Few MCs release as many consistently great rap songs as E-40. The list of veterans with two-decade careers who aren't reiterating old formulas is even shorter. The Revenue Retrievin' series doesn't just cement E-40's legacy, it extends it. With four full-length LPs released in just under 12 months, the records are less a set of distinct statements than a data dump. It's several hundred megabytes of diverse and wide-ranging music whose sense of purpose is proportionate to its overwhelming size. The two most recent additions to E-40's creative renaissance, Overtime Shift and Graveyard Shift, are only vaguely conceptual. Instead, the idea seems to be for E-40 to create a panoramic view of street rap from as many narrative angles as possible.
The entire project suggests a profound level of confidence from E-40. Although there are tracks that seem like potential minor hits or have unique pop sensibilities, the trend-chasing days of 40's career appear to be over. Even T-Pain feature "Serious" seems more like a sincere attempt to highlight the singer's strengths, rather than a too-late bone thrown to a chart-rap audience. These are exceptionally balanced records, moving swiftly through a huge variety of production tics and songwriting styles. The meat comes courtesy of producer 40's son Droop-E, who has transformed the sound of hyphy's brief geographically-linked moment into E-40's personal house production style. But just when it seems like post-hyphy minimal bangers start to dominate, the acoustic bass-driven "43" switches gears into noir-ish atmosphere. Or "My Money Straight" arrives, a revival of the classic Bay area mob music sound with an invigorating verse from RBL Posse member Black C.
Most of the guests here come from the Bay area; rapper Beeda Weeda has a particularly impressive moment on "In the Morning", and rising star DB Tha General stands out on the striking "Streets Don't Love Nobody". When it comes to guests from outside the Bay, Bun B and Slim Thug's generically titled "That Candy Paint" is redeemed by euphoric production. "Lookin Back", which features Devin the Dude, is a nostalgic look at both rappers' transformations from struggling artists to successful career rappers. "Fried" features Tech N9ne, one of rap's more under-recognized grassroots success stories. For the most part, the guests seem chosen for their musical chemistry rather than any illusions about getting national club or pop radio play.
But E-40 remains the star, and no matter how consistent the songwriting is, it's his rapping that makes this record work. He sketches memorable characters, like "My Lil Grimey Nigga", the stick-up kid who was dropped on his head as a child, or the old ex-con who surprises two young hard-heads on "Streets Don't Love Nobody" ("Never know who heavy-duty in the streets pushing weight.") Many of the tracks here are archetypal street rap; "I Love My Momma" might seem like a hip-hop cliché at first glance. But E-40's lyrics are full of lived-in lyrical details and humorous asides that give his tracks a human touch, like his mother's "famous banana-nut bread and 7-Up cake." On the flip, "Trapped" is one of the most devastating tracks, a song that seems especially potent considering the state of America's prison industrial complex: "I feel bad because all I've got is advice/ And I ain't got nothing to show for it, I'm in here for life." Although street rap doesn't have the media profile it once had, the Revenue Retrievin' series argues for the continued relevance of rap music speaking to and from America's underclass.
