On the cover of his third CD, rapper Cam'ron (real name: Cameron Giles) strikes a gangsta pose while holding his 2-year-old son Cameron Jr. As the parental-advisory warning label indicates, though, this is no family album. Showering his songs with language that would make any mother cover her ears, Cam'ron's hardcore lyrics graphically depict life on the streets of Harlem, where he was raised. There is a gritty realism at work here, but some of the violent imagery and, in particular, sexual slurs against women can be disturbing. As a rhymer, Cam'ron lacks the musical flow of executive producer Jay-Z, who appears on "Welcome to New York City." That track is one of the few with no samples or interpolations; everyone from Aretha Franklin to D'Angelo is referenced. On such retro-soulful cuts as the No. 1 R&B hit "Oh Boy," Cam'ron tempers the thug act, to the delight of radio and BET censors.—C.A.
Bottom Line: Don't take this Home to the kids
Soundtrack (DMZ/Columbia)
Album of the week
After winning four Grammys (including Album of the Year) earlier this year for producing the bluegrassy O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, T Bone Burnett keeps it reel with this compilation of roots music from the new comedy-drama. Taking his cues from the film's Louisiana setting, Burnett serves up a zesty gumbo of Cajun traditionals (three performed by zydeco singer-guitarist Ann Savoy), blues (including three Jimmy Reed tunes), folk (Richard and Linda Thompson's "Dimming of the Day") and Southern gospel (Mahalia Jackson's "Walk in Jerusalem"). The disc features new songs by Lauryn Hill, Bob Dylan and Bob Schneider (costar Sandra Bullock's country-rock former beau) that make a cozy fit in these down-home surroundings, but Macy Gray takes Best Supporting Artist honors with her swinging version of the Billie Holiday standard "I Want to Be Your Mother's Son-in-Law."
Bottom Line: Rah-rah for Ya-Ya
Rush (Anthem/Atlantic)
Now for the world's smallest Jeopardy! categories: Hugh Grant "Westerns, J.D. Salinger appearances on TRL, intellectual metal bands. Rush may be the sole claimant to that last title, but even if they still rattle and stimulate the brain with as much crash-thump voltage as ever following a six-year break from recording, their newest hooks don't match their best.
Lyricist/drummer Neil Peart, who lost his 19-year-old daughter in 1997 (in a car accident) and his wife a year later (to cancer), has turned from futurist social commentary to personal yearning and nature images; those menacing synthesizers are gone too. On vocals, Geddy Lee has shed some of his skyscraping upper levels (now his voice is no higher than, say, Sheryl Crow's). This is stripped, hard stuff with plenty of musicianship but no must-have tracks.
Bottom Line: Straightforward Trail
Paulina Rubio (Universal)
Mexican-born Paulina Rubio's last release was named Billboard's Latin Album of the Year for 2001. But on her English-language debut, there is little to suggest that Rubio's disposable dance-pop will match the crossover success of other Latina divas such as Shakira. The thin-voiced but videogenic singer, who has also achieved fame as an actress in Mexican soap operas and films, brings to mind Kylie Minogue with fluffy, '80s-style uptempo numbers such as the single "Don't Say Goodbye." She even does a high-energy club cover of Kiss's 1979 hit "I Was Made for Lovin' You." Making a couple of forays into the pop-R&B territory of Jennifer Lopez, Rubio also awkwardly adds hip-hop elements to the mix, bringing in rapper Pretty Willie for one song. Rubio still remembers her roots, peppering some tunes with flamenco guitar and brassy horns while performing four tracks in her native tongue. Even so, the results aren't very spicy.
Bottom Line: A borderline effort
- Contributors:
- Chuck Arnold,
- Kyle Smith.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
