This came out in 2000 — or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
His name reminds you of an old-time mobster. But Philly’s Beanie Sigel — the handle supposedly combines a youthful bad-hair experience and the name of his old street – is no retro gangster-rapper.
He’s a member of Jay-Z’s posse who got his foot in the door guesting on the boss’s tracks Money Cash Hoes and Reservoir Dogs. With this debut solo disc, Beanie gets his shot at the spotlight — but ends up trapped in Jay-Z’s shadow. Not only are his voice and brooding delivery sometimes strikingly similar to his boss, but he also goes in for obscure soundtrack samples (except he prefers B-movie shlock such as Hard Rain and Conan the Barbarian to family fare such as Annie). The real tipoff that Sigel isn’t his own man is the last track — it’s a new Jay-Z tune!. Aside from the gritty cautionary jailhouse tale What Your Life Like, The Truth is unlikely to set Beanie free.
