CD review/Hip-hop wrap...Timbaland, Young Buck & Xzibit

[KiwiCoromandel]

Can hip-hop's fading fortunes be resurrected by big guns Timbaland, Young Buck and Xzibit? Music reviewer Chris Schulz finds out...

Shock Value

Timbaland

Interscope

**

You can't avoid Timbaland. The legendary music producer is everywhere, crafting huge recent hits for Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake and, er, The Pussycat Dolls. Despite a guest list including Fall Out Boy, The Hives, Elton John and Missy Elliott, Timbaland's solo album lacks the spark that inspires his chart success. Only club anthem Give It To Me and the dirty filth of the Dr Dre-inspired Bounce are worth adding to Timbaland's impressive CV. Let's face facts: He's probably saving his best tracks to sell to others.

Buck the World

Young Buck

Interscope

****

Young Buck's name rhymes with a very dirty word, and the G-Unit rapper knows it. His second album is called Buck the World, and its best track - a horn-drenched stunner - is called Get Buck. Geddit? Thankfully, there's more to Young Buck than profanity and gangsta posturing. Buck can rap, and on Buck the World he proves it time and again. He even out-rhymes the much-heralded Young Jeezy on the synth-fuelled Pocket Full of Paper. Forget Tony Yayo, forget Lloyd Banks - hell, forget 50 Cent. Young Buck is the only G-Unit rapper worth your time.

Full Circle

Xzibit

Illusive

**

Is Xzibit getting soft? The cover art for his new album shows the rapper-turned-TV host meditating, and the hook for first single Concentrate is based around a Buddhist monk chant. Unfortunately, like much of Full Circle, it doesn't really work. Alvin Nathaniel Joiner's sixth album sounds tired and the beats out of date, and his attempt at maturity on tracks like Family Values is plain cheesy. At least Xzibit has a day job hosting Pimp My Ride, otherwise he could be in trouble.

source:Stuff.co.nz/Chris Schulz

image:Stuff.co.nz