San Quinn
Record review
Reviewed by Robert Gabriel, Fri., May 26, 2006
San Quinn
The Rock: Pressure Makes Diamonds (Done Deal/SMC Recordings)
San Francisco Quincy holds court over the historically black Fillmore section of his city with brutally honest portrayals of project life. "I come from the bottom of the gutterest hood, wickedest niggaz, no need searching for good, it ain't in us." Since releasing his first solo tape at the age of 14 in 1993, San Quinn's affiliations with fellow Mo-town luminaries JT tha Bigga Figga and Messy Marv have helped establish the former Get Low Playa as a certified Bay area kingpin. With its testosterone levels peaked to the hilt, The Rock: Pressure Makes Diamonds flexes a complete anatomical array of muscle striations that reveal Quinn as an amazingly versatile lyricist. Flipping distinctly unique cadences, the MC scores points with his singles, "Hell Yeah," "So Young," and "Look What I've Done for Them," each targeting different body parts. Whether it's the minimalist swerve of producers E-A-Ski and Traxamillion, or Allen Anthony and Mike Marshall's crooning accompaniment, Quinn matches 19 tracks with 19 distinct takes on what it sounds like to be perfectly comfortable in the skin of an artistically renowned thug.
