Slimm Calhoun "The Skinny" Review

  'Red Clay' is up next, and it seems like a space filler for the album. It has the some of the same braggadocios rhymes that the last track displayed. "Well", the next track is the next single off his album "The Skinny" and it features Killer Mike and Andre 3000 doing the vocals on the verse. As the second single I think this was a great choice for the next single to push the album, nice lyrics and the beat is tight also.

  'Timelock (Camp David Interlude)' is one of those righteous hip-hop tracks. It's laced with the lazy plucking a guitar. Which gave me a sleepy feeling throughout the lengthy song (5 minutes and 39 seconds). The part chorus goes: "I'm in a timelock locked in hell / the world is my cell / I feel I'm better off dead or jail". Then again though, some of you maybe can relate to this song, so its not all bad. This song immediately hops into the 'Camp David Interlude', which is a part of the track 5.

  "Why Ya Smilin" is the first real appearance of either one of his mentors from Outkast rapping. This track is tight. It's laced with some frantic drums and Big Boi comes with a flow kind of similar to the one on 'B.O.B'. Daddy Fat Sacks lays two tight verses on this song. This song is basically bout some of that skull therapy if you know what I'm talking bout. The next track features Backbone, which is ok but not great. The beat is tight to death, but the flow Slimm applying to it isn't. There are some bright spots on this track when Backbone comes raps with his Do Or Die-type flow. Slimm seems to follow the same pattern on his 2nd verse.

On the song 'Dirt Work' Outkasts' Big Boi makes his second appearance on the album. The song starts out with one of the best verses that Slimm spits the whole album, so far. "I'm about a 2 and a quarter from rockin a byrd / and about a 'g' short from chopping the third / and I'm sitting at the light with 10lbs of herb / uh oh there they go the red dog swerve". He tells a story of grinding thoroughly; so vivid you can picture it like you were there. Slimm outshines Big Boi on this track with his choppy flow.

  Next is the well-known cut 'It's Ok' featuring Andre 3000, which is his first appearance. This is about one of the tightest tracks on the album by far. This track is on some pimped-out shit. Andre 3000 spits his verse from the view of a female or a second person point of view in his cartoonish sounding voice.

'Lil Buddy (Til Death Do Us Part)' is about friends chilling growing up together, except on this track I think it's more about a girl instead of a guy friend. It tells a story of friends and how they grow apart over the years. "Til Death Do Us Part / We was niggas from the start / You my nigga from heart". This track sports a funked-out beat and a bit of scratching. Throughout the next couples tracks Slimm raps about life stories like on the track 'The Skinny' and the previous one. On the title-track 'The Skinny' Slimm raps about the dope game and street life with a female (Erykah Badu?) harmonizing throughout the song.

  "How Much Can I" is the smoke song on the album. It's a track you can just sit back chill and smoke a blunt to. It sounds like an R&B track, but you'll most definitely feel it when you high. This song reminds me of the track 'Stanklove' on Outkast's latest album "Stankonia". No rapping just pure funk. Next up to bat is 'Da Calhoun's', its on some ol' gangsta shit like the track 'Gangsta Shit' on "Stankonia". It's filled with rhymes bout hustlin' and sellin' dope. The next track 'Piece Of Tha Pie' has one of the best beats on this track. It's filled with drumbeats non-stop throughout the song. Slim retreats back to his hip-hop style flow on this song.

Track 14 'Worldly Ways' is self-explanatory. It's about the shit that goes on in the world. What's going on in this day and time, shit you think about when you alone or just chilling by 'self, like mind therapy. As the album nears an end the tempo slows. 'That's Life' is about struggling with the trials and tribulations of life. On your own and shit like that…

Overall this album is pretty tight, especially the ones that feature either Outkast member Big Boi or Andre. A most definite album to get for those who like some of that east coast rap styles. Not a lot of crunk material on it that you would expect from an ATL artist, but it's a good buy, you won't be disappointed. Pros would have to be it features Outkast; the cons would be that as the album ends the songs become more lackluster. Go out and buy this one.