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RECORDINGS : Quick Spins
(Umg Ipecac Recordings)
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Although Joc is one of the least introspective rappers around -- hey, if you want deep analysis, you check out Jung, not Yung -- he has a few moments where he displays something resembling substance. On "Play Your Cards," producers Cool & Dre mimic the synth foundation of T.I.'s "What You Know" with little success, but Joc manages to channel the flow of his fellow Atlanta MC without simply copying his style. Yung Joc also shines on the group effort "Cut Throat," featuring the Game and Jim Jones.
Those glimmers of promise signal that it may be time for Joc to stop corrupting children and start making more adult-oriented rap albums.
-- Sarah Godfrey
DOWNLOAD THESE:"Play Your Cards," "Cut Throat"
CAN I KEEP THIS PEN?
Northern State
Suburban, white and female, this hip-hop trio from Long Island deserves a lot more respect than it sometimes gets. Its old-school beats, progressive politics and crisscrossing rhymes might not have much in the way of street cred, but that doesn't make the group's sisterly camaraderie and wisecracking give-and-take any less infectious.
The three MCs sing and rock out more here than on their previous records, fusing electro-punk with retro rap, and generally to good effect. With its pulsating synths and singalong chorus, the tough-girl power-pop of "Better Already" updates vintage Go-Go's. The ping-ponging dance-rocker "Good Distance," meanwhile, is cauterized by pop-metal bursts of distorted guitar. The ambient ballad "Run off the Road" might be a tad somnolent for some, but its trippy soul groove could almost give the loungey likes of Air and Stereolab a run for their money.
Nevertheless, Northern State's cheeky, hyper-referential rhymes remain its strong suit. "MTV, much to my chagrin/Is about as exciting as an ottoman," quips Hesta Prynn to the skittering breakbeats and buzzing synths of the album-opening "Mic Tester."
"Sucka . . ." skewers a wannabe thug: "Put down that 40-ounce beer/You were shopping at Abercrombie just this year/So give up the gangsta [expletive] you talkin'/And take those snap-on grills right on back to Weehawken." Later, in three-part harmony, the group takes some real heavyweights to task: "This one's goin' out to the Democrats/2004 y'all came real whack/. . . But now that we got some real candidates/Can we please come correct in 2008?"
-- Bill Friskics-Warren
DOWNLOAD THESE: "Sucka . . .," "Mother May I?"
