by Debra Au
Daily Lobo
The rap genre continues to roll
down the slippery slope of super-
ficiality.
Talented rappers such as Tupac
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Shakur, Jay-Z and Kanye West are
few and far between, becoming
rarer with each subsequent album
release.
Every week, it seems, there are
MCs who are quick to rap about
cars, expensive jewelry and prowess
with the opposite sex, but rarely
do they have any qualities that endure
longer than fifteen minutes.
The next in the line of flashy
rappers with no substance is Dem
Franchize Boyz with their album
On Top of Our Game.
Expect nothing new from these
Atlanta rappers. You'll find somewhat
catchy beats, misogynistic
lyrics and repetitive hooks which
become old and boring even before the song is halfway over - which
is surprising, since famed rap veteran
Jermaine Dupri is the executive
producer.
While I'm sure this is fun to
listen to at dance clubs when the
music is so loud the trite lyrics are
unintelligible, it is slightly less interesting
on a small speaker system
at home.
The first single, "Lean Wit It,
Rock Wit It," which features Peanut
and Charlay, consists of two
and a half minutes of reiterating
the title over a heavy bass line and
high-pitched synthesizer. Even after
the first two chants of the hook,
the song becomes irksome, making
the listener almost say, "OK, I get
it already. First I have to lean 'wit'
it, then I have to rock. Lay off it already,
will ya?"
I can't say On the Top of Our
Game gets any better.
That is unless you like to hear
about explicit sex acts on tunes
like "As Freaky as She Wanna Be"
or hear how the group members
hate to talk to their girlfriends, or
bitches, as Dem Franchize Boyz refers
to them on "Stop Callin' Me."
Coincidently, or not, "Stop Callin'
Me" sounds almost exactly the
same as "Don't Play with Me." It's
the same synthesizer beat, same
hook repetition, same expletives,
same ol' same ol'.
If Dem Franchize Boyz think
this album could be the pinnacle
of their career - if they truly are at
the top of their game - they must
have awfully low standards. After
all, the fame clock is ticking away,
and it's already 14:59.
