:: Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz - Crunk Juice

Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz

During the pre-tour publicity for Cypress Hill’s recent Still Smokin’ tour, DJ Muggs was quoted as saying that hip-hop was better back in the days of Public Enemy and KRS-One. This kind of comment is no doubt dismissed by some as the sour grapes of a member of a group past its prime. Be that as it may, Crunk Juice is the kind of album that reinforces such ideas very strongly.

This album is twenty tracks of generic rap crap. The performances consist largely of the hoarse shouting of uninspired lyrics dealing with the usual subjects of gangstas, ho’s, and clubs, and a general lack of anything original. It is really not worth checking out. A comprehensive list of guests (Ice Cube, Chris Rock, R. Kelly, and countless others) is not enough to save an album that lacks any real merit. Hip-hop music in recent times has a depressing sameness as endless groups covered in bling and sportswear cover the same territory as NWA, Ice-T, Ice Cube, Cypress Hill, and others did ten to fifteen years ago. Unfortunately these hordes merely retread the paths of those pioneers. Its all been done, and done far better that Lil Jon and his compatriots do here.

If you choose to sample the wares of these middle-aged ‘boyz’, a nice strong mouthwash might be a good idea. This is the kind of juice very likely to leave a bad taste in your mouth.