Disturbing Tha Peace: Golden Grain : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

In hip-hop, what's good for the goose is rarely good for the gander. Where star soloists shine, their extended crew often flounders: Good-natured and gregarious, Ludacris is a commanding, original MC, and that's part of the problem. His Disturbing Tha Peace associates - Shawnna, Lil' Fate, I-20, Tity Boi - sound pale and ordinary next to their leader. On the dark-as-night "Smokin' Dro" and the industrial crunk of "R.P.M.," Ludacris' flow leaps and dives like a jazz riff; everyone else is wheezing just to keep up. They're not helped by the limp production, decidedly slower than the quick military pace that made most of Ludacris' hits so rhythmically irresistible. Ironically, the best stuff here is the interludes, which viciously chronicle the exploits of the mockingly named label Big Chain Records. It's a sharp, witty commentary on rap excess, but DTP should have looked in the mirror before laughing too hard.

JON CARAMANICA
(RS 907 - October 17, 2002)