For returning
Cam’ron and
Diplomats fans who don’t mind a little bumpy with their ride,
Gunz n' Butta is the casual collaboration album done right. That’s really saying something, since this collection of mixtape tracks and new numbers was originally promised as the inaugural release of
Killa Cam’s post-
Diplomats crew, the U.N., but last man standing
Vado is a true asset and this final product still hits hard. “Speakin in Tungs” is a strange electro stunner that sounds like
Cam called producer
Diplo to cut an answer track to
Timbaland’s great “Indian Flute,” and when
Dipset’s strangest lyricist opens “They Don’t Like You” with the great “Baby girl, don’t let them bleach your dome/You should be sittin’ in somethin’ peach and chrome,” you’ve got one of the best bedroom numbers in the whole
Dipset universe. Protégé
Vado sounds close in delivery to
Cam’s usual partner,
Jim Jones, and offers a similar thug base, supporting his mentor with rhymes that are less obtuse and more street. Besides a handful of cuts from others, production is handled by the skilled
Araab Muzik, who twists ‘70s horror soundtrack loops and bombastic opera samples into tracks that demand attention. ~ David Jeffries