Baby-faced Houston rapper Chamillionaire’s not really a tough guy, and his sophomore release, Ultimate Victory, focuses on lyricism and activism. He’s got plenty to say about politics and pop culture, although the finer points sometimes get lost in the details. From “The Evening News”: “They say he’s a entertainer, don’t worry about it, never mind Kramer/Crocodile Hunter got stung, and the lion turned on the lion tamer/We keep sending troops to Iraq, I figure that we must like danger.” Huh?
In any case, even when he’s not making sense, his energetic-yet-insecure flow is engaging and vulnerable. Though none of the beats are as remarkable as the one on his massive 2005 hit “Ridin’,” they are consistently catchy, and, for perhaps the first time in the history of rap music, the album’s skits are actually funny! Carlos “Spanky” Hayes (you know, of Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ’N Out) plays an associate trying to get out of paying a debt. He accuses Chamillionaire of being so rich he eats lobster Now and Laters. Ha!
Perhaps the album’s only sin is its poor use of a “The Final Countdown” sample, which, on “Industry Groupie,” trivializes Europe’s quintessential cock-rock anthem even more than Arrested Development did.
CHAMILLIONAIRE
Ultimate Victory
*** 1/2