Soulja Boy Tell Em/Www.SouljaboyTellem.com Collipark Music/Interscope Records Soulja Boy may very well be the worst rapper to ever grace the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 — or the best, depending on what decade you were born in. For most rap fans born before 1990, Mr. Collipark’s newest signee represents everything that’s wrong in rap, but for the millions of 17-year-olds and under, Soulja Boy truly is Superman. He is their long-awaited savior, and for them, this album doesn’t disappoint. But for the rest of us “old haters” Www.SouljaboyTellem. Com is more like kryptonite. It’s filled with repetitive and predictably juvenile raps. Most of the album sounds like Soulja Boy snuck in the studio after school and just started pressing buttons. The best tracks on the album — by far — are his two singles, “Crank That (Superman)” and “Soulja Girl,” but giving any Soulja Boy song a sober listen is an agonizing experience. Www.SouljaboyTellem.Com is the first album in OZONE history to receive zero blunts. We were worried we might get indicted for giving a blunt to a minor; besides, he’s too young to be smoking anyway. Instead, we are giving Www.SouljaboyTellem.Com a rating of 4 lollipops; ‘cause like Trick, OZONE loves da kids. — Eric Perrin
Twista /Adrenaline Rush 2007 Atlantic Records Adrenaline Rush 2007 is a ten year anniversary disc containing all new music from Chi-Town’s longest tenured relevant rapper. While many fans and critics were disappointed with Twista’s last release, the pop heavy The Day After, AR2K7 is a return to the rawest form of Twista, pure and uncut. It’s fresh work for the streets. Though the 19 track offering has a few too many skits (4) and lacks a big radio hit, overall Twista proves he’s still got it. Initial sales reports haven’t been too favorable for Mr. Tung Twista, but with guest appearances from T-Pain, R. Kelly, Lil Wayne, Bone Thugs N Harmony, and many others, this album is easily one of Twista’s best to date. — Eric Perrin
The Alliance/Goin’ Digital/Asylum If you’re looking for something with lyrical prowess or complicated metaphors and punchlines, The Alliance’s Goin’ Digital probably isn’t for you. However, if you’re just looking for something to ride to on your way to the club, Goin’ Digital is a decent mix of club anthems and the superficial tracks that are often necessary on Saturday nights. The leadoff single “Tattoo,” featuring Fabo, and the title track, “Goin’ Digital,” are by far the two best tracks on this Asylum offering. The Alliance’s biggest weakness is that Goin’ Digital lacks even the slightest bit of substance. There are 19 tracks on the CD, and virtually all of them are themed around one adolescent topic or another. Overall, the CD is not bad, but it’s far from good. The Alliance should expect that instead of hitting the record store to purchase this album, most fans will probably just “go digital” and download it. — Eric Perrin
Foxx/Street Gossip/Asylum/Trill Ent. Mr. Wipe Me Down’s debut album isn’t all bad but the standout tracks are few and far between. Foxx’s sound is saturated with Webbie’s womanizing, strong-arm style as opposed to Boosie’s ghetto stories. A Webbie-esque performance on “Air It Out” goes wrong as Foxx throws approaching the opposite sex smoothly out the window. But on “Bounce,” T-Pain’s hook saves yet another rapper from pitiful sexually charged rhymes and Trey Songz does the same for the Trill newcomer on “She Said.” Unfortunately, Teddy Paine and Songz aren’t around to rescue Foxx from the same faults on “Know It’s Good” and “Beat It Up.” While “Leanin’” featuring Paul Wall never made codeine sound so refreshing, “I’m On” is a failed attempt to recreate “Wipe Me Down” (which, surprisingly, is nowhere to be found). All in all, the streets won’t be gossiping very much about this album. — Randy Roper
94 // OZONE MAG
T
Trey Songz/Trey Day Atlantic RecordS Looking at the production credits on Trey Songz’ Trey Day, it would be easy to confuse the crooner’s sophomore set for a rap release instead of an R&B album. With top notch production from The Runners and Drumma Boy, Songz stays true to his rap heavy roots. But as a singer, Trey proves to be considerably better than most of his counterparts. He takes a page from R. Kelly’s cookbook on the Bryan Michael Cox produced “Grub On,” where asks a girl to be his “IHOP Baby,” and sings “Now gimmie that rutti tutti, that fresh and fruity, that big ‘ol booty, now come and do me.” Standout tracks include his second single, “Can’t Help But Wait,” “Role Play,” and “Store Run.” Trey Songz’ first album was a classic that was criminally slept on; let’s hope Trey Day doesn’t suffer the same fate. — Eric Perrin Hell Rell/For The Hell of It Dipset/Koch Records After spending years in the mixtape circuit, Durell Mohammed tries his best to prove he’s the “hardest rapper out.” Despite the fact that Hell Rell’s Koch debut For The Hell Of It has basically received no promotion and little radio play, it’s a much better than an average 16-track album. Ruga Rell releases an extremely well-rounded CD that you can either take to the club or listen to at the crib while reflecting on life. “Life in the Ghetto” is surprisingly introspective, while “Show Off” may very well be the most slept-on swag song out. Outside of Dipset’s usual suspects (Juelz, Cam’ron, and JR Writer), For The Hell Of It also features Young Dro and Styles P. Hell Rell proves he’s more than just a Dipset weedcarrier with his first studio album. — Eric Perrin Yung Chill/Stop Talking and Listen Big Business Records Houston representer Yung Chill is out to prove Kanye West isn’t the only producer/rapper that can deliver quality music. But on Stop Talking and Listen, Chill’s 50% bars, 50% beats formula should probably lean towards less rapping and more beats. It’s not that he isn’t a decent rapper, but it’s obvious he’s a better beatmaker. Chill is consistently outrhymed by Bun B (“Posted at the Store”), Trae (“Ghetto”), Chamillionaire (“Claiming They Gangsta”), Snoop Dogg (“Crusin’”) and many others throughout the album. He’s managed to put together a solid album, but all in all, he should probably chill on the rhymes. — Randy Roper Young Bleed/Once Upon A Time In America Da’Tention Home Ent. Once upon a time in Hip Hop, Young Bleed was somewhat of a relevant MC in Southern rap (back when he and Master P had the South screaming “How You Do That”). But over the years, Bleed has become a forgotten soul in the game. On his latest return, Once Upon A Time, tracks like “Bac Road Mississippi” with Money Waters and “Top Back” with 8Ball possess the sound of timeless music. Other standouts like “Doin’ Me!” featuring Rich Boy, “N’ Da’ Street” and “Life Ain’t Change” make this album something worth checking out. Although “Shake Sump’N” with Choppa and “Bounce It” featuring Juvenile sound like club songs leftover from Bleed’s No Limit days, his blend of soul and street music is something fans can appreciate. — Randy Roper
UTP/Back Like We Left Something Rap-A-Lot After making a noise with their smash hit “Nolia Clap,” UTP members Wacko and Skip return, this time without Juvenile. Although Juve only makes appearances on a few tracks, the duo still represents New Orleans properly on their follow-up album. Lil Wayne appears and bodies another track on “Do What You Wanna” and the duo fires up the green with Devin The Dude on “Sticky Icky.” Even though the album would have been better with Juvenile all in, Skip and Wacko still dropped an album that will have the Nolia clapping in approval. — Randy Roper