Musician says little

By Wes Woods, On-Line Forty-Niner

Wednesday, October 21, 1998

Despite some ear-pleasing musical moments, Lil Ric's latest album, "It's Like Armageddon," is unable to hold up its end in the lyric department.

With his third release on AWOL records, Ric is still struggling to find his sound. His laid-back, street-oriented, gun-related lyrics sound, for the most part, generic.

His hook on the song "In my Life Time," with Probable Cauze, is a good example. "In my lifetime, I've done seen so much dirt ... In my lifetime, I've done felt so much hurt ... ."

Lil Ric seems like he is reading lyrics from a sheet of paper. Lyrics such as "Got the 45 ruge, I'ma guzzle 100 proof, I'm up the interstate getting blow with ghetto trues ..., " are acceptable, but hardly classic material.

Ric tends to come off nicely when he sticks with his laid-back delivery over a medium-paced drumbeat. His slip-in and slip-out delivery (much like C-Murder) works well, despite lukewarm lyrics.

Arguably, the best song is the mellow, synth-heavy and cruise-ready "My Kalifornia." Ric describes his California home where he is "sippin' Hennessey with killa g's."

Unlike the rest of the album, the melody is not bad. "Immediately" is another nice cut. It has a unique hard-edged yet breezy feel to it, with Ric delivering an infectious hook.

The Richmond native's short, 2pac influenced, "4 Tha 4 Sho's" is a decent cut. Its creepy synths and dancing keyboards with medium drums work effectively.

Unfortunately, the slower cuts just provide filler material.

During the album's introduction, Ric claims, "It's like Armageddon ... there will be no sequel." With this album, unfortunately, he may be right.