Bubba Sparxxx - The Charm: Album Review

Bubba Sparxxx, The Charm (Virgin, 2006)
Count me as one of the many, many people who never did get around to checking out Deliverance (the album, I mean - not one of the all-time great films); so you'll have to excuse me if I'm way off the mark here. But from what I understand basically no one bought it, and so Bubba got all mad, and has now re-emerged as this crazed chauvinist asshole.

Funny how that happens.

REPRESENT

The chorus, like most rap songs these days, borrows a line from the greatest rapper of all time, Biggie Smalls. The beat suggests clubby bullshit, but the lyrics are on point. This is good commercial-sounding hip-hop. Like "Hypnotize."

HEAT IT UP

This has more of a Timbaland feel, even though, from what I understand, he's not down with Timbaland. But then it's not so often that you hear real Timbaland these days, so whatever. He must be out spending that Justin Timberlake money on orange juice or whatever.

CLAREMONT LOUNGE

If I'm not mistaken, this was on that Purple Ribbon compilation from last year - perhaps in some other form. Anyway, if you dig ignorant-ass misogynistic rap music, this is the best thing to come along since I don't know when. It almost deserves its own post.

AS THE RIM SPINS

With its beat, this could be one of the more eclectic numbers from the past couple of OutKast albums. The lyrics are soulless and ridonkulous to the point where you wonder if this is satire, but it's probably not.

THAT MAN

Hold on, d-bags. I think I know the chord progression from Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" when I hear it. After all, I was in high school from '95-'99. That shit wasn't exactly rare, especially in the suburbs.

THE OTHERSIDE

Bubba experiments with some sort of double or triple-timed flow, to mixed results. Petey Pablo, who probably tripped signing to Death Row, kicks a verse.

AIN'T LIFE GRAND

You get the feeling Big Boi may have forced Bubba to do this song with Purple Ribbon bag handler Scar as a condition of his being signed to the label, not unlike Jay-Z did LL with the Todd Smith album.

RUN AWAY

Bubba kicks some real shit on this one, but the beat might cross the line into being not-even-hip-hop-anymore. And Frankie J sings on it; so, I mean, there you go.

WONDERFUL

Reminds me of whatever that song that was Bubba's first big single. No, my memory isn't that bad, but as some bag pointed out in the comments to yesterday's Flaming Lips, anything after 5 pm on this site has probably been written under the influence.

MS. NEW BOOTY

Bubba teams up for with Mr. Collipark and the Ying Yang Twins for the album's big single. It's likely you've heard it. Actually, it sounds a lot more like that David Banner song to me than it does The Whisper Song, even though one of the bags from Ying Yang kicks a whisper verse.

HEY! (A LIL' GRATITUDE)

Sounds almost exactly "Brush Your Shoulders Off," or whatever that Jay-Z song was called. Does that mean that Timbaland is still doing beats on this album? Fuck. I'm a retard.

If that's the case, then how come Bubba is on Purple Ribbon now, and not Timbaland's label? Anyone, Bueller?

COMMENTS: In case you haven't noticed, I don't always dig on a lot of commercial-sounding hip-hop albums, but I rathered enjoyed this one. In particular, I can appreciate the fact that Bubba has gotten pissed off at the state of modern day hip-hop and his decided - rightfully so, I think - to take that anger out on women. Ten years from now, we may look back at this album as being prophetic.

BEST TRACKS: "Represent" "Claremont Lounge" "Ms. New Booty"