Tweet
Review: D12, 'D12 World'
D12’s debut album, 2001’s “Devil’s Night,” was the sound of the world’s most talented rapper holding court with the world’s least ambitious group. Notable mainly for its failed attempts at shock value, the album was like Howard Stern doing a radio show with his less-talented imitators. Two years, 2 million sales and a tangible lack of respect later, “D12 World” fares better. Bizarre, Kon Artis, Kuniva, Proof and Swift sound like they’re on a mission to prove they’re more than Eminem’s backing band, and mostly it works, though Kuniva and Swift still tend to suffer from an interchangeable disease, a running joke on the album.
As far as Em — the aforementioned world’s most talented rapper — is concerned, he is both D12’s gift and its curse; he’s over-relied on in choruses, but Em-free tracks such as “U R the One” and the Kanye West-produced title track feel like throwaways. Stylistically, D12 tackles crunk on the bombastic “40 Oz.,” acts self-effacing on the boy band send-up “My Band” and gets sentimental for its fallen comrade Bugz on “Good Die Young,” while Bizarre treats “Just Like You” like the the evil doppelganger of Nas’ “I Can.”
But with Bizarre in particular, there’s too much of an emphasis put on “shocking” lyrics that tend to fall flat, taking away from the album’s better moments, such as “6 in the Morning” and the Dr. Dre-produced “American Psycho II,” which are treated like rotating freestyle sessions and find each MC at his hungriest. “D12 World” is a step in the right direction for the Motor City collective, but in this case, this “World” is not enough. GRADE: B-
Source: http://www.detnews.com/2004/cdreview...e11-137923.htm
As far as Em — the aforementioned world’s most talented rapper — is concerned, he is both D12’s gift and its curse; he’s over-relied on in choruses, but Em-free tracks such as “U R the One” and the Kanye West-produced title track feel like throwaways. Stylistically, D12 tackles crunk on the bombastic “40 Oz.,” acts self-effacing on the boy band send-up “My Band” and gets sentimental for its fallen comrade Bugz on “Good Die Young,” while Bizarre treats “Just Like You” like the the evil doppelganger of Nas’ “I Can.”
But with Bizarre in particular, there’s too much of an emphasis put on “shocking” lyrics that tend to fall flat, taking away from the album’s better moments, such as “6 in the Morning” and the Dr. Dre-produced “American Psycho II,” which are treated like rotating freestyle sessions and find each MC at his hungriest. “D12 World” is a step in the right direction for the Motor City collective, but in this case, this “World” is not enough. GRADE: B-
Source: http://www.detnews.com/2004/cdreview...e11-137923.htm