Silkk the Shocker: My World, My Way : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

In rap music, if an artist's lyrics are equipped with infectious phrases and catchy hooks, production can drown out what he lacks in verbal innovation. That helps explain why, during certain moments on Silkk the Shocker's latest album My World, My Way, the monotonous shouts about money and materialism are tolerable -- and, at times, even pestilent. On "He Did That," Silkk's patented stop-and-go flow keeps pace with the track's organic bounce-beat, while the track's catch-phrase chorus enhances the ride; and on "Uh Ha," the boasts about the yacht and caddy are big enough to match the music's imperial backdrop. But the album does have its share of whack tracks. On "That's Cool," Silkk trades moronic, off-beat verses with a raunchy Trina over a horrendously mixed beat, which sounds like it was produced on an outdated Casio system. And the title track is a low-budget rip-off of DMX's "What's My Name." Throughout the album, the potency of Silkk's lagging rhyme-style depends way too much on the production of the cuts, never giving the faintest hint that it can take control. And since Silkk's overall content is quite mundane and basic, ballads like "What's Heaven Like" and "The Day After" don't seem to resonate with much sincerity. Without quality beats, Silkk's one-dimensional delivery will always be a step behind. (PAT CHARLES)