By the time
Federation returned with their second album,
It's Whateva, a long three years after the release of their debut,
The Album (2004), the group's style of rap (i.e., hyphy) had become a full-fledged trend. Granted, hyphy was generally confined to the Bay Area of California, but the style had become popular, with such tastemakers as
DJ Shadow championing it and such figureheads as
E-40 taking it national.
It's Whateva is consequently a celebration of hyphy and its newfound status; after all,
Federation had been the ones who'd released a song titled "Hyphy" way back in 2003, and they work exclusively with producer
Rick Rock, the style's chief architect. The album is long, clocking in at 21 tracks in 80 minutes, and it's a wild hyphy ride from beginning to end.
Rock's productions are energetic, loud, and overpowering to such an extent that the
Federation rappers (
Doonie Baby, Goldie, Stressmatic) sometimes seem secondary on their own album. Standout tracks are interspersed throughout the album, tops among them "18 Dummy," "College Girl," "Happy I Met You" (which boasts a great
Snoop Dogg verse), "Scraper 2 a Benz" (featuring
E-40), and "New Baby Daddy." Many of the productions are truly phenomenal; in fact, they often seem deserving of better, more creative rappers -- or at least a more varied cast of rappers, for
Doonie Baby, Goldie, Stressmatic are put to the test here on this long, wild showcase for
Rock's flamboyant array of hyphy productions. [A clean version of the CD was also released.] ~ Jason Birchmeier