Hood Hop (by J-Kwon, Rap)

Let's start with the hit single from HOOD HOP, "Tipsy" -- a celebration of underage drinking -- and take it from there. It begins with this eloquent spoken-word moment: "Teen drinking is very bad / "Yeah, I got a fake ID though," then goes on to chronicle a drunken party in crushing musical monotony. The CD is an equal-opportunity offender, taking on all the usual suspects with immature nastiness and an extra helping of misogyny. There is supposedly an edited version available, but as is often the case, it's very hard to find. It also doesn't help that production values are lazy and the songs are boring.

All of the lead vocals on the CD are delivered in a whiny nasal monotone, and overprocessed music tracks lack any spark of creativity. Worst of all is the feeling that the artist himself is just about bored to death. J-Kwon sings even his most titillating lyrics as though he couldn't be bothered to care, and would rather be somewhere else. And if he doesn't care, why should we? This one's a good one to skip.

Released on: March 30, 2004
Label: Arista
Genre: Rap
Parental advisory: Yes
Edited version available: Yes