Twista

"Kamikaze"

Atlantic Records

Grade: C

This offering from tongue-tangling rapper Twista is a well-produced album to add to his repertoire but not a boost for his career.

The one thing that makes Twista a serious rapper is his ability. Not his content, his beats, or his delivery. This album reinforces that. Nothing about the album sticks other than Twista himself.

The album's beats are based around the simplest, most undeniable concept in rap. Lay out a jam that somebody can't help but move to, and the words you lay over it are already 10 times better than they were.

His lyrical content is stand-offish and self-praising, a trend easily recognizable in rap. It seems like an attempt to fit a genre and less like an attempt to communicate anything.

He is sliding himself into a comfortable niche and probably expects comfortable sales.

Unfortunately, the rappers he brought in on this album did not help him out. "Slow Jamz," featuring Jamie Foxx and Kayne West, showcases the lyrical ingenuity of a 7-year-old. "I'm a playa's Vandross/So you gon' take yo' pants off."

And, of course, you can always count on some references to settin' something off, partying at the club, weed, having sex for hours-on-end, and pimp cars.

"So Sexy," featuring R. Kelly, sounds totally out of place on this album. These two need to either stay away from each other musically or get a topic other than women to rap on. Twista's womanizing style and R. Kelly's R&B image clash. Oil and water, guys.

The 30-second crescendo about "how he can do it" at the beginning of "Overnight Celebrity" to show how seriously "he does it" leaves one question unanswered. What exactly is "it"?

Professional suggestion to Twista: rap about something other than girls and living like a porn star. That tongue needs a head to go with it.

Walking away from the album, it seems like everybody you talk to is ponderously slow in comparison.

-- By Nick Todaro, Staff Writer