.E-40

The Ball Street Journal

E-40 is a shrewd businessman and competent rapper who at times
verged on being a great rapper. But usually his desire to remain
marketable outpaces his creativity — 40’s endless repetition of
certain slang words and quaint little sayings (i.e., “It ain’t just
bananas, it’s coconuts”) is more an attempt to create a brand identity
than to come up with witty rejoinders. A self-anointed hip-hop
“ambassador” who’s made most of his fortune in other industries (a
Fatburger franchise, a “Yay Area” slang primer, a liquor line, and San
Jose’s now-defunct Ambassador Lounge), 40 takes few risks with his
music. When he finds a successful formula, like the “hyphy” style that
shaped his 2006 album My Ghetto Report Card, he’ll beat it past
the point of death. Which explains why this year’s The Ball
Street Journal
— basically a Ghetto Report Card
reprise — already sounds like an anachronism.

The album opens with a hooky intro called “The Ambassador,” based
around a Digable Planets sample and a rousing rattle-and-clap beat. It
would be a great track, were it not so uncannily similar to Ghetto
Report Card
opener “Yay Area,” which had nearly the same beat (also
buoyed by a Digable Planets sample), and practically the same rap (the
words are slightly different, though the feel, tempo, and bar flows are
the same). Granted, Ghetto Report Card was an infectious album,
and so is this one. But it’s still unforgivable: “Got Rich Twice” could
be a bridge section to Turf Talk’s 2004 hit “It’s a Slumper”; “Poor
Man’s Hydraulics” is yet another “Muscle Cars” redux; “Pain No More” is
a self-pitying rap ballad with many antecedents; “The Recipe”
regurgitates the theme from 2006 song “White Girl,” minus the double
entendre; strip club song “Sliding Down the Pole” sounds like Too
$hort’s entire oeuvre; “Give Her the Keys” is an attempt to harness the
already tiresome T-Pain Autotune phenomenon.

The most compelling track on Ball Street is the minimalist “I
Can Sell It.” It’s the catchiest song, but more importantly, its title
could be an epigraph for the whole album. (Reprise)

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

East Bay Express E-edition East Bay Express E-edition
19,045FansLike
14,598FollowersFollow
61,790FollowersFollow
spot_img