Album reveals little creativity

By Wes Woods, On-Line Forty-Niner

Wednesday, October 7, 1998

"Big Dawgs," a song from Killa Tay's debut album "Mr. Mafioso," on AWOL records, reveals a lot more about his album than he probably intended. Featuring a mediocre J-Dubb, Tay ranks second in smoothness behind the polished and booming vocals of the one and only C-Bo.

Despite outshining the other lyricists on this album, the Fresno native needs to put more time in the studio.

Every song touches on a murder theme in the same way every other reality rap record has. Tay's style is very loud and wordy, forcing the listener to decipher his average style.

The lyrics "Stompin' in my steel toes, headin' for the murder show," is an example of his lack of creativity.

C-Bo used these same lyrics from his previous album "The Autopsy."

"Triccs," a misogynistic song about women, is a disaster. The beat sounds like the producer had the day off.

The boring drum beats and sinister-sounding synthesizer do not go together.

Tay tries to make up for it by turning the volume up in his voice, but with the pathetic lyrics, it is horrible.

Despite these missteps, there are a few bright moments.

"Murda 1" featuring label-mate Marvaless comes off nicely with its catchy synths and keyboards that twinkle over the pounding drums.

One of Tay's lyrics, "Leavin' 'em holy like a deacon," added a nice touch.

"My Past-time," despite the tedious R'n'B singing, is also a good song. Lyrics like, "Couldn't turn to my momma, because cocaine had her," draws the listener in over the sad, wailing synthesizer and slow drums.

However, the tracks throughout this album, all similar from the last album, wear down the listener. Just about every track on this album is slow.

Thus, so will the fate of Tay's record sales.