Revenue Retrievin': Graveyard Shift

E-40’s Revenue Retrievin’ series turned into a quadrilogy with the simultaneous release of his 13th album (Revenue Retrievin’: Overtime Shift) and his 14th (Revenue Retrievin’: Graveyard Shift). While Overtime is the more familiar release and will easily please returning fans, Graveyard is more thematically sound and, overall, the better album. Nocturnal synth lines and menacing beats characterize the production on this dark effort, which helps support its zombie hyphy vision with guest shots from horror-rap favorite Tech N9ne, and husky-voiced juggernauts like Bun B. and Slim Thug. Cold as it is, Tone Bone’s simple yet effective production makes “My Sh*t Bang” a fitting title for the track, and if you want to know how the walking dead swing in the Bay Area, dig producer Drop-E’s outstanding standup bass production on “43,” which must be the address to hell’s coolest jazz club. Keeping in step while offering relief, the radio-worthy “Club on Lock” still feels extremely nocturnal, booming with that deep, dark bass and featuring after-hours rhymes about popping bottles and chasing the ladies. Elsewhere, the Bay Area thump is crossed with the clunk of Frankenstein’s walk, and even when the rapper speaks on the usual topics — drugs, money, girls, and “That Candy Paint” — everything comes off as dark as midnight. Graveyard Shift is so focused it’s hard to recommend as a first purchase, but anyone intrigued by the idea of E-40 as crypt keeper is going to fall hard for this one. – David Jeffries