May 18th, 2009 
Brandon Artist: Swifty McVay
Album: The Underestimated Volume 2 – Vengeance
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
Label: Shady Records
1. 2 Late
2. You Ant Hard
3. Bitchassness
4. Blow Up
5. Crazy
6. Hood Legend
7. Diamonds
8. Life
9. Scared
10. I Don’t Care
I was happy to see that Swifty McVay, one of the original D12 members, decided to drop the sequel to his Underestimated series. I was a huge fan of The Forest Fyres Mixtape and am a huge fan of the Michigan hip-hop scene in general.
McVay, chosen in 1999 as the replacement for fallen D12 crewmate Bugz, is featured in many music videos for D12 that have aired on the likes of BET, MTV and VH1 as well as many platinum-selling records like The Marshall Mathers LP and D12 World. It may seem that he would be quite famous to the public eye, but he, like other many artists who have to take a back seat to a star in a rap group, has to stand behind the spotlight of Eminem. To many listeners of the hip-hop world, Swifty’s new release will go unheard, be unknown and will be unaware to the public.
Although he is currently signed to Shady Records with his group D12, Swift dropped this tape independently and it shows in the production values. The beats on his tape are exclusive to his camp, Da Fyre Deparment Production Company, but aren’t exactly the “bangers” that you look for when you turn on a rap record. Don’t let the beats distract you from the talent here though. Swifty McVay’s delivery, flow and lyrics are on point throughout all ten tracks—which is what I expected from him.
The best drops on the mixtape are Diamonds, Bictchassness, Life, 2 Late and You Ant Hard. I loved the beat to Diamonds and the Biggie sample on it was flipped perfectly for Swift to ride the beat on. Another beat I loved was on the Life track because it was obviously the certified D12 style down to the claps, hats and kicks. Life could have easily been a Dr. Dre throwaway beat or a cut that would have been a b-side to the next D12 album—easily. My favorite track off the whole album was Bitchassness, which is a diss record toward Iron Fist and it rekindles the spirit of long lost rapper Big Proof of D12.
There were only a couple things that I hated about McVay’s new joint. Obviously the first thing I hated was the length. There were only ten songs, which made the record seem incomplete and rushed. The second thing I disliked was the lack of promotion for this album. If you don’t set out to hunt for this mixtape, you’ll never find it…trust me I barley found it myself. Outside of these few mistakes, the overall product Swifty McVay gave us is well rounded and has much replay value.
Tomorrow the store release of Relapse, by Eminem, hits the streets and will help further more D12 promotion. I have heard rumors of a new D12 album on the way at the later end of ’09, but until then make sure you pick up Swifty McVay’s new mixtape The Underestimated Volume 2 for new and exclusive D12 material while you wait. This is a must have record for all D12 fans.
To help cut down on search time for you – check here to purchase Swift’s new drop: http://www.d12world.com/extras/store.php (full album sampler posted there as well).
Score: 7/10
Written By: Brandon “Venamis” Folsom — www.twitter.com/venamis
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