Search - Lil' Ru :: 21 and Up

Disappointing

Enlightened | Atlanta Georgia | 08/26/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"After being introduced to Lil Ru last year on the underground chitlin circuit with his smash hit Nasty Song, I admit the song had me anticipating more from him. Nasty Song is a hypnotic banger with plenty of style and personality. I literally stan for that song lol. So news that Lil Ru had signed a deal with Def Jam had me with high hopes for the young rapper hailing from South Carolina. The next song I heard from him was Yeah That's Money ft. Rick Ross which of course was a banger. Two Zune(Ipod) worthy songs increased anticipation.





Lil Ru's 21&Up is finally here and it's a very disappointing record to say the least. Lil Ru TPain's it up a little too much for me (despite what JayZ says there is no death of autotune). I'm all for using autotune (or the vocoder or whatever) it's just that it doesn't work for Lil Ru. Also Lil Ru uses different voices on some songs and makes you think other artists are featured. It's kind of weird to describe but a song with just Lil Ru on it may sound like it's three different artists. He'll have a gruff voice on one verse, a regular voice on the next verse and then he will TPain on the hook(but not TPain). It's frustrating to listen to. The production is run of the mill...there's a few bangers but sonically there's nothing unique about it and Lil Ru isn't exactly Andre 3000 on the mic.





Lil Ru tries to establish an identity on this album but it just doesn't work out as expected. There's a few songs worth repeated listens mainly Nasty Song, Yeah That's Money ft. Rick Ross, Give It Up and Problems but the rest while not terrible or unlistenable lack a certain pizazz that most major artists seem to have. Weak production, less than outstanding rhymes and hooks (although passable), and lack of a unique personality hold this album back. The album is just alright. However, It is good that South Carolina finally gets on the map as far as major hip hop artists are concerned and he could potentially open the door for SC's underground circuit but I'd be lying if I said I was looking forward to Lil Ru's next release. 2 stars.





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