Paul Wall
“The People’s Champ”
Atlantic
The Inside Pulse:
As a non-fan of the rap genre in general, it’s hard to really get a grasp on what to write when it comes to an album like this. I’ve heard a lot of rap music, but I’m rarely drawn to new material. What did draw me to “The People’s Champ” was Wall’s delivery: a slowed-down, slightly mumbled style that seemed to resonate with me on some level. The beats on the album aren’t entirely impressive (a little too slow and unimaginative for the most part), and Wall isn’t in the spotlight quite as much as I would have liked. But the lyrics are fun and the album retained my attention on first listen from end to end (I especially liked the fact there were no skits to be found on the album).
Positives:
The lyrics are fun to decipher and the cadence is laid back enough to make this a fun album to relax to. There’s also a couple of good cameo’s from Big Pokey and TI (for fans).
Negatives:
Wall does get lost in the mix at times and there was more than one occassion where I wasn’t even sure if he was on the track at all until I went back and checked. That, combined with the questionable beats and rhythm at times really pulled my overall score for the album down. I became a fan of Wall following his appearances on tracks by Nelly and Mike Jones and felt this album, for the most part, was lacking. And appearances by Lil’ Wayne and Freeway seemed to just clutter things.
Reasons to buy:
A handful of great tracks make this a worthy purchase: the album opener “Trill,” “Internet Goin Nutz” and “Sittin Sidewayz.” Apart from that, maybe fans more into rap music would find more to like. I was left wanting more.
