Based Boys is the debut album by American hip hop group the Pack. It was released on October 30, 2007, through Up All Nite, an imprint of Jive Records. It follows the group's breakout hit "Vans" and debut EP "Skateboards 2 Scrapers", which were released in 2006. A hip hop and hyphy album, "Based Boys" consists of 17 songs, including 4 bonus tracks. It received mixed reviews from critics, who considered it unoriginal and repetitive, however the production by Young L was often praised. Upon the album's release, it was deemed a commercial failure, and the Pack were dropped from their label.
Background and release.
The Pack was formed in Berkeley, California in 2005, and consisted of four rappers: Lil B, Young L, Stunnaman, and Lil Uno. Following the success of their 2006 breakout hit "Vans", the Pack released their debut EP "Skateboards 2 Scrapers" on December 19 of that same year. Leading up to the release of "Based Boys", the group said that it "evolved from 'Vans'". The album was released on October 30, 2007, via rapper Too Short's Jive Records imprint Up All Nite. It was deemed a commercial failure, and the group was dropped from the label.
Composition.
"Based Boys" is a hip hop and hyphy album consisting of 17 tracks, including 4 bonus tracks. Its production was mostly handled by Young L, who was the Pack's main producer. The opening track, "Rumble", was called a fight song by "Billboard"'s Chuck Eddy. He also described the song's beat as "an early Schoolly D-style clang rhythm". The following tracks "I Look Good" and "In My Car" see the Pack rapping about how they and their car look good. On the latter song, the final verse is rapped by Lil Uno, who delivers it without rhyming any lines. The sixth song, "The Milky Way", features production from Mr. Collipark, and has themes of astronomy. The following track "Rock N Roll" was produced by the Replacement Killers, and is the only non-hyphy song on the album. The fifteenth song, "Candy", contains an interpolation of Lesley Gore's 1963 song "It's My Party". The final track is "Vans", which is a song about the American skateboarding shoe brand Vans.
Critical reception.
"Based Boys" received mixed reviews. Critics called it simple and accessible rap, and many felt that the album was repetitive and unoriginal. Young L's production was often praised; "Spin" magazine's Charles Aaron wrote that aside from the production, the group failed to stand out among the Bay Area hyphy scene. Writing for "RapReviews", Pedro Hernandez said he disliked that the Pack mostly stuck to hyphy music, but stated that "they just do their thing and do it well."
References.
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