 Lil' Romeo Game Time
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Lil' Romeo received a pair of holiday gifts from his father, the grimacing Southern rap-trepreneur Master P: first, a clipped, lumbering flow that's well-suited to the rosy-cheeked musings of a thirteen-year-old MC; and second, perhaps the most expensive assortment of samples and borrowed songwriting in the post-Puffy era. Gametime sports tinny digital updates of classics by Michael Jackson (on "Too Long"), Luther Vandross ("True Love") and Whodini ("Girlfriend and Boyfriend"), songs written years before Romeo's birth -- and the birth of most of his fans, which probably works in Romeo's favor. Lyrically, the underage player courts shorties with video games, sharp clothes and good grades. Read More On "We Can Make It Right," Romeo shouts-out Dubya and the heroes of 9/11, jacking Annie's "Hard-Knock Life" five years after Jay-Z did. Gametime doesn't have much to recommend it, but if nothing else, Romeo has got his target demo on lock. JON CARAMANICA (RS 915 – February 6, 2003)
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