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Album Review
by Oggi Schitler
29-9-2003
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| Obie Trice in 'Cheers' mood; strange... |
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Obie Trice + Bubba Sparkxxx: 'Cheers' + 'Deliverance'
(Shady + Interscope)
Two bad in da rappin’hood
50 Cent called his album ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’’ as a potent comment on the state of rappin’hood and it hammered the nail on the head: it appears that the current Hip-hop scene is more concerned with bling-isms than with anything more ambitious, be it social, eco-political or cultural issues. Here, we have two more examples of buck-chasing rhymings and both are going the wrong way about it.
Obie Trice’s ‘Cheers’ finds the rapper with too many personalities on display; signed to Eminem’s label, his boss produced half the tracks, vocally helped another four as well as being executive producer – to make it sound like half-a-next Em’s album. Tracks produced by Dr Dre (pretty mellow) and Timbaland are better but one person that has not really shown up is Obie himself.
50 Cent, Nate Dogg, Busta Rhymes, D-12 also make guest appearances – whatta surprise!? – but, all in all, so average it is painful. Thus, will the real Obie Trice stand up? While Slim Shady keeps more to the console lights?
4/10
*
Bubba Sparkxxx’s second disc ‘Deliverance’ has a problem inasmuch that it is a reconstruction of his debut. It is Hick-hop that not even Timbaland’s production could save from being a mish-mash of everything but nothing in particular. Taking the odd detour into metal riffs and softer blues-tinged formats follows rhymes about living Deep South.
Nothing here is as catchy as the Missy E-sampling hit ‘Ugly’ from the debut ‘Dark Days Bright Nights’ that you are reminded of as it is stuck at the end of the album; a move by the ever-helpful record company spectacularly backfires as it is still the best track of his entire oeuvre.
Sparkxxx is like (size-plus) Vanilla Ice but not funny.
3/10
Oggi Schitler
29-9-2003
Obie Trice’s album ‘Cheers’ is released 29 September 2003 on Shady/Interscope
Bubba Sparkxxx’s album ‘Deliverance’ is released on 29 September 2003 on Interscope/UMG
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