King of All Kings is Pastor Troy’s 21st album. Think about that for a second: 21 albums. Even today, well after most Crunk-stars (think Bonecrusher, the Ying Yang Twins, and Trillville) have faded into the limelight, the PT Cruiser just keeps churning out LP after LP. Sure, they might fall on a whole bunch of deaf ears, thriving solely on a deeply underground level. But still, statistics like these—12 years, 21 full-lengths—display an impressive longevity and an extraordinary stamina in this one-and-done digital age.
The Pastor’s voice is perfect for the bass-heavy, pounding Lil Jon beats that dominated the radio six or so years ago. He’s loud and energetic, and it’d be damn near impossible to find a piece of production he can’t overshadow with his high-pitched shout-raps. King Of All Kings comes off as much more low-budget than the hits of the Crunk era, but, with the exception of the awkward three-song run of female-dedicated songs at the midpoint, the Augusta, Georgia-bred emcee feels and sounds entirely at ease on this loose collection of uptempo bangers.
Lyrically, PT has always kept it relatively simple, a trait that hasn’t changed much over the last decade. On “We Been Doing This!!!” he raps “Smokin’ on the Michael Vick / I ain’t smokin’ me a bitch / Walking up in Magic City / Throw a band, right quick / Then I take a couple shots / Of that Goose and that Ciroc / Then I tell a bitch to feel me / ‘Cause I’m mothafuckin’ hot”—and that’s about as intricate as it gets. Troy raps about fighting and drinking and coming up in Georgia and creeping with chicks with boyfriends, and, for better or worse, never sways too far from the expected.
But there are some real bright spots on King Of All Kings. Its best song is the anthemic “Rep Yo Side,” with a swinging, catchy hook that commands the audience to, you know, rep its side of the city. Troy is at his most comfortable here, and listening to this track, you can practically feel him jumping up and down in the studio, drink in hand, spitting party raps that’ll make you question if 2004 ever really left us.
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On the 18th (and last) song of his 21st album, Pastor Troy is exhausted. His voice is weathered down to a hoarse scowl, as he asks—or rather, begs—for some appreciation. “Somebody thank me, ‘cause I would thank you,” he pleads. Yeah, it’s been 11 years, but somehow this guy’s still around, bringing as much energy as ever. So maybe he does deserve some recognition. He’s been doing this.
