Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz

(Atlantic)

Once, in the Land of Hip-Hop, there was a tale of two coasts, the East Coast and the West Coast.

The East Coast spawned hard-nosed, fast-talking hustlers with witty, lyrical, Uzi-speed flows about standing on the corner selling rock, Biggie style.

The West Coast was all about slick, funktified beats and the way the track bumped with smoked-out rhymes on top. Instant classics were repeatedly churned out of Los Angeles' Death Row Records, produced by the Mozart of his art, Dr. Dre.

Then, somewhere between OutKast and No Limit, there emerged a new sound of hip-hop from down South.

These days, it's hard to compare the Southern style to East- or West-Coast alternatives because it really stands on its own. This is where the Kentucky-based six-man collective of Nappy Roots stems from. The band's style could be compared to West Coast, being that two members are from Oakland, but the music is more like a test-tube baby of OutKast, A Tribe Called Quest, Cash Money Millionaires, Arrested Development and Bone Thugs. The beats rely heavily on guitars, organs, record samples, drum machines and loops, and end up sounding like Mannie Fresh and Timbaland produced them on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

The single "Awnaw" sports quick spit bars stuck between a slow, soulful chorus. The result is the tip of the iceberg when defining this group. "Sholiz" boasts the catchiest beat on the album, with a whistle-type loop rolling under up-beat verses. The titles of the album's tracks, like "Ballin' On A Budget," "Ho Down," "My Ride," "Life's A Bitch" and "Blowin' Trees," sum up Nappy's lyrical content. This LP isn't saying anything new, but with a sound this hybrid, it's worth a few turns.