J-kwon:
Hood Hop

Release Date: 12 April 2004

Reviewed By: Usman Sajjad

1. Intro

2. Hood Hop

3. Tipsy

4. Ic Ic - feat, St Lunatics

5. Show Your Ass - feat, Eboni Eyes

6. Musty Intrlude

7. They Ask Me

8. Underwear

9. Welcome To Tha Hood

10. U Ain't Gonna Like Me - feat, Big B

11. Musty Interlude II

12. My Enemies - feat, Jermaine Dupri

13. Parking Lot

14. You & Me - feat, Sadiyyah

15. Morning Light

Nelly - Sweat
Read Review

Since Nelly, St Louis has given rise to some of the freshest and most exciting new talent, including Murphy Lee, Ludacris’ artist, Chingy with his club fillers, and now J-Kwon. Production comes from The Trackboyz (Nappy Roots, Nelly) who discovered J-Kwon before Arista picked him up.

‘Tipsy’ is the first release from the debut set, and is a head moving, club record, with J managing to maintain his simple rhymes. Still representing St Louis, J-Kwon decided to bring along the St Lunatics on ‘IC IC’. The track may be a potential club-filler for some, but others may feel “drowned” by how everyone on the track seems to possess a very similar delivery to J-Kwon, with the only artist holding it down on the track being Murphy Lee.

The focus is then shifted from partying to life in the hood, with J not forgetting his roots in the inner city of St Louis on cuts such as ‘Welcome To The Hood’ and ‘U Aint Gotta Like Me’. Here, there is not much to buzz about except the brilliant Trackboyz beat.

J shows us his sensitive side with the autobiographical ‘They Ask Me’, where he uses heartfelt lyrics such as: “Cell phone rang/ Didn’t answer/ Checked my voicemail/ My Grandma got cancer”. The tracks ‘Underwear’ and ‘Show Your Ass’ sound similar with the beats again coming from the Trackboyz, and although they contain strong elements of flute playing, there is no display of attractive, ear catching rhymes. Serious cuts such as ‘My Enemies’ with Jermaine Dupri are adequate to say the least, and on this occasion, J-Kwon shows some of his rhyming qualities, but again there is no real presence of witty rhymes.

This is a very under par album, and fell well below my expectations. I had expected a strong and impressive debut like Nelly’s ‘Country Grammar’, but instead received a highly buzzed, commercial, hip pop album. The only thing that really kept me listening was the Trackboyz’s impressive and versatile array of beats, but there was no real depth in J-Kwon’s lyrics, showing his intention of controlling the charts, rather than the street scene.

The record is more of a club album, and even the ‘hood’ records have a ‘club-banging’ feel to them, which was only appreciated on tracks such as ‘Tipsy’ and ‘Show Me Your Ass’. One other thing, what is a 17-year-old doing drinking, when the limit is 21? The question in itself is humorous when you think that this rapper is also discussing drugs, partying and sex in his records, and calls himself the ‘Teen President’.

‘Hood Hop’ is an album which may be good for those who enjoy club bangers mixed with commercial hip hop, but other than that, this album would be a waste of time.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Top 3 Tracks
7. They Ask Me
3. Tipsy
5. Show Your Ass

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