JUVENILE
JUVE THE GREAT

Saying "Project English" would be Juvenile's last album on Cash Money Records might have been a little bit hasty. Then again by all public indications, Juve was fed up with not getting his paper right. Who knows what kind of deal they cut behind the scenes? Cash Money might have offered him some of the dough he deserved as their most successful soloist to date. Juvenile may have decided trying to promote himself independently wasn't working or turning out profitably. Whatever the reasons, Juvenile is back and happy days are here again.

Fans of the dirty south will appreciate the fact the Juvenile reverts back to his original style and spits raw game over infectious beats provided by Mannie Fresh (In My Life, Bounce Back, It Ain’t Mines, Lil Daddy,andCock It), Griz (Enemy Turf, Down South Posted, andNumb Numb) and Slice T (F***N’ With Me and Head in Advance). Juve the Great has a running time of 60 minutes and has 17 tracks, which includes an intro and 3 skits. The album tends to lean away from the bling’n/ club’n songs and more towards street/hustla themes.

T.I.
TRAP MUZIK

Moving to Atlantic Records seems to have breathed new life into T.I.'s young career. He also has good timing in his subject matter. Coincidental or otherwise, his hit single "24's" from the new album "Trap Muzik" comes at what may be the peak of a national trend to glorify bigger and better dubs (rims) on the tires of big cars. Drawing strength from the deep and repetitive bassline, T.I. uses his country-fried voice to musically punctuate his flow. While some rappers don't bother to give any inflection or shift in vocal pitch to their words, T.I. seems to come from the E-40 school that the more you throw it, the better the it gets. As such T.I. doesn't need to rely on hitting punchlines or putting big words in his rhymes, which also gives his rap a natural and totally unforced quality. T.I. keeps the guest appearances to a surprising minimum. The only track with any big names other than his own is "Bezzle" featuring Eightball & MJG and Bun B of UGK.