| Reviews |
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| Bone Crusher- ATTENCHUN!: the drill-sergeant title of Bone Crusher's debut pretty much sums up his attitude and style. While Outkast (and to a lesser degree Goodie Mob, Killer Mike, et al) cloak their crunk in endless folds of playful language and the Skrewed Up Klick filters it through syrup-infused hallucinogenic lethargy, Bone Crusher is the unrefined enforcer of the Dirty South world, so economical in language that he even fiercely dismisses his own intro. Jermaine Dupri sums it up in the opening of "Never Scared," "if you seen my man, you understand, you gotta move�.get outta da way.' Said single stomps in with the raw power of King Kong, potent and undeniable, completely legit, and a banging club track to boot. From that point on, ATTENCHUN never lets up, with haunting, fitful tracks augmented by guest shots from seemingly the whole south, from veterans like the aforementioned Dupri and Goodie Mob to unstoppable up-and-comers like Killer Mike, David Banner, and Lil' Jon. 6.5 OUT OF 10 |
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| Da Brat- Limelite, Luv & Nightclubz: Da Brat's brash demeanor first reared its head when just out of her teens, she broke out in a fittingly enormous way on her debut, FUNKDAFIED, with its sensual smash title track seemingly spending forever that year on R&B, rap, and pop radio. Nearly a decade later, just shy of 30, still rolling with the So-So-Def Crew, sexually hyper-charged as ever, Da Brat shows she can still bring it on LIMELITE, LUV & NIGHTCLUBZ, as strong and as polished but spilling-over-the-edges funky a record as she's ever dropped. LIMELITE... gets its hooks in from the first track, "World Premiere," featuring the omnipresent Jermaine Dupri, and never lets up, hitting a high point on the following track, the infectious "In Love Wit Chu." Mariah Carey returns a favor (Da Brat guested on the hit "Always Be My Baby" among other Mariah tracks) dropping by on "Gotta Thing For You," which liberally and ably borrows from one of the lushest jazz-pop hits ever, Bobby Caldwell's "What You Won't Do For Love." Part of Da Brat's appeal is her ability to shine on both sexed-up hip-hop torch songs like the above mentioned to club bangers like "Got It Poppin'" and "Who I Am." LIMELITE... reflects her varied ability and holds her place as an important player at the hip-hop table. 7 OUT OF 10 |
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| 40 Glocc- The Jakal: This cat has potential to be a heavy hitter in this rap game. I haven't heard any songs of his album but I did hear a song he did on Big Tray Deee's album. The song is called "Finer Things"/feat. L.V. and the beat was produced by none other than Dr. Dre himself and 40 Glocc proved to me with that song that he is going to be a standout rap artist. This cat is down with some real high rollers such as Dr. Dre, Tha Eastsidaz, Kurupt, Spice 1 & Snoop Dogg, with guys like that being there for you it will be pretty hard to make a bad album. I am going to cop this album once it drops and I hope it is as good as it should be. I wish nothing but the best for this cat cause I believe in him and what he is doing. 7.5 OUT OF 10 |