Zu York City: Run In With "The Nice Guys" . . .

Let me tell you a quick mildly interesting and hardly relevant story about how I first ran into "The Nice Guys." It was my freshman year at University of Houston, a year filled with partying, late night movies and absolutely NO studying whatsoever. Its a rather pathetic tale to tell in its entirety, but there was a moment of significance when I first found out that my friend Free actually produced beats.

And no, I don't mean, Souljah Boy beats. While Free did use the same FL Studio (AKA FrootyLoops) that the Atlanta artist and Little Brother's 9th Wonder made so famous, he was more on the level of the latter as far as his taste in production. Fortunately for me, that's exactly the type of style I'm feeling, which makes me the equivalent of an alien in this location of Screwston, Texas. So how do you let someone know you're feeling their style? You bother the shit out of them by repeatedly coming by their dorm room till they finally let you record something. And so I did.

During this brief period of time, I ended up meeting Yves Saint and Christoph, the other two thirds of the The Nice Guys. I was immediately taken aback by Yves raw lyrical skill and Christoph's producing prowess, which was similar enough to Free's for it not to clash, and yet different enough for it not to sound like the same damn person. Seriously, I wasn't even trying to rap with these guys after hearing them, because they are REALLY really good at what they do, and I was just honestly fucking around. After running into them in Free's dorm, I started noticing all over the place: The Vault nightclub in downtown Houston, the Alpha Parties off of Telephone St., last year's Moody Towers' Poetry Slam; not to mention that you could catch Yves at every damn event that DJ Candlestick (best party DJ in Houston I've heard) happened to be hosting.

the Nice Guys . . .

So yeah, they were definitely on the grind, and a year and some change later, they're out with their first mixtape, called Nice Guys Finish Last. Yes, its the shit. No, its not snap music. These cats are making quality music, and its only right that you cats get to hear it right here in Zu York City.

The Nice Guys - Nice Guys Finish Last Mixtape
pt.1 http://www.mediafire.com/?wl9dtajggoy pt.2 http://www.mediafire.com/?jfndg9ult4t

Props to all three of the guys for delivering a superb mixtape. Mr. Eric Michael makes a couple of appearances himself on the mixtape, and shines accordingly. The bulk of the mixtape is Yves Saint, who is sick. I really wish I could put it in another manner without sounding so much like a dickrider, but I call it like I see it. From flawlessly flipping Busta Rhymes' New York Shit to "Nice Guys Shit" to actually sticking to The Fiasco on the Superstar Remix, Yves delivers bars laced with metaphors and ridiculous multi-syllable rhymes. Somehow through all the flashiness, he still succeeds in saying something of substance.

"Rats in a daze/ trapped in a maze/ meant to lead them astray, call it a-maze-meant/"

"I'm on some Nice Guy Shit/ Exercise mine? Well, yeah nice try bitch/ I'm on 97.9 with my Nice Guy Hits . . . / Its a GoodYear, Nice Guys, like blimps/ be floating quite high, might blind ya tryin' to squint/"

"I don't know why niggas surprised that I'm full of myself/ They say I'm feeling myself, I'm only filling myself/ As far as my rapping type, I fulfill it myself/ Limericks is like spirits . . . / I deliver it pure, so my lit-er-a-ture/ is like your penicillin, my afflictions cured/"

"Couple of tools on my belt, more broads have felt 'em/ melted a couple hearts . . . / and everybody lost one, but come on/ me and and my niggas one for all, and all for one/"

I'm not quoting shit else, because you really have to hear it yourself to get the full impact. Yves boasts an unmatched flow rarely found in the south (go figure, he's actually from NY) and if you're looking for something new, this might be the motherfucking treasure chest. Free and Christoph have the production tip down to the point, I wouldn't be surprised if they have aspiring rappers bulldozing their doors down right now. Adding on to all the creativity flowing throughout the mixtape, they actually took the time out to do some skits. Yes, motherfuckers, there are skits on a free mixtape. Here's something else thats wild: they're actually funny.

On the whole, this is an entertaining mixtape. Though it has its downfalls (sorry guys, Where My Shoes Belong was not at all nice to me) and Yves might not enunciate EVERY syllable, leaving you wondering what that last punchline was, its still the SHIT. And I will be bumping this for a while. I suggest you become a fan.