Too Much Charm, Not Enough Substance
Written: Apr 04 '06 (Updated Apr 04 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It's short and the beats are usually nice
Cons: Bubba's regression on the mic, Mr. Collipark
The Bottom Line: If this album doesn't sell well, then it has no purpose. Its only existence is to get Bubba's name in the public.
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| poeticone16's Full Review: The Charm [Edited] - Bubba Sparxxx |
Maybe more people should have paid attention to Bubba Sparxxx's sophomore disc Deliverance. Despite the fact that he poured his heart and soul onto the album, only critics recognized the positive results and most rap fans hardly gave it a listen. As a result, Bubba left his main collaborator Timbaland, joined forces with Outkast’s Big Boi with the Dungeon Family, and released his most commercial effort The Charm in an attempt to appeal to all sorts of music listeners.
While there’s nothing wrong with trying to appeal to everyone if there's ingenuity involved, The Charm just reflects all of the problems with Southern rap music and actually shows a regression in Bubba's lyricism and subject matter. Take, for example, the "Gangsta's Paradise"-sampling "That Man" where he claims to be a "country motherfu*ker" and tries his best to sound like a gangsta. It gets worse when Bubba tries to attract impressionable females on "Heat It Up" by resorting to childish pick-up lines ("I got a tool in my draws'...that you should use") over the overused handclap-based production provided by Mr. Collipark (who also regurgitates his intimate club formula for Bubba's uncreative ode to big-bottomed girls "Ms. New Booty").
There are only a few instances on here that The Charm is listenable-and that's mainly because of the production. On the Atlanta-club inspired "Claremont Lounge", Organized Noize's distorted sirens and drum kicks straight from an old Outkast record manage to overshadow Bubba and his guests Killer Mike and Cool Breeze's hackneyed verses about the problems of picking up girls and dealing with jealous dudes at the club. When Bubba thankfully returns to his country roots on "Wonderful", soulful horns and lively chipmunk samples combine for an energetic background for Bubba to exclaim that he's "rappin’ happily again, you should be glad for me.”
Bubba Sparxxx may be "rappin' happily again" but there was little wrong with how he was before (except the fact he needed to step his lyrical game up). Now that he's self-consciously regressing (and also getting overly sentimental on a couple songs) in order to reach the charts, the rapper that was present on "Deliverance" going against what was common in the music industry now is just another Southern emcee rapping and bragging about the same ol' tired subjects (and even comparing his potential worth to Biggie on one track). The Charm may "bring sells" as he hopes on the opener "Represent" but at what cost?
At least, it's short and passes by quickly.
2.25 stars
Recommended:
No
Great Music to Play While: Getting ready to go out
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Epinions.com ID:
poeticone16
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Location: Chi-town, Illinois
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