By
Phil Leckman
Grade: D
Trapped in Crime, the latest offering of rap entrepreneur Master P's No Limit Records, recently debuted in the Billboard Top 10. It is anyone's guess why.
No Limit has no reputation for creativity, and C-Murder's latest does little but recycle the same tired gangsta clichˇs about guns, jail and "bitches." As C-Murder plods along like a second-rate Tupac Shakur, one wonders if his career would flourish if he were forced to rely on his rap skills rather than the fact that he is Master P's brother.
Worst by far, though, are the beats, courtesy of No Limit's spectacularly clueless Beats by the Pound production crew. A good beat is at the heart of every decent gangsta-rap tune - Dr. Dre is just one example of a mediocre rapper who is made listenable thanks to lush, bass-heavy rhythms. In contrast, the tinny Casio-keyboard drivel here would not even cut it as a Nintendo soundtrack. The only breaks from the repetitive bleeps and bloops come when snippets of music are stolen directly from other artists. C-Murder could not carry a tune in a wheelbarrow, but listening to him sample the Luniz' "I Got 5 On It" is a lot easier on the ears than another lame "original" composition.
Master P is currently neglecting rap while he pursues a professional basketball career. Here's wishing him luck - maybe the NBA will keep him too busy to produce hip-hop records and his untalented friends and family will have to go out and find real jobs.
