ashanti-fied

yes, it's one nation under irv gotti as murder inc's latest star has mysteriously charmed the fuck out of the american charts with her blander-than-bland voice and strangely catch-less melodies. i can't find it in my heart to dislike "foolish" or "what's luv?", but when ja rule himself is involved, it turns odious. "always on time" is an odd throwback to the days of "crossover" rap, where polite synths must chime over an equally polite beat, and the heartfelt chorus must be repeated far too many times, so ja can deliver his tired selection of rhyme pattern tics (ok, this might apply to most rappers but ja rule's are more annoying!) and ghetto-sensitive stance.

all this despite [insertdozensofr'n'brapsingleshere] having proved there's no need to compromise (innovative sonics or hardcore-ness) to sell tons of records. this is somewhat true of all three singles, and it's rendered explicit by using biggie's "one more chance" beat on "foolish" - that was big's last attempt to seduce an even wider demographic before every sensible person realized tougher club hits ("hypnotize"!) could do well enough anyway. to my ears, murder inc are making a calculated attempt to appeal to an audience larger even than the 3 or 4 million that most highly visible rappers can sell; that's fine by me, but do they have to go about it in such a boring way?

(nb: "one more chance" is still wicked)