Spring Break
V.I.C.'s debut album fails to deliver original content
Tommy Feliciano
Issue date: 9/11/08 Section: Entertainment
09/11/08 - In this tired landscape of rap, nothing would be more appreciated than a little originality. Unfortunately, on V.I.C.'s debut album Beast, the Georgia-based rapper fails to deliver anything groundbreaking.
Riding on the coattails of boy wonder Soulja Boy Tellem, V.I.C. delivers 19 tracks (16 songs, to his credit) for the listener's...erm...enjoyment. I suppose one could get an idea for the depth of original material when just looking at the origin of his name: He simply took the first three letters of his first name, Victor, and placed periods between them.
Beast features everything we've come to expect in mainstream rap: Relentless anthems of self-affirmation ("I'm the Sh**"), love songs featuring pseudo-crooning ("Flawless"), the obligatory song objectifying women ("Wobble"), the promotion of violence ("Jaw Jackin"), and of course, the ballad ("Wifey Type").
But the repetition goes beyond the themes of the songs. A popular technique used in a lot of rap songs is referencing songs or using lines from other songs, as V.I.C does several times, including using a line from "Bop Bop Bop" on more than one occasion.
Surprisingly, the CD actually starts off on a strong note. The first and title track, "Beast," is a high-energy song with an interesting, catchy beat. Although the lyrics are generally weak, it's still a fun listen. It made me think, "Well, maybe this won't be that bad..." But of course, placing my faith in V.I.C. was ill-advised. Almost immediately after that, everything sort of falls off.
Even the production slips as songs go on, hitting an extremely low note on "Beat That." The subject of the song (which I won't mention for fear of offending the readers) belies the music playing underneath. Then as the song switches between chorus and verse, there is no discernible link between the two.
Yet even though it's hard to take this album seriously, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy listening to it to some degree. So much of the album screams ridiculousness that there are a great deal of laughs to be had in listening, even if it is a tad lacking in the musical department.
The lyrics to songs like "Beat That" and "Bop Bop Bop" and even the thoroughly disappointing lead single "Get Silly" are just...silly (if rappers can make awful puns, then I can do it too). And in light of this, there are still a couple of tracks that are legitimately redeeming in some capacity, such as the aforementioned "Beast" or the fun, retro-esque "Wobble."
With all of this in mind, however, it's not a CD that I would ever buy. The highs aren't high enough and the low points are bad enough to disqualify the entire album. If you'd like to get an idea of the comedy this album has to offer, check out the video for "Get Silly." If you'd like to hear something musical that the album has to offer, look up the video for "Wobble." YouTube's as far as you have to go for this one.
Riding on the coattails of boy wonder Soulja Boy Tellem, V.I.C. delivers 19 tracks (16 songs, to his credit) for the listener's...erm...enjoyment. I suppose one could get an idea for the depth of original material when just looking at the origin of his name: He simply took the first three letters of his first name, Victor, and placed periods between them.
Beast features everything we've come to expect in mainstream rap: Relentless anthems of self-affirmation ("I'm the Sh**"), love songs featuring pseudo-crooning ("Flawless"), the obligatory song objectifying women ("Wobble"), the promotion of violence ("Jaw Jackin"), and of course, the ballad ("Wifey Type").
But the repetition goes beyond the themes of the songs. A popular technique used in a lot of rap songs is referencing songs or using lines from other songs, as V.I.C does several times, including using a line from "Bop Bop Bop" on more than one occasion.
Surprisingly, the CD actually starts off on a strong note. The first and title track, "Beast," is a high-energy song with an interesting, catchy beat. Although the lyrics are generally weak, it's still a fun listen. It made me think, "Well, maybe this won't be that bad..." But of course, placing my faith in V.I.C. was ill-advised. Almost immediately after that, everything sort of falls off.
Even the production slips as songs go on, hitting an extremely low note on "Beat That." The subject of the song (which I won't mention for fear of offending the readers) belies the music playing underneath. Then as the song switches between chorus and verse, there is no discernible link between the two.
Yet even though it's hard to take this album seriously, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy listening to it to some degree. So much of the album screams ridiculousness that there are a great deal of laughs to be had in listening, even if it is a tad lacking in the musical department.
The lyrics to songs like "Beat That" and "Bop Bop Bop" and even the thoroughly disappointing lead single "Get Silly" are just...silly (if rappers can make awful puns, then I can do it too). And in light of this, there are still a couple of tracks that are legitimately redeeming in some capacity, such as the aforementioned "Beast" or the fun, retro-esque "Wobble."
With all of this in mind, however, it's not a CD that I would ever buy. The highs aren't high enough and the low points are bad enough to disqualify the entire album. If you'd like to get an idea of the comedy this album has to offer, check out the video for "Get Silly." If you'd like to hear something musical that the album has to offer, look up the video for "Wobble." YouTube's as far as you have to go for this one.
