Hurricane Chris: 51/50 Ratchet : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

This past summer, the eighteen-year-old Shreveport, Louisiana, rapper Hurricane Chris became a household name among clubgoers and ringtone buyers thanks to "A Bay Bay," a slinky little hit that was not much more than a synth line, three pizzicato notes and a wickedly catchy chorus. Like that song, Hurricane Chris' debut, 51 50 Ratchet, banks on "ratchet" music, a Shreveport-bred relative of crunk whose trademarks are buzzing synths, minimalist drums and chanted hooks. Cuts such as "Walk Like That" and "The Hand Clap" are more interesting than the average hip-hop club hit, thanks to their bright, spastic beats and Chris' dense and unconventional attack: Between his needling, adenoidal voice, rhythm-switching rhymes and random references to Rick James and "Row Row Row Your Boat," Chris sometimes recalls Lil Wayne at his silliest --not a bad thing at all. 51 50 Ratchet eventually runs short on ideas, but not before heralding a regional sound that Hurricane Chris milks for plenty of fun.