If the late, great boxer Muhammad Ali had heard I Accept Your Apology by CEO Cleezy I'm betting he would've said something like, "He flows like a butterfly, spits like a bee...", or at least something close to that. I Accept Your Apology from 4 DELF Records offers 14 original tracks which cross section a variety of hip-hop/rap styles from over the years. You name it, East Coast, West Coast, Dirty South, Old School, New School, Bounce, Alternative, New Jack Swing, Gangsta, Conscious, Hardcore, Trap, Break-beat, Chopped and Screwed, Crunk, G-funk, Club, Trip Hop, and of course, Underground. This New York City artist even ventures off in a few fresh directions too.
Topping my list of favorites here is Want the Paper. Let's face it. When all is said and done the cheese in the shared race we all run simply comes down to us chasing some paper through the corridors of a manmade maze. It's full of O.G. bad boy street swagger with a touch of tongue in cheek word play. Audio special effects that emulate the sounds of bullets whizzing by your ears adds an interesting wink and a nod quality that keeps this piece from taking itself too seriously. If you're thinking of some kind of Felonious Monk imagery here then you certainly get the mug shot (or picture, as some would say).
My runner up for top favorite on I Accept Your Apology is Fly Away. This is where CEO Cleezy dives deep into the Conscious direction. It's one of the few down tempo cuts on his album and it shows a side of the man not fully visible on the other ones. Like that straight talk with the man in the mirror, or ruminations on the psychoanalytical couch, you know what he's doing is bringing bones to the surface that he buried, and believed were forgotten, long ago. What came to my mind when I listened to Fly Away was the ancient adage that even if you're done with the past it may sure as hell not be done with you.
The only song off of I Accept Your Apology I found not to my liking was Bad Chic. Yeah, I know what you're probably thinking to yourself, "Oh Annie, you're so vain - you probably think this song is about you!" Well maybe it is, LOL. Seriously now, Bad Chic is an ode to hos who slide down poles so on this little number Cleezy puts on his colorful broad brimmed pimp hat, leans on his bejeweled pimp stick and raises his pimp chalice to the ladies who don't dress up for their work (if you know what I'm trying to state ever so delicately). I'm sorry, but for me the days of rapping about strip club macking have thankfully come and gone. So let's move on - NEXT.
So, 1 thumb down out of 13 thumbs up is a pretty good count in anyone's book. From what my sources share with me CEO Cleezy is not singed to any major label yet. Will he be? Well, since I've never claimed to be a part of and A&R team that's not for me to say. What I will say is that based on what I've heard on I Accept Your Apology, and with the right moves, the right team around him and a bit of luck, is that this NYC rapper could be a contender in the record business ring. Only time will tell, my homies, only time will tell.
