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Album Reviews
Responsible for numerous crunk party tunes and plenty of over-the-top hits, producer Lil Jon could easily be mistaken for a flash-in-the-pan whose time is almost up. Then again, his formulaic records that generally come up aces bring to mind AC/DC and their always-the-same, generally-very-good track record. You can count the songs that Lil Jon has been involved with and didn't shout "yeah!" and "okay!" on one hand, and his Crunk Juice album is more of the same. But keeping the AC/DC comparison going, Crunk Juice is his Back in Black, just as exciting and remarkably powerful, but twice as long and with a lot more help. Even though most of the songs are built on the same party-crunk foundation, the difference is in the details. Production by production, record by record, Lil Jon has become a more detailed producer. Crunk Juice is the payoff of every single that's come before it. Take the incredibly hard "What U Gon' Do" with it's simple, everybody's-feelin'-it beat. Lil Scrappy's tough rap proves he's the man for the job on this track, while the loopy, faraway melody and robot filters Lil Jon runs Scrappy's vocal through are what really makes it. The East Side Boyz -- Big Sam and Lil Bo -- are a worthy support crew and gel with their resident superstar as well as G-Unit does with 50 Cent. Great, but it's the ridiculously well-picked guest list you've come for, isn't it? The biggies -- R. Kelly, Usher, Ice Cube, Snoop, Rick Rubin, and on and on -- all bring it, while Southern stalwarts like Trillville, Eightball & MJG, Ying Yang Twins, and Gangsta Boo -- whose brash vocals are slowed down eerily, screwed-and-chopped style -- sound especially triumphant, proud to be with the South's greatest chart-topper. Running 75 minutes long and with too many highlights to mention, the worst thing you can say about Crunk Juice is that it's overwhelming. Funny skits from Chris Rock and E-40 tie it all together if you can stand over an hour of crunk pummeling, but Crunk Juice is best taken in two or three glorious listens. That's a lot of top-notch crunk, and more than enough to justify Lil Jon's "King of Crunk" title. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
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Heartless KanYe West |
| When he announced that he would be putting rap to one side for his latest album and composing the whole thing using an 80's drum machine and singing in the style of Cher via the use of auto-tune software, many onlookers thought KanYe West had lost it. However, the results of KanYe's pop experiments, that on paper looked decidedly dodgy, have already produced one hit single and, if early reviews are anything to go by, one of KanYe's best albums. On his latest single, 'Heartless', KanYe continues the theme of the album '808's and Heartbreaks' by employing the use of the 808 drum machine and singing about, if you hadn't already guessed, Heartbreak. Although, as Kanye himself stated, the use of auto-tune is often associated with being 'wack', the application of the vocoder effect on 'Heartless' adds an extra depth to West's effective but limited speak singing. This proves to be a shrewd move as rapper's attempts to hit notes out of their range can often end in horrendous results; just ask Puff Daddy. Added to this the depth of lyrics, inspired by an emotionally turbulent year that saw the death of his mother and a break up with his fiancé, have more heartfelt punch than any of the predictable Hip Hop/R&B doing the rounds at the moment. Not many artists could pull it off but it seems '808's and Heartbreaks' has seamlessly moved KanYe West from Hip Hop King into the realm of pop pioneer without breaking a sweat. ©2008 Shazam Entertainment Limited. All rights reserved. | |
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