Slim Thug Presents Boss Hogg Outlawz

Serve and Collect | Koch
By MATTHEW GASTEIER  |  April 10, 2007
2.5 2.5 Stars
070413_inside_boss
Crew records are notoriously awful endeavors, vanity projects for superstar rappers who want to toss a little money to friends from back home who couldn’t make it without them. Here, it’s Houston-repping Slim Thug’s turn, and it’s a testament to the production sensibility of that city’s hip-hop scene that Serve and Collect is one of the better additions to the too-plentiful genre. Indeed, the biggest problem with Slim’s major-label debut, 2005’s Already Platinum, was the deep-voiced rapper’s decision to abandon Houston’s trademark chopped-and-screwed sound for awkwardly matched brittle beats from the Neptunes. Slim knows better than to make the same mistake twice: working with his crew, he packs Serve and Collect with dirty horns, muffled drum punches, and slurred hooks that are classic Houston. But since the album is more a compilation than a true group recording, the quality of any given tune depends on the presence of one of two MCs: Killa Kyleon and PJ. The other rappers here are often indistinguishable. Still, it’s a good to hear Slim returning to the sound that he was born to ride over. Until his next solo record, it’s not hard to let a few forgettable verses by when beats are this hot.
Related: Fantastic voyagers, DJ Drama, The 37th chamber, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Entertainment, Hip-Hop and Rap, Music,  More more >
| More

Most Popular
Blogs
 More: Phlog  |  Music  |  Film  |  Books  |  Politics  |  Media  |  Election '08  |  Free Speech  |  All Blogs
More Information
070413_side_thugs
VIDEO: Slim Thug Presents Boss Hogg Outlawz, "Recognize a Playa" (Windows Media)
ARTICLES BY MATTHEW GASTEIER
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   UGK  |  September 18, 2007
    Underground Kingz is not quite an instant classic, but it would be hard to deny that UGK have reclaimed their throne.
  •   TALIB KWELI  |  August 20, 2007
    Ear Drum doesn’t reach the highs of that far more ambitious and sprawling album, but it’s a welcome return to form.
  •   SKILL RIDE  |  July 17, 2007
    All it took was a Godzilla sample and a simple, forceful “Simon says get the fuck up” for Pharoahe Monch to leave his mark on hip-hop history.
  •   THE HATE-LOVE-HATE CYCLE  |  June 18, 2007
    The field is already packed with newcomers and veterans alike, all aiming to knock down my standards of good taste and respectability . . .
  •   DIZZEE RASCAL  |  June 12, 2007
    Boy in da Corner may be the classic Dizzee will be forced to chase for the rest of his career.

 See all articles by: MATTHEW GASTEIER

LATEST SLIDESHOWS

All Slideshows