Slimm Calhoun: The Skinny : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Outkast protege Slimm Calhoun proves that he has his own players' ball going on with his solo debut (the inaugural release on OutKast's new Aquemini label), The Skinny. Calhoun jumps off from the forward-looking freak scene of his mentors - Big Boi and Dre make funk-afied cameos on several tracks - but he puts more dirt into his Dirty South. The old-school boasting in "Red Clay" big ups Calhoun's Atlanta heritage; "It Ain't Easy" features tongue-twisting, twangy rhymes that challenge Ludacris' land-speed record. Still, while many a gat goes off on The Skinny, this is no gangsta bitch session: Calhoun is an intelligent hoodlum who's unafraid to flex his creative muscle. "Well" oozes psychedelic P-Funk, "How Much Can I" is an eerily ethereal, guitar-driven ballad, and "Timelock" is a ghetto cautionary tale with hauntingly sung choruses warning that if there's a hell below, we're all gonna go. Contrary to its title, The Skinny is marbled with phat tracks. (RS 869 - May 24, 2001)

MATT DIEHL