Steve 'Flash' JuonThe Iconz, along with fellow labelmates Trina and Trick Daddy, represent a Miami brand of Southern hip-hop that differs from anything you’d find in Texas, Georgia, or Louisiana. The sound is bass oriented with extra HOPS – designed to get you up and dance.
The Iconz song “Get Fucked Up” and the remix featuring Lil’ Kim exemplify the Iconz sound in both respect. The song is bass heavy and fast-paced, and the rhymes are (with no offense intended to the rappers) completely forgettable. The chorus could have just as easily been “Get Stoned Now” or “Act Stupid Fool” and would still have been a top ten hit. Like Three 6 Mafia’s “Tear Da Club Up” before it, the appeal lies in the bounce of the beat and the rowdy “party with no consequences” attitude tied in.
The album continues to be rowdy, machismo, and testosterone fueled throughout. The Iconz call out people to “throw yo’ set up, come get wet up” on “Pussy Nigga” and denigrate women who flaunt their sexuality on “You’re a Trick.” If you’re trying to take the lyrics seriously please – don’t waste your time. Focus on the music. The former cut has a wakaa-chucka-waka-chucka beat fans of the “Shaft” theme would appreciate, while the latter makes good use of steel drums for a Caribbean influence.
The topic matter never really gets any deeper than sexual methodology on “Doggie Style” and celebrating manhood and gunplay on “Where My Thugz.” Whereas labelmate Trick Daddy earns praises for striking a delicate (but not contrived) balance between hardcore thug-isms and social conciousness, the Iconz have no pretensions of being positive or even trying to persuade people that they are – so there’s nothing wrong with their lyrics or music unless you EXPECTED something redeeming. Mistaking the Iconz for a positive influence on young people would be like mistaking Too $hort for Chuck D – and almost anybody over the age of twelve is not that naive.
With a degree of songs that are basically musically sound for listening and riding to like “Representin’ Da South” and “Let’s Roll” (another track with steel drums) the album will definitely continue to make an impact, especially with Slip-N-Slide’s newfound national presence thanks to the success of Trick Daddy and Trina’s albums. For this reviewer the topic matter tends to be generic though and mostly a retread of already well covered hip-hop themes, but none of the Iconz rappers are off tempo, out of breath, or obnoxiously stupid. By not being an embarassment to their labelmates and coming with some decent music, the Iconz may achieve some limited national fame even if they don’t quite have the talent to be hailed as “icons” of hip-hop – those titles are reserved for KRS-One and Rakim whether these upstarts like it or not.