What's Hot

CASSIDY
B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story
Full Surface/J/Ruff Ryders, 2007
4.0/10, Sub-Par [scale]

B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story

Contributed by Andrew Kahn on 12/16/07

If there’s one song that explains what’s wrong with Cassidy’s approach to making albums, it’s “All By Myself,” the final cut on his latest record, B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story. As a simple piano loop and sample plays, Cassidy explains how he produced the track himself. With no help. At all. Cass adds a basic drum pattern to a beat already used by Akon, and by the 1:20 mark – when he still hasn’t started rapping – his boasts become almost comical. It’s not that the song itself is that bad, but it’s not nearly as good as Cassidy thinks it is.

The Philly rapper was once a hot, young artist; a sharp lyricist known for supreme battling skills (recall the epic battle with Freeway). That was back in 2000. He had built an impressive buzz but by the time his debut album finally came out, in 2004, some of that had died down. Still, Split Personality reached #2 on the Billboard charts thanks to the smash-hit R Kelly collaboration, “Hotel.” As a whole though, the album failed to meet expectations. The “split personality” concept, which Cass has experimented with in some form on all of his albums, failed to captivate listeners who yearned for the rapper’s clever punchlines.

B.A.R.S. is different from his previous two albums in that Cassidy now has something to rhyme about other than guns, hustling and his talent as a rapper. That’s not to say he doesn’t rap about these things on B.A.R.S. He does, and does often (check out “Where My Niggaz At,” “I Get My Paper”). But after spending eight months behind bars (does the album title make more sense now?) while on trial and eventually convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and miraculously surviving a horrific motor vehicle crash only seven months after his release, Cassidy displays a newfound appreciation for his freedom and his life.

This appreciation stems from Cassidy’s relationship with God, which is made very visible on B.A.R.S. Song titles such as “Done 4 Me” and “Leanin’ on the Lord” reflect Cassidy’s reliance on God during his troubling times. “They locked him up, no bail, and charged him with murder/ But now he got his freedom restored, and he livin’ his dream/ That’s why he leanin’ on the side of the Lord,” he raps on the latter.

On one hand, it’s refreshing to see Cass venture away from his punchlines to rap about more meaningful topics, even if he still delivers the rhymes in his predictable pattern. But on the other, those punchlines and cocky persona are what make Cassidy’s singles worthwhile. Swizz Beatz provides the hook and beat for “My Drink N My 2 Step,” a super-catchy club jam with squeaky horns and incessant hand claps. Swizzy also appears on “I Get My Paper,” a slower, Nottz-produced groove that allows Cass to sound extra arrogant. And that’s when he’s at his best.

Given all Cassidy has gone through the last couple years, this album could’ve been an insightful, interesting, beautifully-constructed self-reflection. But B.A.R.S. only proves that he can’t deliver much more than a party hit or two and some decent punchlines, at best, and judging by his continued release of mediocre albums, he’s probably content with that. The time has run out for Cassidy to realize all that potential he was loaded with at the start of the millennium.