I already know what the haters are going to say. HiphopDx doesn’t know anything about the south.

Damn that.

I respect the south, and I can get down with good southern hip hop like the next man. But this is not good music. It’s stereotypical southern rap, plain and simple. That is: diamonds in my necklace, 20 inch rims, purple drank, hoes, dope etc. Fifteen tracks of stereotype after stereotype-right down to the artist names e.g. Lil (you fill in the blank) and Big (you fill in the blank). Officially, Trill Fam consists of Webbie, Lil Boosie, Big Head, 3 Deep and some guy named Foxx. You know you’re in trouble when the most well regarded dude in your group is Webbie.

Artistic content on this one is essentially non-existent. Unfortunately, track titles like Do It Stick It, Bout Dat, Got Me Bent, and Watch My Shoes actually reflect the theme of the album: mediocrity.

“What about such provocative titles as Politician Networkin and Materialistic Bitch?” you might ask. The Fam almost approaches coherence on these two; except that both titles are simply flawed grammar. The hook on the former is actually I’m a politic-ing networking, vet working, tech-workin blah blah blah. Materialistic Bitch technically should be “materialistic, bitch” (as in I’m materialistic, bitch.) Most of the album is not even usual cliché fabric woven into real tales of hood life. The whole album is just one long try at club music.

However, the production (courtesy of 3 Deep member Mouse) is not necessarily bad. There is plenty of bass and head –nodding throughout the compilation, and the breaks are crisp. It’s just that most of the beats are be generic… you keep trying to think of where you’ve heard the beat before, but then when the song is over you can’t remember it to save your life.

Usually, not having a slew of big-name guest appearances is a good thing. Usually. Tracks like Thug Me Like That, Same Ol Shit, and Swangin are begging for Lil Jon or Lil Wayne… somebody, anybody to come in at any moment. But they don’t. Wipe Me Down is the over-hyped single that’s getting massive radio airplay (at least in my town) and Adios is billed as #2. There’s even a Wipe Me Down Remix on the disc, which sounds promising until you realize that the remix is EXACTLY the same song with EXACTLY the same first verse. Since when does “remix” mean “add two verses from Webbie and Lil Boosie?”

Geez.

Let’s just say that I was less than impressed. The Trill Fam takes themselves way too seriously on this one (no, the feds do not have your phone tapped gentlemen) and the repetitive nature of the album leave much to be desired. Nevermind the absolute lack of lyrical proficiency or creativity…definitely not a good look for Baton Rouge.