HOODLUM - Southside Story (Album)

From “Korner Store” to “Lord Knows,” Southside Hoodlum has carried over an impressive catalog in his years of recording, with talks of his come up, his losses, his wins, and everything else in between embedded in his music. Still, there’s more to be said, so he reveals more of his story by releasing an album with the significance of being an open book for listeners to unravel the decade-strong tale of Southside Hoodlum. As told by the author himself, Hoodlum doesn’t shy away from expressing deep feelings of tragedy, regret, happiness, and many more emotions in these 19-tracks, some you’ve already heard before and some that are new to you, take away what you will but know this is his story told by him.

Circling the block, spitting crack, Hoodlum begins to surface his tale with the intro record titled “Southside Story,” which he expands in great detail about the night he almost his life. Following the years from the near-death experience, he’s dealt with trauma & loss that came in packs like the product he sold, but instead of quitting while ahead, he found hope near the edge of the tunnel instead of at the end of a barrel. It helped him create a haven to complete his story while putting the Southside on his shoulder with a San Antonio representation to follow whenever he leaves the city. The haunting effects of “Blue Face” production mixed with Hoodlum’s codeine-infused tone is a capitalization of the real-life terrors of street life. It’s known, Hoodlum has a way of expressing artistic imagery with his words; it’s a standout feature of his craft. Nobody wins when the “Family Feuds,” the record was already one of my favorites due to the visual dropping before the project. It still is because Hoodlum is above the clouds with it, combining his rhythm to dope selling to breaking down his lyrics in a prestigious fashion. Hoodlum designs the title of the tracks to tell his story without actually exposing it, it’s an insane concept, but when you listen closely, you sense it. Big Tex Johnny curated the majority of the production on the project with Mars, Trox, Jon Kobe & more to assist him in joints throughout the album. Big Tex Johnny’s impact on the production has strongly influenced the direction of Hoodlum’s pen; it’s precisely on point to make the streets hear his soul and the world hear his heart. It’s like the whole Southside is in attendance once the drums & kicks hit the speakers, and from there, Hoodlum has his audience hearing his music told impeccably. Hoodlum enlists Maxo Kream, Paul Wall, Valee & Doeman as features on his album. The Maxo-featured joint “Outside” was widely known for the visual appearance on No Jumper, Akademiks, Say Cheese & more, with many fans anticipating the audio to surface, which it looks like they got their prayers answered. Doeman & Hoodlum have been inseparable since the beginning of Hood’s career, appearing as features on stage & records, so it wasn’t a surprise to see his name attached to the Trox-produced track “Smile,” which is a definite highlight of the project since it has both emcees wearing their heart on the sleeves for a more personable joint where we see many from Doeman but not enough from Hoodlum. He broke through his shell to shed light on his coming & going through life obstacles in a sensational verse locked in with his signature hoarse tone on delivery for the record. I think one of the biggest surprises was to see Paul Wall’s appearance since Hoodlum held that a secret to the very end; I’m glad the collaboration happened since we no longer have to speculate what a Paul Wall & Hoodlum track would sound like, it’s everything you thought it is, natural through and through with flourish production to get a deep connection to it when riding in the whip through the city. Hoodlum is still hungry with ambition & full of vehement dedication; his cadence almost feels like the Belly scene with DMX & Nas are in the whip with DMX, not fearing the repercussions of his actions, untouchable as he says. Hoodlum has dealt with consequences already and is now seeing better days from it; his story doesn’t have a villain anymore, and it's told now from a father’s perspective. Things have changed drastically in his life, and he sees clearer options for a better future; he closes out the project with a freestyle in a more raspier vocal than ever that has him changing his demeanor in rap, its storytelling with consciousness-like things are eating at him, and he addresses it adequately here.

Hoodlum has already announced a tour to promote the album, with Texas dates being filled as we speak; cities like LA & New York are up next on his list, so expect to see “Southside Story” told throughout the world. We highly recommend if you haven’t enjoyed the album yet, then you do so by checking it out here and sharing it on all social media outlets.