“If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.” St. Lunatics crewmember-gone solo rapper Murphy Lee’s debut album, “Murphy’s Law,” could not be titled more appropriately. Like most highly-advertised rap albums, “Murphy’s Law,” is lifeless and overrated.
Lee’s association with the St. Lunatics and connection with rapper Nelly is apparently his “hook-up” into the solo-emcee world. Sadly, the listener is “hooked-up” with an album full of talent-less rhymes.
With the first single, “What Da Hook Gon Be,” featuring Jermaine Dupri, it was obvious that the album was on its way to be a disappointment. The chorus expresses, “But yo, what da hook gon be? See, I don’t need no f-ing hook on this beat. All I need is the track in the background, my headphones loud.” Maybe a chorus hook could have saved the track. Okay, I lied.
Didn’t anyone actually listen to the lyrical “genius” in the Nelly, P. Diddy and Lee combo of “Shake Ya Tailfeather?” Lee raps (unfortunately), “Plus my rats come in packs like Sammy and Dean Martin and I got so many keys you’d think I was valet parkin.” Uh, Okay. The incorporation of that trendy-yet overvalued single should have insured the banishment of this album on the spot.
With the success of Nelly and the St. Lunatics’ “Country Grammar,” St. Luis slang was unfortunately born.
Lee’s vast collection of slang words like, herr (here), err (ear) and derrty (dirty) do not compare to his own “country grammar.” In “Same Ol’ Dirty,” featuring Toya, Lee raps (must cover “errs”), “I know who you is and you know who I are.”
The only satisfactory track, “This Goes Out,” featuring Nelly, Roscoe, Cardan, Lil’ Jon and Lil’ Wayne, is a “shot-out” dedicated to “the derrty south crew.” Nelly’s trademark “Oh-Oh” in the background creates a half-decent beat. The collaboration of these emcees as well as not listening to Lee rap the entire time is the real advantage of the track.
It is always entertaining to observe new unskilled emcees focus on trouble in the “hood” then endlessly brag about “blingin the ice” in the same line. If that is the everyday life in the “hood,” I will be more than willing to relocate.
In “Murphy Lee,” featuring Zee, Lee raps, “The bigger you are, they start opening up your personal closet.” Is it just me or was that an Eminem rip-off? While Lee has not quite entered mainstream rap, he is already sensitive to media criticism. He should really get used to it.
“Murphy’s Law” lacks substance and the ability to capture the St. Louis charisma Nelly once introduced to rap genre. Maybe the emcee is not a completely hopeless case. Okay, I lied again.
“Murphy’s Law” is currently in stores.