Doe or Die: 15 Years Later

1994 was a hard year to follow up in the hip-hop world. Consider that albums such as Illmatic, Ready to Die, Southernplayalisticadillacmusik, Do You Want More?!!!??!?, Hard to Earn, The Main Ingredient, and Resurrection were all released in '94, many argue that it may have been the greatest year ever in hip-hop. 1995 didn't disappoint though, producing some of hip-hop's best albums to date. There was 2Pac's Me Against the World, GZA's Liquid Swords, Raekwon's Only Built for Cuban Linx, and Mobb Deep's The Infamous. One album that I consistently see being overlooked from '95 however, is AZ's Doe or Die.

For those who don't know about AZ (which I believe is about 80% of most casual hip-hop listeners today), he is the Brooklyn MC who appeared on Nas's classic "Life's a Bitch" on Illmatic. AZ, real name Anthony Cruz, was the only guest to appear on Illmatic and actually spit a verse, which in retrospect is a huge accomplishment. After Illmatic dropped in '94 to universal acclaim, Cruz gained attention from the hip-hop industry, and was soon signed to EMI Records. Although AZ had only dropped one verse to get signed, it was clear that the man had incredible talent lyrically. With having Nas as his main partner for collaborations, and producers such as Pete Rock, L.E.S., and Buckwild, Cruz had the tools to create a landmark debut. So without further ado, here's my review of AZ's Doe or Die, 15 years later.

Doe or Die
Release Date: October 10th, 1995
Label: EMI

1. Intro ft. Nas
Not anything spectacular to kick off an album that only clocks in at just over 45 minutes. Nas's debut album was even shorter, but he still had a similar intro to the one heard here. Is AZ taking a page out of Nas's book?

2. Uncut Raw
Look at the title. Yep, this song is pretty damn raw. Cruz describes how life is a struggle on the streets with lines like "poverty-stricken, they even turn a church kid into stickin," and, "violations will lead to kidnappin, decapitation. So what you're facin, is realism that's in activation." AZ is terrific lyrically in this first track, but I'm not as impressed with the beat for this. He enlists producer Loose, who does an average job. In any other track, I'd probably say this simple beat actually hurts the song, but because AZ's goal is to literally be "uncut and raw", it passes.

3. Gimme Your's ft. Nas
I was reading recently on another blog I follow, (Hip Hop Isn't Dead, which I highly recommend you start following IMMEDIATELY), and it said that this was one of the weakest songs on Doe or Die. I, however, couldn't disagree more. AZ's raps are good, and maybe having Nas sing the chorus wasn't the greatest idea. But because of Pete Rock's outstanding beat, which is a slower, melodic beat with harps in the background, this song is simply awesome. It's got one of the catchiest choruses I've heard, "Give me, just give me, give me what you can't get back. Give me, why don't you give me the world? Give me what you can't get back, for the five boroughs," and it complements AZ's delivery perfectly. Why can't rappers today give us more songs like this?

4. Ho Happy Jackie
AZ has some serious momentum at this point. His album also is extremely similar to Illmatic by the fourth track. If you don't believe me, give Illmatic a spin through the first four tracks, then listen to these four right after. The beat here, much like the previous song, is very melodic and I give producer Buckwild a lot of credit. His sample of "Little Children" by Kool & the Gang is a good one. Since this song is about a girl Cruz knew who was, well, easy (hence the title "Ho Happy Jackie"), the beat works really, really well.

5. Rather Unique
Pete Rock has to have an IQ on genius level, seriously. If AZ had Rock just produce the whole thing, it may be even better than it already is. Oh yeah, the lyrics here are terrific too. Just listen to the 3rd verse, "puffin trees to get me as high as a trapeze".

6. I Feel for You
Well, I finally see a major difference between Doe or Die and Illmatic. AZ makes a misstep on this track, something that Nas avoided doing in his debut. The lyrics are pretty average and the beat actually distracts you from AZ himself. This one shouldn't have made the cut.

7. Sugar Hill
Perhaps AZ's biggest hit to date, "Sugar Hill" provided me with a sigh of relief. Just when I was getting worried that the album would start to enter freefall, L.E.S. saves it. The beat is stellar and I love the laid back feel to it. I almost wish I just had the instrumental for this track, because it's that good. AZ talks about his dreams, living the life of riches, and "wearing the finest fabrics tailors made." Although this is a departure from the harder, street oriented songs on Doe or Die, it is a good one. The chorus isn't bad either. AZ can thank this track for helping this album debut at #15 on the Billboard 200.

8. Mo Money, Mo Murder, Mo Homicide ft. Nas
Some people consider this a classic. I'm not one of them. AZ slows down his rhymes, which is actually a nice change of pace since you can really hear everything he's saying. The appearance of Nas is also a great one, but the production is flat. The song could have gone without the weak hook AZ gives as well. The last minute and a half switches beats to a much more underground feel and AZ does a good job on his verse. If only this were the beat for the majority of the song. . .

9. Doe or Die
If AZ would've came up with a better chorus, I'd say this was the best track on the whole album. Still, even with the forgettable chorus, this is a pretty damn good song. N.O. Joe gives a more up-tempo beat for AZ to work with, and, well, AZ kills it. He raps in the first verse: "That's why there's no guilt for these trife niggas blood I spilt, took what they built, flippin their drug game on tilt cause in New York, dealin drugs is a sport you either sell, smoke it shoot up or snort anyway your caught and since I'm in it, now I'm in it to win it skies sets the limit ain't no being some motherfucker's lieutenant shit, from this point that's how I feel, I wanna fly yeah, its either doe or die." Wow.

10. We Can't Win
This was another song AZ could have, and should have, left out. The hook is almost annoying, "We can't get out and we can't get in", and the beat isn't spectacular either. His lyrics are still good, but he's got a few questionable lines in this, such as the claim "Guiliani's part of the Illuminati".

11. Your World Don't Stop
Great beat, good lyrics, awful, awful hook. It destroys everything this song had going for it and it's painful to hear over, and over again. My world won't stop to listen to this one.

12. Sugar Hill Remix
A nice way to end the album. I still liked the original "Sugar Hill" beat better, but I think AZ is actually better on the mic here than the original one. I also liked the chorus better on this one and it flows pretty well. It won't leave you with your jaw dropped like "It Ain't Hard to Tell" on Illmatic did, but it won't make you think anything worse of the album.

Closing Statement: After I listened to Doe or Die, I realized that it still shouldn't be ranked in the top five of '95. It shouldn't be compared to Illmatic either, which is obvious that's what AZ was trying to do, make his own Illmatic. There are flaws, but there are much more successes. "Sugar Hill" should be reason enough just to give this album a listen. I also believe that Pete Rock produced two of his best beats ever for this album in "Gimme Yours" and "Rather Unique". AZ also conveys some strong messages about making it from the streets and, for the most part, is very focused. Doe or Die is easily Cruz's best work to date and it still should go down as one of the best hip-hop albums from the 90's. It may not be in the pantheon of greatest hip-hop albums of all time due to it's few weaker tracks, but it's a damn good album regardless.

The Verdict: If you don't have this album, go out and get it, like now. You may not be able to listen to it the whole way through, but its got enough tracks to keep in your rotation for a long, long time.