Phenomenon [PA] - J, LL Cool (CD 1997)

Oh well, at least he has made great records.

Phenomenon, LL Cool J s seventh album, should have been named Coastin , because that is precisely what he does here coast. The twenty nine year-old man, now a rap veteran, was possibly beginning to show his age. No longer rocking the mic with the ferocity and exuberance of his youth, he sounds pretty relaxed, mostly content with delivering flaccid raps over slickly-produced pop beats courtesy of people like TrackMasters, L.E.S. and Puff Daddy.

And that s why "4, 3, 2, 1" is one of the best songs in here, easily. Erick Sermon provides the simple drums and bass accented with sporadic piano notes and rattles to lay bare the battle lyrics of LL, Method Man, Redman, Canibus and DMX in their brutal glory. But for the first time, LL sounds like an old man next to these young whippersnappers. And that is especially true for Canibus, who easily outshines everybody with his lines like Zero to sixty? I'm already doing a hundred when I'm blunted, and I give it to any n***a that want it! No wonder Uncle L felt threatened by the young wiry upstart. In fact, his entire verse was a clear response to Bis, which started a lyrical beef between the two. But even with his verse, LL is all yells without the technical verve, his congested lines spilling off-beat occasionally over the sparse production. When he finally ends it with saying, LL Cool J, n***a, greatest of all time! he sounds less convincing than he would have undoubtedly expected. And this is the same guy who shut it down in the posse cut I Shot Ya only two years earlier?

Not to worry too much, though. Apart from "4, 3, 2, 1", there is some good music here. Candy has LL narrating a touching love story while backed by this tranquil string-driven beat and Ricky Bell and Mr. Sensitive (Ralph Tresvant) interpolate the chorus of their New Edition hit Candy Girl in portions of the hook. In Father , LL decries the fact that he really didn t have a father figure to look up to, being that his real father in a fit of rage - shot his mother and his grandfather with a shotgun; and his stepdad beat him regularly. Todd had it hard. I ain t mad at you, dad, he says solemnly at the end as the church choir wails and sings behind him. Oh, if only there were more moments like these

But Phenomenon is generally a blase affair. Sure, most of the beats will get you dancing or at least nodding your head, like the frenzy of Nobody Can Freak You and the wah-wah guitar-helmed Phenomenon . But for the most part, there is nothing that makes a lasting impression. The whispered vocals that worked in I m That Type of Guy doesn t in Phenomenon , with the occasional lap of the vocals and the nonsensical lyrics. Starksy and Hutch and Another Dollar just sound like standard brag rap, with not one line or couplet that sticks out, with only Busta Rhymes unfailing energy to recommend the former. LeShaun tries to re-create that Doin It magic with LL in the Keith Sweat-assisted Nobody Can Freak You , but the fast-paced beat snuffs away a lot of power out of the seductive lyrics (I still chuckle at the I'll make your manhood shine like chrome line, though). Hot, Hot, Hot could have turned out better, but LL fails to pull the listener into his tale about an opportunistic girl with anything profound. The collaboration with Lost Boyz in Wanna Get Paid is surprisingly vapid. And the album closer the Tamia-featured, seven-minute epic Don t Be Late, Don t Come Too Soon fails to rise to the occasion with its uninteresting lyrics of love and its slow, droning pace. What a borefest.

An album with ten tracks and a 44-minute running time, Phenomenon is mercifully short. It s a good thing it is, because hardly anyone apart from the die-hard LL fans would find this album essential listening or worth owning. This is LL in cruise control, letting the production do most of the work. Ultimately, he could have done better than this.

Oh well, like I said before, at least he has made great records.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Phenomenon
2. Candy
3. Starsky and Hutch
4. Another Dollar
5. Nobody Can Freak You
6. Hot, Hot, Hot
7. 4, 3, 2, 1
8. Wanna Get Paid
9. Father
10. Don't Be Late, Don't Come Too Soon

REVIEWS IN MY LL COOL J SERIES:

Radio (1985)
Bigger and Deffer (1987)
Walking With a Panther (1989)
Mama Said Knock You Out (1990)
14 Shots to the Dome (1993)
Mr. Smith (1995)
All World: Greatest Hits (1996)
Phenomenon (1997)
G.O.A.T.: The Greatest of All Time (2000)
10 (2002)
The DEFinition (2004)
Todd Smith (2006)