Taking off time after his questionable, but deserved Grammy win for 'Best Rap Album', which saw him besting both T.I. and Nas, Ludacris briefly waited in the wings pursuing acting and slowly crafting the tracks that make up, 'Theater of the Mind', his sixth release, which faces release along side Kanye West, and after 50 Cent, we all know how that battle will end.That aside, Does 'Theater of the Mind' measure up? Or does it prove acting really is his strong suit?
'Wish You Would', which sees Ludacris teaming with his one time archenemy T.I., for a swagger filled joy fest as each of the southern rappers blast their beaming swagger in full effect, neither out shining the other, but just two great rappers delivering a great track and most importantly a memorable collaboration.
The refreshing, 'One More Drink', assisted by T-Pain, has the auto tune in full effect, which has recently decreased tunes instead of improving them, but somehow manages to be one of the few times the device has actually displayed the opposite, even T-Pain, isn't annoying here.
The glorious, 'Contagious', which seeks helps from Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, is a sexually inspired track with catchy lyrics and a beautifully sung chorus. A very sexy, easy flowing jam, that showcases both Ludacris and Jamie Foxx in shining lights. Whereas, other rappers tend to let their guests outshine them, Ludacris manages to cut his records in a detailed way that allows his guests to shine, but doesn't completely take away the fact that this is his project.
The Lil' Wayne assisted, 'Last of the Dying Breed', and the stunning, 'I Do It For Hip-Hop, which boasts Nas and Jay-Z, are also among the standouts.
Filled with radio-friendly and lyrically engaging content, the effort does have its fair share of forgettable tunes, shown most evidently in the album's lead single, 'What Them Girls Like', which pairs him with Chris Brown and Sean Garrett, that realm thoughts of rubbish and in the pits content.
Others rubbish tunes include: the Plies assisted, 'Nasty Girl', and 'Everyone Hates Chris', among others that have already lost placement.
Not officially deemed a conceptual album, but with 'co-stars' instead of features, as well as the lyrical cinematic moments, it does fold out like a decent movie, good, bad, but never completely ugly. Lyrically, Ludacris is underrated, and this album probably won't change that given it isn't his strongest effort, but it does prove there is still some fight in the dog.
3 out of 5
No comments:
Post a Comment