Trick Daddy: Book Of Thugs: Chapter A.K., Verse 47 : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

On his 1998 major-label debut, www.thug.com, Trick Daddy translated his grimy down-South slang and hedonistic hood-rat hymns for a nationwide audience. But what set the album apart was an undertone of social consciousness found only in the best gangster-oriented tracks. On Book of Thugs, the gold-toothed rhyme slinger continues to painfully contrast his infatuation with the thug life and his awareness of the world outside it. For fans who want a repeat of last year's club hit "Nann," Trick Daddy has delivered up-tempo rump shakers ("Sittin' on D's," "Boy") and rugged-yet-refined bounce tracks ("Walkin' Like a Hoe"). The most remarkable cut, however, is the pessimistic ballad "America," in which a confused, cynical Trick Daddy asks, "Who invented niggas in the first place? / They say America is the original birthplace / Who's doing ten, twenty, life on their first case?" Trick's ability to expose his soft side without losing his hard edge is what distinguishes him from his thug-life contemporaries. (RS 837)

PAT CHARLES