Chamillionaire - The Sound Of Revenge

Genre hip hop Publisher Universal Records External Links Official Chamillionaire Website Official Universal Records Website

In small doses, Chamillionaire's The Sound Of Revenge is an extremely lively and entertaining listen. But beware of the urge to play all sixteen tracks in one sitting. Especially if you're not the biggest rap/hip-hop fan. If you're not paying attention, you may think you've been listening to more than half the album when you haven't even gotten past track five.

Not that Chamillionaire isn't vastly talented, quite the opposite. Lyrically, musically and vocally ("flow" for whiteys not in the know) Chamillionaire leads the pack of Houston-based rappers who've burst onto the national scene in the past year plus. Unlike Mike Jones, who appears marginally talented at best, and Paul Wall, who has vocal gifts but nothing to say, Chamillionaire (who used to be partnered musically with Wall) raps, sings, and has a distinctive, even charming style.

Though the Scott Storch-produced, Lil Flip-cameo "Turn It Up" was the album's first single, it's "Ridin" that blazed up the charts. It's also the song that turned this writer's ear, proving to be an early pick for best single of the year. It's "Knight Rider"-esque beats, Krayzie Bone guest appearance, and socially charged lyrics combine to make a song that is compelling, fun, and terrifying all at once. For once, "keeping' it real" isn't an exercise in inane antics or cartoonish posturing. With "Ridin," Chamillionaire has crafted a song that signifies the year 2006. There may be bigger songs this year, but it's hard to imagine one that resonates as deeply as "Ridin" does.

If only the rest of the album reached "Ridin's" plateaus. Again, there's much to enjoy, but hardly a single other song stands out as strongly, and "Ridin's" chart successor "Fly As the Sky" is hardly worthy of inheriting its crown. Still, Chamillionaire does have impeccable flow, a good sense for collaborators ("Southern Takeover's" guest appearances by Killer Mike and Pastor Troy are a considerable boost to that song, and Natalie positively oozes personality on "Think I'm Crazy," a silky smooth song that deserves to be a single and which has deep roots in the UK's Trip-Hop movement), and a distinctive style, both vocally and musically. In a perfect world, Chamillionaire's next effort will whittle the tracks down a bit and stretch out a bit thematically. Then, and only then, will he emerge as a talent for the ages.