plorentz's Full Review: The Charm [PA] by Bubba Sparxxx
"Yeah, I'm a country boy," Bubba Sparxxx declares (for what must be the 4,367th time) in his latest single "Ms. New Booty", "but the big city bottom fill me up with joy." Well, let there be no doubt about that; and he's not just talking booty here. When the hefty redneck rapper debuted five years ago, it was easy to dismiss him as just another Timbaland/Missy protégé (and a pretty darned gimmicky one at that), but his 2003 album Deliverance, with its innovative Appalachian funk production and intimately autobiographical rhymes, proved that Bubba had both the heart and the ambition to move well beyond his imminent one-hit-wonder status.
Yet on his recently released third album, the a-little-too-optimistically titled The Charm, Bubba spends much of his time explicitly disowning his previous (and to my mind, best) record, sonically, visually, and lyrically (gettin' sick of banjos and fiddles and shit) regressing into fat-bottomed, deep urban crunk - or at least a hopeful, street-striving approximation thereof. On "That Man", he virtually re-writes Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" as an International Pimp Anthem (and doesn't even deign to credit Stevie Wonder for the chord progression).
Though never less than a confrontational physical and vocal presence - he was never as clever as Eminem, but you could imagine him skewering Slim Shady over a barbecue pit - Bubba goes to great lengths to thug himself out for this record, stopping just short of grills, apparently. And while it works well with his rapping style - cool, low-key and a little monotone - it also feels like a letdown, a cop-out. And, perhaps, even a little dishonest - not so much a persona as an elaborate (and vaguely offensive) Halloween costume: John Boy goes to the Projects.
The production throughout, mostly by Atlanta's revered Organized Noize, is appealingly bass-heavy and minimal - perfect for rattling the innards of your automobile and just funky enough to help ignore Bubba's just-a-tiny-bit-above-average verses and place the emphasis on the just-a-tiny-bit-further-above-average choruses. Bubba lands a solid hit to my synth-loving sweet spot on 80s retro-fitted jams like the downright chirpy "As the Rim Spins", the almost-too-happy-about-life-and-everything "Wonderful", and the supercatchy "The Otherside" with its fast-talking verses, its gothic church organs and dramatic plucked strings. Even better is "Ain't Life Grand" (produced by Outkast's Big Boi) boasting infectiously swirling rhyme patterns, a solid old-school soul hook, and a Midnight in the Garden voodoo bongo beat.
But too often, the record is merely presentably (though not entirely generically) commercial - at their heart, these are really just cheesy pop songs - a clear and present bid for heavy rotation on MTV2's Sucka Free Countdown. (Check the Ying Yang Twins reprising their hit "The Whisper Song" on the lead single.) And out-cheesing them all is "Run Away", a heartfelt and churchily admirable declaration of paternal commitment punctuated by a molasses-sweet falsetto-crooner chorus sung by Frankie J. It's one of those proverbial things that make you go ewww.
Still, all told, The Charm isn't wholly charmless - it's actually quite listenable - but it's short on substance and willfully - proudly, even - welshes on the promise of Deliverance. An emphatic step back.
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BECAUSE YOU NEED TO KNOW:
"The Charm" by Bubba Sparxxx
New South / Purple Ribbon / Virgin Records
Released 4/4/06
Executive Producer: Big Boi
Producers: Organized Noize, Mr. Collipark, Mr. DJ and Slimm Jim, Big Boi, Jason "Koko" Bridges, Timbaland
44 min.
SONGS: Represent - Heat It Up - Clairmont Lounge - As the Rim Spins - That Man - The Otherside - Ain't Life Grand - Run Away - Wonderful - Ms. New Booty - Hey! (A Lil Gratitude)
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