click logo for homepage
 
 

	Vol.7, No 71, February 9, 2000
	Lox's 2nd CD decent attempt for hip-hop group By Wes Woods II Daily Forty-Niner Rap group The Lox's second album, "We Are The Streets," is a million times better than its first attempt "Money Power & Respect." Unfortunately, that doesn't make the compact disc a classic.   CD REVIEW: B- Jadakiss, Styles and Sheek's lyrics feature the cliched, unimaginative topics of killing, murder and death. At times the group puts together some creative lines, but generally the group is lyrically predictable. Luckily, their energetic deliveries salvage the album. The hard edged and angry "We Are The Streets," which is on Ruff Ryder/Interscope records, completely breaks away from the glitzy aspects of "Money Power & Respect," which came out on Bad Boy Records. The group does address its controversial change in record companies on the skit "Rape'n U Records" and song "We Are The Streets," but only briefly. Instrumentals on "We Are The Streets" all have producer Swizz Beats' trademarks: average paced drums, a screeching siren in the backdrop and a few scratches thrown in. Though the style is effective on some tracks, on others it's just overkill. The attempts that seem to stand out the most, "Recognize" and "Ryde or Die B----," are produced by DJ Premier and Timbaland. Premier's effort has a nice piano sprinkle with catchy drums. Timbaland uses a head-bobbing beat with a heavy jazz influence to engage the listener. And while there are some nice efforts by Swizz Beats, they start to sound monotonous over the course of the album. "We Are The Streets" starts off dismal enough, with a boring introduction and two unimaginative songs, "F-- You" and "Can I Live" with Kasino. "F-- You" has the group trying to intimidate the listener with threats and loud-voiced deliveries. A boring symphonic tone lulls the listener to sleep over a snail-paced drumbeat. "Can I Live" with Kasino is another less-than-stellar attempt at a rap song. The hook is tedious, with The Lox passively chanting about nothing in particular. Jadakiss' opening line of "Now I done said everything y'all could possibly say/ask them n---- in your camp is you hotter than J" is laughable at best. The aggressive "Felony N----," catchy hook on "Wild Out" and bleak instrumental of "Blood Pressure" quickly redeem the album's missteps, however. And while "We Are The Streets" is not the most original attempt at hip-hop, it's a decent album.		Valentine artist a mystery   Sandler to visit campus   CSULB drops land plan   Teacher education goals being met, CSU report says Contributions mean buying politicians Ballad Session offers romantic songs in time for upcoming holiday   Lox's 2nd CD decent attempt for hip-hop group   Imports offer great music in spite of high price Women's team adds players Spring 2000 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach © 2000 All rights reserved.