Todd Smith: Uncle L's Getting Old...
Written: Apr 11 '06 (Updated Apr 13 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Varied production, LL's been in the game for over 20 years
Cons: Too many to name
The Bottom Line: Todd Smith proves that LL should retire. He had a great career but it's time for it to end.
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| poeticone16's Full Review: Todd Smith by LL Cool J |
When I was around 16-17 years old, my biggest problems were filling out college applications and adjusting to an increasing workload in high school. I had no clue what I wanted to do with my future - how many of us back then did? All I worried about was the passage of my courses and that I became the first male in my family to go to and stay in college.
A couple years before I was born, in the year of 1985, a certain teenager's future was more pronounced. When most kids his age were only worrying about schoolwork and how to impress girls who are "sweet as brown sugar with the candied yams", he was rapping to escape from problems resulting from painful experiences with abusive father figures. Formulating a cocky persona, this adolescent releases a single ("I Need a Beat") and album ("Radio") that not only jumpstarts one of the most influential rap labels but also begins a career that's spanned over two decades.
I don't know what's more amazing about Uncle L: the length of his career or the many self-reinventions he's done to stay relevant during it. The Kangol hat and the perpetual lip-licking have always been there, but LL's ability to change with the times has fueled his longevity in the rap game. However, his last album "The DEFinition" showed his losing touch of that ability and Todd Smith makes it clear that LL should consider ending his career soon.
While not as disappointing as "The DEFinition" (mainly because it came afterward), Todd Smith shows that LL is continuing to lack inspiration or is comfortable remaining average. Lead single "Control Myself" scores not for LL's lackluster descriptions of a girl's sexiness (the "Going Back to Cali" flow does help though), but because of Jermaine Dupri's electro-funk production and Jennifer Lopez's seductive vocals on the chorus. The production does not help on the Teairra Mari-assisted "Preserve the Sexy" where bass knocks and handclaps do nothing to help LL's inane attempts to spit game to a girl 20 years his junior (not to mention it brings to mind a certain R&B superstar).
Despite the fact that there's no real ingenuity on here, there are a few instances where LL connects well with someone. On the hard-hitting "It's LL and Santana", hard-rock guitars and pounding drums create an Rick Rubin-esque background for LL Cool J and Juelz Santana to trade aggressive punch-lines. The mid-tempo cut with Mary J. Blige "Favorite Flavor" is another plus where a laid-back production featuring soothing piano keys and horns in addition to Blige's beautiful singing successfuly mask LL's tired lines ("[got] diamonds for the missus, ices on the wristes"...and that's not a typo).
While nothing on here is dreadful (except "What You Want" where Freeway just murders some of LL's old punch-lines), this album makes it certain that you can't count on Uncle L for a good rap ballad anymore. "Freeze" admittedly is a decent "forgive me" song but that's mainly because of Lyfe's gentle chorus and the soft keys and drums in the background. However, when LL says "the taste of the pudding is so chocolatety" and that his chain starts gleaming "when [he] hits it right" on the female wet-dream causing duet with Ginuwine "Ooh Wee", you wonder if his age is causing him to find the corniest things arousing to say.
Todd Smith is simply a formulaic duets album. Essentially, this should be his last release. It is just that uncreative and unexciting. It's also just LL's luck that it's being released at a time where material lacking creativity is being praised to high heaven (check all the positive reviews of T.I.'s newest effort). Still, this is too predictable to be recommended and it proves that LL's relevance on the rap scene is pretty much over.
2.5 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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