Published: February 21, 2011

Review of Street Scholars and HAVEN'T YOU HEARD

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Sam Sneed remains one of the namesake title Street Scholars, which is also another long-awaited album that was recently released out of the legendary Death Row vault less than a month ago. Though some of the material remains missing, he had so much to do in order to put the record together. Still, it gave Sneed the opportunity to showcase his artists on this album such as Jeff Chery & LJ, and Money Ink & Fiona Fantacy with songs such as "U Better Recognize," "Marriage," and "Weather Man."

"The concept comes from what I was doing back then," the former Dr. Dre protégé states. "I graduated from the streets; I'm just marching on a different beat. You're going to get the streets, but you're going to get the club and the message: a well-balanced meal."

Before he got his spot, Sneed once lived with mentor and close friend Dre at the latter's hometown of Talabasses, California. Since then, he has produced with not only Dre, but also with fellow Death Row icon Snoop Doggy Dogg on Doggystyle and Murder Was The Case, in which he co-starred in and performed "U Better Recognize" for the soundtrack.

And speaking of the Doggfather, he's executive produced and featured with the LBC Crew in half of the tracks on HAVEN'T YOU HEARD, which was released the week before Valentine's Day. Besides "Blueberries," and the original and remix of "Out the Moon," standouts from includes the surprising ballad "Baby Come Home."

Several songs from both albums would you make want to groove on the floor like you're on Soul Train, but they have the same Death Row sound. Had they been released during its era back in the 1990s, Sam Sneed and the LBC Crew would have succeeded Dre and Snoop. Still, despite Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and others, there is still a hardcore audience for Hip-Hop and Rap - especially for legions of Death Row fans wanting more music from the vault.

"With the right records," Sam said, "anything can be done. Records are still being sold, and a lot has to do with the downloading."

Follow Sam Sneed: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1613376496&ref=ts

Follow Death Row Records: www.deathrowmusic.com www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=134224213277962&ref=ts www.myspace.com/deathrowrecords http://twitter.com/deathrowmusic http://www.youtube.com/deathrowchannel

Garrett Godwin writes for NewsBlaze from Michigan. Contact him by writing to NewsBlaze.