this black-hearted lifestyle I romance.” Monifah lends her vocals to the hook (a reinterpretation of the chorus from The Crusaders’ “Street Life” record), endorsing her host’s risky lifestyle. Chris Large flips an Atlantic Starr loop to create a sleek, sophisticated backdrop that clashes with Mic’s content, but it’s still tantalizing to the ear.

Be Like Mic – The song title and hook are a play off of Michael Jordan’s catchy Gatorade commercial jingle and part of the hook of R. Kelly’s mega hit, “I Believe I Can Fly” from the Space Jam Soundtrack, a movie that MJ also starred in. This track is the flossiest Mr. Geronimo has sounded on Vendetta so far, as he paints himself as a successful rapper living a life of luxury that other rappers wish they had. Though the hook is catchy, I’m not buying what Mic’s selling. Chris “Ju Ju” Whitney and P & Time’s clean, layered instrumentation translates to a tough groove that a more talented emcee would have devoured.

Unstoppable – Pete Rock was on absolute fire in ‘97. He had just laced Rakim with heat for The 18th Letter, including the brilliant “The Saga Begins,” and he comes right back to bless Mic Geronimo with this grumpy banger. PR’s music must have lit a fire in Mic as he sounds hungrier than he has on the previous cuts on the album. Or maybe the music is so fire it makes Mic sound better. Either way, this was tough.

Single Life – Irv Gotti jacks Cameo’s record of the same name, and Mic uses two verses to boast about his life as a manwhore. His buddy, Jay-Z, drops by, adding a lighthearted third verse with a heaping helping of infidelity and womanizing, and Carl Thomas gets his Larry Blackmon on during the hook, bridge, and ad-libs. It’s a super uncreative and forgettable record, but at least Mic can tell his grandchildren that Jay-Z made cameo appearances on his first two albums.

Things Ain’t What They Used To Be – Mic channels Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” (musically and lyrically) as he lists the societal ills in the hood and dwells on how bad things have gotten in these perilous times (“Crack babies retardedly born” sounds crazy, no pun). The Marvin vocal loop on the hook sounds sloppy due to the background music in the loop clashing with the rest of the music in the track. Still, the somber Prince Kasan/Royal Flush-produced instrumental was decent, and Mic’s effort on the mic was commendable.

How You Been? – The opening chords and Mic saying “Came to talk to you for a minute” had me thinking our host was about to get in his smooth Casanova bag and spit a love rap over the instrumental to Jodeci’s “Come & Talk To Me.” The music eventually transitions into a laidback, jazzy groove (conducted by Buckwild) that Mic uses to speak to the spirit of his deceased mother. Like contestants singing gospel songs on Amateur Night At The Apollo, you can’t say anything negative about a mama dedication record. And thank you, Mic, for putting a question mark at the end of the song title.

Usual Suspects – Mic Geronimo concludes Vendetta with a “soon-to-be crew of all-stars” cipher session: DMX (RIP), Ja Rule, Jadakiss, Styles P, and Tragedy Khadafi (aka Intelligent Hoodlum) join Mic on this thugged-out affair. I’ve never been a huge fan of DMX or Ja’s music, and their verses on this track didn’t move the needle. Jada and Styles’ back-and-forth was cool, and Tragedy and Mic’s verses were passable, but none of the six rappers spat anything memorable. Even Prestige Vanderpool’s pseudo-gutter backing music was average at best.

According to Merriam-Webster, a vendetta is a blood feud; an often prolonged series of retaliatory, vengeful, or hostile acts or exchange of such acts. I’m not sure if Mic Geronimo’s Vendetta was aimed at a certain rapper, record label, critics, or fans. But whoever the target was, I’m certain he didn’t get the vengeance he was seeking with this album.

Some of the same issues I had with Mic’s performance on The Natural persist on Vendetta. Technically, Mic’s a decent rapper. He sounds competent on the mic, rhyming with efficient verbiage and a touch of the same Queens swagger some of his fellow borough mates had. Yet, unlike Nas or Prodigy, his rhymes rarely translate to fire bars. His delivery almost feels mechanical, rendering his rhymes spiritless and soulless, causing me to lose focus and drift off, thinking about the body wash I need to pick up on my next Walmart run. On the bright side, the production on Vendetta is much more consistent than his rookie campaign. The album’s handful of producers lace Mic with large amounts of heat, but not enough heat to make his rhymes reach a temperature beyond lukewarm.

On “Survival,” Mic raps, “My fascination with this art of words, turned to art of war, put a little more into it, try to blow for sure.” I interpret that bar as Mic acknowledging that his passion (fascination) for rap changed from just being a passion to an obsessive battle (war) to become successful in the rap game. Earlier on the same song, he raps about “seeing the fire inside of his eyes,” which is where I believe the problem lies. On Vendetta, you never hear that fire in Mic. Maybe that fire was smothered by his obsession with success, and time has shown us how that battle fared for our friend.

-Deedub
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