Nostalgia certainly fuels my perception of the third Ryde Or Die series, an album I received for Christmas not long after its initial release on December 18, 2001. While the project featured contributions from DMX, Eve, Jadakiss, Styles P, Sheek Louch, and several off-roster players like Petey Pablo and Ludacris, Drag-On once again solidified himself as a standout player. Alongside newcomers Infa-Red and Cross, Drag made his presence felt in blistering fashion on "Street Team," a dark, street banger that holds up particularly well today. With a sinister, up-tempo instrumental from P. Killer Tracks, all three emcees take turns vying for the highlight verse, a healthy competition that plays out with the intensity of a knife-fight.
"Got a clip for the full pound, that will put your ass under the ground, with a thunderous sound," raps Cross, in the frantic opening verse. His rhyming partner Infa-Red spits next, living up to his namesake with a bout of laid-back menace. "Got bullets that will go through your stomach
Then come out your head, I'm Infa-red," he declares, before passing the mic to Drag-On. "On my block there won't be no copping if I don't get no profit of this shit, you get my drift?" he opens, before proving why many bequeathed him the title of strongest flow within the Double-R camp. A more obscure gem, perhaps, but one worth revisiting time and again.
Quotable Lyrics
Pull out, make his man run on him and he had a gun on him
Bust a U then make the right
To cut through the gas station and take the light
Can't tell me Ruff Ryders don't make it tight
Got to wonder what a Harlem n***a life is like
And I transport keys if the price is right
Then ride back through your hood on a mountain bike
Got bullets that will go through your stomach
Then come out your head, I'm Infa-red