CAN MISSY SELL IT WITHOUT TIMBO?
now 70% mosley-free
I'm assuming that one of the major issues that people will raise with Missy Elliot's new Cookbook CD which hit stores today (and the internet weeks ago) is that Missy without Timbaland is like Guru without Primo, like Big Daddy Kane without Marley Marl, like Rob Base without DJ EZ Rock...er...rewind that back one. Anyways, I didn't realize Timbo was that MIA when I first listened to The Cookbook since, let's be honest, his style has been bitt...um...the source of much inspiration for other producers that the line between Timbaland/not-Timbaland is increasingly thinner. And personally, I don't think The Cookbook suffers that badly for his absence though one could argue that had he produced more of the album, it might be even better than it is already.
I haven't seen the critical consensus on the album handed down yet but Entertainment Weekly wasn't exactly feeling it (C- !) and they largely attribute this to Timbo's absence, going as far to say that, "this disc's uninspired musical foundation makes repellent lines such as ''He wants to take me to a motel/See if it's good enough to smell'' (''Can't Stop'') vulgar rather than playfully profane."
This is an interesting argument and not one that I think holds up very well. I don't doubt that the quality of musical production can improve the sound of one's lyricism (again, go back to my Guru example for one of hip-hop's most obvious examples). What reviewer Margeaux Watson is basically saying is that Missy's verses are garbage without Timbaland arming her with some stoopid, "Work It"-like heat (an opinion that I know many of Missy's long-time detractors have held near to their heart as well).
I'm willing to accept some of this polemic to an extent but really? I thought The Cookbook was an intensely fun and energetic album that has a few flat moments (I agree with Watson that "My Man" - a duet with Fantasia - was straight bleah) but for the most part, should keep Missy's fans happy and moreover, is a nice opportunity to hear some producers get a turn to work with Missy after Timbo had her on lock for the last five albums.
People were raving about the electro-inspired "Lose Control" months back though I was always more partial to the loopy, video-game-button-smashing "On and On" instead (the Neptunes aren't as prolific as they have been, but to me, their biggest tracks this year - "Hollerback Girl," "Drop It Like It's Hot," - have been solid gold). "My Struggles" is wicked sinister though can someone explain how Grand Puba's been making these power cameos lately, first Beanie, now Missy? "We Run This," which samples from Sugarhill Gang's "Apache" has party jam scribbled all up and down its bongo beats.
As for Rich Nice's production on "Can't Stop" which borrows heavily from a live (or sampled live) drum line...BONKERS. Even more drum line heat on that dancehall-influened "Bad Man." Likewise, I was surprised how much I liked "Click Clack" with its Southern fried slow thumps and hollerated chorus. I was less impressed with the ballads (if I recall, Blender thought the ballads were uniformly bad while EW thought they were the album's saving grace. Go figure), though I did like "Time and Time Again," which was a breezy, smooth way to end the CD.
Certainly, this isn't Missy's best work ever but all things considered, it's definitely listenable and I expect to hear more than a few of these tracks burn up the rest of the summer.
BONUS THOUGHTS ON DEATH CERTIFICATE
I was listening to Ice Cube's Death Certificate while doing laundry and the following thoughts popped up:
1) DC was, in all respects, a remarkable concept album, arguably the zenith of the "conscious" gangsta rap era. There are some truly incredible songs on here. There is also some unbelievably bad songs, namely "Nappy Dugout," and "Horny Little Devil" which, despite funky Sir Jinx production, are just plain corny, especially in comparison to songs like "A Bird In the Hand," "Steady Mobbin'" and "Colorblind."
2) How is it that Cube could record "No Vaseline," one of the hard-hitting dis tracks ever recorded...yet have no comeback to "The Bitch In Yoo"?
3) I - and I think many others - have under-acknowledged just how badly Cube fell off after DC. The Predator had some decent songs but by the time Lethal Injection arrives, his brilliance is all but completely dimmed out and that's been permanent. We like to poke fun at Big Daddy Kane for nose diving but really, Cube went from the most important artist on the West Coast to a talented multi-tasker in every realm except for music within two albums.
4) Relatedly, and this is not an original observation, but 1992 must have been both Cube's greatest moment and worst because not only did the L.A. Riots/Rebellion confirm his warnings but it also left him without direction (one can only say, "I told you so" on so many songs) and that vacuum promptly got filled by Dr. Dre and Snoop with The Chronic.
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