ALBUM REVIEW: Voice of the Young People
By: Scott Rader
5/1/2008
VYP: Voice of the Young People, by Lil' Mama
I thought I got it. I mean I thought I understood rap music. Even if a
song grated on my nerves, I understood what made it popular. It either
had a good hook, or it took us to places we've never been. I thought I
got it.
But Lil' Mama baffles me.
Her single, "Lip Gloss," may
be one of the worst rap songs ever. Maybe people like it because it
keeps repeating the same line over and over. "My lip gloss be poppin'?"
I guess it could be considered a hook. But not a good one. And lip
gloss, seriously? I mean, lip gloss makes lips feel moisturized. And it
certainly makes lips look hot. But have we really run out of material
that a hit song is about lip gloss?
Not to mention the beats are about as yesterday as still listening to Usher's "Yeah."
Yeah, I dissed "Lip Gloss" and "Yeah" in the same sentence.
And
the rest isn't much better. Sure it's better than "Lip Gloss." But
listening to cats making love is better than "Lip Gloss." Although Lil'
Mama's track makes you less of a pervert.
Although, I listened to the rest of the album with the same amount of
bafflement, the songs were less terrible. For instance, why is their a
little kid who sounds like Meatwad introducing some of the songs? But
the song "G-Slide" has a nice hook and some quick-tongued rhymes. But I
was a little surprised that "Gotta Go Deeper" wasn't some sex-fused
club track. It was instead a little soundclip about how she has to work
harder to be the voice of the young people.
But please, please don't make her the voice of the young people.
