Coolio - It Takes A Thief

Coolio's debut, It Takes a Thief, brought him immediate success, establishing his reputation as a hard-knock, gun-slinging gangster with a biting sense of humor. Maybe it was because of his appearance heavy eyelids and in-a-light-socket hairstyle or maybe it was because of his laid-back vocal delivery, but he never seemed quite as menacing as other West Coast rappers spitting verses about the same thuggery. Instead of trying to incite fear in his raps, he complained that he didn't like having to live that way, and noted that there wasn't really a choice in the matter. Practically all the songs on It Takes a Thief are about one of two things: gang-banging and robbing in the ghettos while trying to make ends meet, or about hard times as a crack addict on the streets. The whole journey is a fantastic and underrated juxtaposition between good times and bad times, and ultimately, even though his second album, Gangsta's Paradise, sold more copies, this debut represents Coolio at his finest.

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TRACKLIST

1 Fantastic Voyage

2 County Line

3 Mama, I'm in Love wit a Gangsta

4 Hand on My

5 Ghetto Cartoon

6 Smokin'

7 Can-O-Corn

8 U Know Hoo!

9 It Takes a Thief

10 Bring Back Somethin fo da Hood

11 N da Closet

12 On My Way to Harlem

13 Sticky Fingers

14 Thought You Knew

15 Ugly Bitches

16 I Remember

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PREVIEW

COOLIO - FANTASTIC VOYAGE