The Ladies of Gangster Rap (1999)

Deff Trapp's Ladies of Gangster Rap shouldn't be seen as the definitive word on distaff gangsta, but it isn't a bad sampler, since it contains fine cuts from Foxy Brown ("Chyna Whyte"), MC Lite ("For All the Years"), Lil' Kim ("Not Tonight"), Mia X ("What 'Cha Wanna Do") and Gangster Boo ("Where Dem Dollars At"). The second half isn't as good as the first, since it contains three cuts from Cl'che and two from Trapp, and it all sounds a little monotonous. Nevertheless, the first half makes it worthwhile for listeners who are already fans of the genre. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

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Rza As Bobby Digital - Digital Bullet (2001)

Wu-Tang Clan mastermind RZA's sophomore solo project comes with Kobe Bryant-high expectations. Unfortunately, there's much here to suggest that the RZA's beat-making skills need to be RZA-rected. The largely sample-based vocal loops employed on "Can't Loose" and spontaneous tempo changes on "Brooklyn Babies" hint at the full brilliance once illustrated by one of hip-hop's most avant-garde producers. Similarly, "Must Be Bobby" boasts some of the off-kilter keyboard sounds that have become a trademark of his productions. However, long gone are the experimental beats and rhymes first heard on Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Instead, one is left with confusing tracks in which barely decipherable rapid-fire rhymes about bedding women and shooting guns are strung together. "Black Widow Pt.2" is another one of those mediocre and offensive songs where lyrical loose cannon Ol' Dirty Bastard utters juvenile profanities. While "Show You Love" is a timely ode to the full range of Wu diehards, Bobby Digital's sexcapade rhymes square off one too many times against his 5%-Nation-of-Islam musings. Doesn't one style completely undermine the other? Well, "Build Strong" kind of sums up why RZA's once-dominant career is spiraling downwards when he raps that he's "physically enslaved by the luxuries of this world / So I behave like a man inside the grave, who's life is lost." --Dalton Higgins

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