MGF Reviews Hurricane Chris – Louisi-Animal [MIXTAPE]

Reviews


Hurricane Chris – Louisi-Animal [MIXTAPE]
Polo Grounds Music (8/21/07)
Rap / Hip-hop

Anyone who has ever enjoyed rap—either for an instant or an era—must come to the realization that this industry is, at its heart, a young man’s game. The hunger that once drove a generation of future legends to the mic is inevitably satiated with money, fame and the short-attention span of fans whose “favorite rappers” have given way to “favorite ringtones”.

Chris “Hurricane Chris” Dooley is an 18-year-old overnight sensation out of Shreveport, Louisiana. His single “A Bay Bay” cracked the Billboard Top Ten and his upcoming debut album, Ratchet 51/50, has become one of the more anticipated of the season. In advance of his release, Chris has dropped Louisi-Animal—a 19-track mixtape “hosted” by ubiquitous mixtape fixture Don Cannon.

Let’s not mince words—there’s all of one good thing about this album. OK, fine…three good things: the guest verses of established lyricists The Game, Jadakiss and E-40 on the remix to “A Bay Bay”. However, their respective appearances here—particularly Jada’s—have a sadly defeatist’s “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” aroma.

As a rapper, Hurricane Chris mixes an elementary school flow with whatever rap clichés come across his mind. On “Gimme 50” (hook: “up, up, down, down, drop and gimme 50, girl”) he spits:

“Now let me play it like ‘intendo
Your booty’s bigger than an A/C unit put up in the window”

There’s also the obligatory “invent a new dance” track on the dated, idiotic “Rick James”. Has it really been nearly five years since that Chappelle Show skit? It’s safe to say America has moved on, Chris. And the embarrassing vocal stylings aren’t limited to the star of this show. On “Watch Me Do This”, a cameo by K The Kid lets us know:

“I’m an ape, n*gga, f*ck a gorilla!”

All of which brings us back to my original position: rap is a young man’s game. At some point, it’s passed—or will pass—all of us by. Those of us who remember when its IQ was in the triple digits will be left wondering when the dumbing down began and, more importantly, how low it must go before it ends.

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