 Nick Cannon Nick Cannon
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The TV and film star drops a debut with more hip-hop celeb appearances than Tupac's funeral, but the fact is, regardless of his pop-rap status and reliance on somewhat accepted styles, Cannon peals off one undeniably awesome cut after another. Hardcore, gangsta and club anthems -- what more do you want?
Unlike most moguls with dreams of a rap career, Nick Cannon is building his empire from the top down. A former Nickelodeon star who exec-produces his own films, the boy who would be the next Will Smith uses rapping as a keep-it-real antidote to his manicured Hollywood self. Featuring production from P. Diddy, R. Kelly and Roc-A-Fella heavyweight Just Blaze, Cannon's debut sounds up-to-the-second Read More on buoyant tracks such as "Feelin' Freaky" and "Get Crunk Shorty." But no amount of secondhand street cred can save Cannon's lifeless paeans to the fairer sex ("My Rib," "Gigolo"), all of which are weighed down with laborious come-ons. Lusty young Cannon wants to reveal the "inner pimp" behind the boy star, but he only proves that bravado needs to be earned, not splashed on like cheap cologne. JON CARAMANICA (RS 941, February 5, 2004)
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