AZ - Pieces Of A Man (April 7, 1998)

Yeah, I still want to talk about Anthony Cruz.

In 1995, AZ dropped his debut album Doe Or Die off the strength of his appearance as the lone guest verse on Nas' Illmatic, which many hail as the greatest hip hop album of all time, a statement I've repeatedly said to be completely absurd because there is no such thing. Doe Or Die was also hailed as an instant classic that helped usher in the mafioso craze that the East Coast clung to for so long, started by Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., yet another album acclaimed to the heavens. This craze was responsible for quite a few works of art that helped elevate the genre, such as Mobb Deep's Hell On Earth, Nas' It Was Written & Reasonable Doubt by Jay-Z. However, it also spawned quite a few works that had songs that are so garbage they dragged hip hop back down, such as the divisive nature of the late great Biggie's Life After Death, and the eponymous album by The Firm.

The latter was supposed to be Dr. Dre's stamp that legitimized his reign over mainstream rap while also being another landmark in the respective belts of its members Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown & Cormega. And it really seemed like it was heading in that direction after these four participated in Affirmative Action, one of the best posse cuts I've ever heard on Nas' sophomore album. No, really. Also, listen to its remix along with the first version of La Familia and you'll see too that shit was good money regarding the Firm. That is, until Steve Stoute fucked the whole venture up. By kicking Cormega out and replacing him with QB upstart Nature, who just wasn't ready then, The Firm lost their cohesion together. That set a chain of events that led to the resulting album being one of the biggest flops in hip hop history, despite it allegedly selling over one million records in the US. The resulting backlash hit The Firm's new members square in the jaw, and their reputations suffered.

So where does all this leave Mr. Cruz? Well, he still believed that the Trackmasters, responsible for half of the Firm album's production as well as the majority of the 1996 albums of its' members Nas & Foxy, had something to contribute to his musical visions. Which they did by producing an absolute embarrassment of a song called Hey AZ, which had Comby-levels of radio pandering, so of course it was a minor hit. Great news for AZ and co., until the label bafflingly left it off the album. Naturally one would blow a gasket, but not Mr. Cruz. He just went about his BI and enlisted the Trackmasters again, along with producers like LES, Goldfinga and Nashiem Myrick who were famous for bringing a similar aesthetic to Poke & Tone's, as well as one surprise production choice. (Well, not really) Fully armed with the production team he wanted, AZ set out making what is now his favorite body of work. Of course, he doesn't care one bit that it fell just short from earning an RIAA Gold certification for five hundred thousand pressed units, he still claims it as his favorite album.

Does it deserve that title?

NEW LIFE (ALBUM INTRO)
Now this is an intro! Goldfinga gives AZ a properly bleak instrumental sampling one of Hanz Zimmer's many timeless compositions for Tony to wax poetic on, which he does beautifully with an introspection fitting of an album titled Pieces Of A Man. Lyrically, AZ shows on this track that the Firm's colossal failure has not affected his skill level one bit. Nice!

I'M KNOWN
Goldfinga's back at it again with another minimalist gem, which prompts AZ to launch into a thug rap befitting of the beat's grimy quality. This really feels like a successful continuation of the mafioso themes present on Doe Or Die. Nice!

HOW YA LIVIN' (FEATURING NAS)
I friggin' love this song! L.E.S. comes correct with a perfect Trackmasters-esque beat, looping a Glenn Jones 80s classic, that doesn't sacrifice its boom bap-ness. This track furthers the list of quality AZ collaborations with his Firmmate, with both MCs conveying success comfortably without sounding obnoxious. 2 for 2, so far.

TRADING PLACES
L.E.S. cedes his space for the actual Trackmasters, and boy do they ever fuck up. AZ was just trying to continue the tales of success that he had done so nicely on the previous track, only for these two fucks to completely ruin the mood with the tropical-esque bullshit they were so famous for back then. I always had a Trackmasters bias when discussing them because of their work on the song that introduced me to hip hop, Hit 'Em High off the Space Jam OST, but this shit is indefensible.

WHAT'S THE DEAL (FEATURING KENNY GREENE)
We go from low to sinking low wth the one thing I never want to hear on any type of album: the obligatory sex skit. I don't care how fly you think your life is, these skits are simply abhorrent fuckery. Then of course, we cut to a Trackmasters beat, complete with a dope-ass Woods Empire loop, that would've been perfect for the previous track. So yeah, AZ wastes it with his airplay-whoring sex rap. Let me tell you something, Tony: You say you didn't want to put out Sugar Hill because you felt like you sold out? Nah b, these couple of tracks here are where you sold out.

LOVE IS LOVE (FEATURING HALF-A-MIL & NATURE)
Thank the Lord you're back, Goldfinga! We need a beat that can save the album's flatlining momentum ASAP! Why are you focusing on a weed carrier in the intro now? Get back to focusing on AZ, now damnit! Thankfully, Goldfinga snaps out of his stupor and delivers a beat that's somehow even bleaker than the album's intro, even though he samples the same Hanz Zimmer record. AZ brings the weed-carrier from the intro, the late Half-A-Mil, and fellow Firmmate Nature one a posse cut that reflects on their journey from the perilous life of crime and all the changes such an abrupt departure entails. AZ comes correct as per his usual standard, Half-A-Mil doesn't embarrass himself and I must say that Nature shines on tracks like this one. This was a step back in the right direction.

THE PAY BACK
Goldfinga is on a fucking tear on this album: The dude hasn't come with a wack track yet, and this one is his best, by far. Ingeniously speeding up a six-second Sade loop, the result sounds like a menacing Latin acoustic riff that allows Mr. Cruz to paint a harrowing one-verse revenge tale, and the effect the resulting war on him after he succeeds in offing the fucker has on his mentals n’all. I'll say this: AZ is one of the best hook writers in hip hop, even though here he only uses it after he finishes his verse. And he repeats the shit too many times. Still, one of my favorite songs in this dude's discography.

JUST BECAUSE
L.E.S. bows out of this album's proceedings with a party beat that thumps just right utilizing a slowed-down Glow Of Love sample to great effect. I will say, though, that this track among a couple of others are where you see Tony finally compromise his lyrical integrity on this album. And the result is a little sad. I mean, his bookending verses are alright but the second verse is just atrocious. It is what it is.

SOSA
Poke & Tone are back after three tracks of being grounded for their screwups on their last two contributions, and they sheepishly hand in their apology production which utilizes another acoustic riff. No lie, it's one of the best beats they're ever done and AZ relishes in their mastery, delivering a one-verse wonder that recalls the same hunger that produced some of hip hop's best songs ever on his debut. This was awesome.

IT'S A BOY THING (FEATURING NATURE)
What the fuck, PNT?! Here I am in the above paragraph praising what you did on them boards, then you come with this piffle? Firmmate Nature returns, but is relegated to the insignificant hook while AZ wastes some more good lyrics on one of the most generic late-90s-early-00s beats you'll ever hear. Shit sounds like a beat that Jay-Z, DMX & Ja Rule turned down for being too pandering.

PIECES OF A (BLACK) MAN
Trackmasters, you truly mystify me. Why so inconsistent with your productions? You've already achieved the necessary balance to cater to the radio and to the underground on Nas' sophomore, so what happened? The reason why I say this is because here these two goofs give us their best beat, bar none, on the entire album. This shit is right up there with their finest work on It Was Written, and AZ completes the formula with some damn sharp introspection about his come up, a subject he rhymes so well about. This song exemplifies why I think AZ is right up there with the top MCs to ever choke a mic. Another one for the good.

LAST DAYZ (FEATURING MONIFAH)
Smoove? I'm sorry but I can't take that nickname seriously unless you're a comedian. AZ enlists Monifah on background vocalist duties while Smoove loops an R.Kelly sample for AZ to spit about troubles facing him as a then-upcoming black youth who's trying to make a living for himself. Basically, the same subject as the atrocious We Can't Win from his debut, but with proper musical backing and without the pretentious five percenter preaching bookending the damn song. As such, I enjoyed this song a lot. Monifah came correct with her contribution, the lyrics were on point and the beat was pretty enjoyable. So, yeah. Count me a fan of this song.

WHATEVER HAPPENED (THE BIRTH) (FEATURING RZA)
I told you this wasn't really a surprise. My guess is that AZ must've left an impression on the Abbott when they recorded the Doe Or Die remix to the extent that they had to work together again. And these two deliver my favorite song on the entire project as they tag team with a verse each, with RZA unloading a Sunshower-worthy performance, although AZ matches him blow-for-blow wisdom-wise. This shit bangs!

TRIAL OF THE CENTURY (FEATURING FOXY BROWN & PANAMA P.I.)
Time to dip into the storytelling well again, as AZ brings out Nashiem Myrick from Comby's jolly bag of Hitmen. Nash here loops six seconds from a Leo Dan oldie and speeds it up so it's transformed into a beat worthy of a street tale ending with a court drama. Although I enjoyed Panama P.I.'s hook, I think it pales to his work on the title track of Onyx' All We Got Iz Us. And Fox Boogie was totally useless here, with four bars that point towards her being AZ's character's baby moms. Other than that, this was pretty good.

BETCHA DON'T KNOW (FEATURING KEANNA HENSON)
Oh no. Tony Dofat's production is not welcome at all as the final beat on the album. It truly shows, as AZ regresses lyrically in an embarrassing manner. The Najee sample was boring and Keanna Henson was insipid on the hook. It's a damn shame that this album ended on such a whimper.

FINAL THOUGHTS
So obviously AZ still has some problems with cohesion, and this album has some truly shitty songs. But I'm actually surprised to say that AZ may have a point in liking this album more than Doe Or Die. There are at least ten good-to-great songs out of fifteen. That's not a bad hitrate, at all. In fact, I might even go far as to say that this album was more thought-out than his debut. The reason I say this is that this album shares with its predecessor a batch of fucking great songs, a batch of putrid songs and a batch songs in the middle. It's that last group where Pieces Of A Man surpasses Doe Or Die, as the gray-area songs here are flat-out superior to their counterparts on his debut. I must point out, though, that the shitty songs on Doe Or Die are much better than the shitty songs found here, as the crap you're presented with this time is easily ear-rape material. All in all, yeah. This outcome surprised me.

WORTH IT? As weird as it sounds, yes. I think this album deserves to be in your collection. Just stay away from vinyl pressings, because you will skip at least four songs on here.

For more on AZ, get your fill here. You gluttonous bastard, you.