Beast in Bloomington, MN

Sold as a protege of the uncool, not hip, and still selling-like-hotcakes
Soulja Boy
, Atlanta rapper
V.I.C.
shares the same love of party rap as his ringtone king mentor, and there's no doubt his single
"Get Silly"
is perfect for any intoxicated Friday night. Produced by
, the cut takes full advantage of
's brash sense of humor, his overabundant amount of swagger, and his vocal device of dropping the last note of any given verse, pitching it way down with that smarmy tone of self-satisfaction. Adding the
Batman
theme to this formula makes
"We Ridin'"
with
Hurricane Chris
a good time, and the hyperactive bongos that producer
Mr. Collipark
lays on
"Wobble"
are irresistible, but all the boasting and smugness become tiresome as the album drags on for a horribly overstuffed 19 tracks.
may be the one drawing the ire of the hardcore set, but it's
who seems the bigger threat, posturing and declaring himself harder than thou.
Beast
sounds as if it were designed to be somewhere between pop-rap and the more provocative style of
Webbie
. Given the right artist, "tween-hop" might just work when it comes to albums, but in the hands of the one-trick pony
, it's more a singles genre. [
was also made available in a clean version with all explicit material removed.] ~ David Jeffries