Copping the title from Sergio Leone’s classic gangster flick, Smoothe da Hustler paints his own version of coming-of-age in Brooklyn on his scandalously neglected debut.
Flaunting the same penchant for unflinching imagery first displayed on “Broken Language,” Smoothe (along with little brother Trigger da Gambler) draws listeners into his world of ghetto racketeering and money-getting over 15 rugged tracks from DR Period.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA stands as a well-rounded but nonetheless unappreciated product of mid-1990s East Coast street-hop.