Cassidy: B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Over the past few years, this Philly MC has exhibited a knack for both hook-filled, high-gloss hip-hop — he scored a Top Ten hit in 2004 with the bouncy, girl-crazy R. Kelly feature "Hotel" — and for tricky, hyperconfident rhymes, the kind he honed during his years as a viciously funny battle rapper. His third album stays true to that mix of pop-wise songcraft and serious skills. Production from Swizz Beatz and Hi-Tek helps, and B.A.R.S. is long on beguiling, easy-grooving cuts like "Damn I Miss the Game," which sets a propulsive funk groove against cushy synths. Neither Cassidy's voice nor his rhymes are as interesting as, say, Ghostface's or Jeezy's, but Cassidy shows off impressive command on cuts like "I Get My Paper" and the John Legend-assisted "Celebrate," both head-noddable tracks whose R&B hooks and smooth rhymes make them big, passive pleasures. B.A.R.S. probably won't stay in your personal rotation for very long, but it still sounds pretty damn good.