Self Made Legend: It's My Time to Shine

There are two different Havocs in the hardcore rap world, and both of them have had partners named either Prodigy or Prodeje. The guy who raps on this CD is Gary "Havoc" Calvin, who is known for his work with Austin "Prodeje" Patterson in the South Central Cartel (so-named because its members are from South-Central Los Angeles). The other Havoc lives 3000 miles away in Queens, NY, where, in the 1990s, he co-led the infamous Mobb Deep with Prodigy (as opposed to Prodeje). When Calvin launched a solo career and recorded Self Made Legend: It's My Time to Shine in 2000, he didn't go by Havoc -- he went by Hava' Rochie (rhymes with Liberace) and opted for a slightly different approach. People who know Calvin for either his work with the South Central Cartel or his albums with Patterson as the duo Havoc & Prodeje think of him as a gangsta rapper, but Self Made Legend: It's My Time to Shine isn't quite as obsessed with thug life. Before this album, Calvin's favorite subject was thug life in the inner-city ghettoes of South-Central L.A. -- and while the Hava' Rochie character doesn't abandon that subject, he doesn't dwell on it as much. Hava' Rochie is more likely to rap about being a player/baller, kicking it with the hotties, and making money than going on a drive-by shooting. Hava' Rochie's beats are pure South-Central L.A., and the Dr. Dre/Snoop Doggy Dogg/Warren G influence is impossible to miss on tracks like "Untouchable" and "Stay Low." Self Made Legend falls short of remarkable and is slightly uneven, but, overall, it's a fun party album that shows us a slightly different side of the West Coast rapper.