The latest rapper to hail from College Park (at least at press
time) is Yung Joc, and he’s succeeded at creating a
considerable buzz on the strength of a couple of strategic cameos on other
projects and his runaway first single It’s
Goin Down. But for the most part, Yung Joc came out of nowhere. Who is
this guy? What is he about? Fortunately his debut album New Joc
City is out on Bad Boy South to help us answer some of these questions.
Sure, It’s Goin Down
is hypnotic, even if the flow is not. Joc rides the beat like a senior
citizen on the MARTA, nothing fancy,
just bar after monotonous bar. Kinda
like learning to walk, one step after another. Do Ya Bad is similar: a slow
droning beat with Joc doing his
lullaby thing. You can lean wit it or
you can rock wit it. But that’s about
it. Seriously. I had to focus on not
going to sleep. If it weren’t for all
the simple rhyme schemes and basic level content, I’d say he actually sounds a
little like Scarface.
Don’t Play Wit It
is similar. Slow-paced, real easy to
follow. Almost too easy. The first time through I found myself
finishing Joc’s rhymes for him
(which is usually not a good thing). Labelmate
Big Gee comes on and rips it though,
with a solid 16 that got me hype for a quick second. Witty, quick, clever. On Dope
Boy Magic we learn that Young Joc is a 95 Madden fan. Oh, and that
he’s a dope boy. Patron is a decent
ode to that dranky drank…the only problem is that that it sounds exactly like It’s Goin Down! Same verses, same
beat. Go figure. Flip Flop is somehow even more laid
back: mellow and smoothed out with a
female cooing in the background. A
couple of cameos don’t really add much…
I’m Him clears up
just how much Yung Joc actually
loves Yung Joc. In fact, not only does he claim to be literal
pimp, drug dealer, hustler, and killer he also claims to be fly. Hear Me Coming switches things up a bit. The flow is considerably more hype, but I
kept waiting for T.I. to come in at
any second. In any case Yung Joc does challenge the notion that
he’s a one-hit wonder, calling himself the rookie of the year.
I Know You See It is
the best track on the album. It too
sounds just like It’s Goin Down but
the sing-song hook is perfect for radio. Plus the guest verse by Miss B is hard enough to forgive her for
sounding a tad bit like Trina. 1st
Time is an r&b duet on which Marques
Houston sings a saucy hook about having sex and falling in love. It was hard getting past 26 seconds. Knock It Out is more like it. Clearly better suited to the thug
demographic, the hook goes something like:
“Beeeeeeattt it up.
(all night I’ma) Beeeeeeeat it up.
Know the pussy out,
knock it out, knock it out.”
Finally, Picture
Perfect is Joc’s attempt at social commentary, which I actually give him
credit for. He keeps it real without
preaching and pulls it off with a minimum level of hypocrisy.
“Niggas in these
videos with these multiplatinum projects/Can’t even get a credit card and their
mama still in the projects.”
So let’s review. New Joc City tells us that Yung Joc is a hustler and a pimp,
although he is somewhat confused about his stance with the ladies. He likes to take…..his…..time with the flow,
and isn’t afraid to call it as he sees it. Sure he sounds a little like Young
Jeezy, and a little like T.I. (o.k.
a lot like T.I.); but if you can
look past the reused lines, the played out reference to a ghetto classic, the
fact that he barely even mentions Atlanta and the dull mood plaguing most of
the album, then New Joc City is worth a listen. Maybe.
