The Bottom Line
After years of being everyone's favorite underdog, Styles P did what any savvy rapper would do: He switched styles.
Pros
- Sprinkles of brilliance
Cons
- Tired concepts
- Overly ambitious
- Too many guest features
Description
- Styles P - Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman) is Styles P's third solo album.
- It's his first on as an independent artist Koch Records
- The album features 12 guest artists.
Guide Review - Styles P - Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman)
For a guy who criticized 50 Cent of turning his back on the 'hood, Styles P couldn't be farther removed from the streets on his third solo album. SP shows that after years of being everyone's favorite LOX rapper, he's tiring of staring at empty walls while his peers stack up on platinum plaques. Which might explain the overly ambitious nature of Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman). As he goes for the gusto, P recruits all the big name producers and guest MCs money can buy. But the result is a mix of mediocre beats and forced collaborations. There's no common thread to hold it all together.
Lyrically, it's a formulaic rap album: there's the introspective track ("Alone in the Streets"), the Akon collaboration ("Got My Eyes on You"), the mandatory posse cut ("Gangster, Gangster," featuring Sheek and Jadakiss), and the requisite ladies song ("Look at Her"), which Styles shamelessly introduces by saying "I gotta do something for the ladies." Bottom line: You've heard it all before.
Though heavy on guest appearances, the features encourage Styles to step his game up. He redeems himself momentarily when trading bars with Ghostface on "Star of the State," Beanie Sigel on "U Ain't Ready for Me." Unfortunately, Black Thought leaves him in the dust on the necessary social commentary track "Cause I'm Black."
Third time is definitely not the charm for Holiday Styles, as he falls short of previous performances on Super Gangster.
