Rating:
Genre:
Rap
Release Date: 06/19/2007
Trying to capitalize on the success of the hybrid, the
rap-influenced
rock, or
rock-influenced
rap, that has brought success to bands like
Linkin Park,
OutKast, and
Gnarls Barkley, Atlanta's
Shop Boyz unleashed their very own brand of "hood
rock," as they called it, into the world in the spring of 2007. Shortly before the group's album,
Rockstar Mentality, was released, the single
"Party Like a Rockstar" had reached number two on the
Billboard Hot 100 and found top spots on both the
pop and
rap charts, figures that prove the approach to have been the right one. At least, that is, in commercial terms. Because while the song itself has done well, it's by no means due of any legitimate musical talent on the part of
the Boyz (unlike
Linkin Park,
OutKast, and
Gnarls Barkley, all of whom are smart
and talented).
Rockstar Mentality is clearly a calculated move, and it shows, lacking that creative spontaneity that made songs like
"Crazy" or
"Hey Ya" so appealing. The tracks on this album are obviously formulaic and contrived: each of the three rappers takes an unremarkable verse, separated from the other ones by simple singsongy hooks that are catchy only because of their repetitiveness. Guitars are king here, more than the heavy bass and synth most associated with
Southern rap (though both are still present), from the minor riffs on
"Party Like a Rockstar" to the vaguely
Latin-inspired
"My Car," to the interpretation of
the Fixx's
"One Thing Leads to Another" on
"Baby Girl," to the amazingly embarrassing
blues of
"Rollin'." But despite all of these attempts,
Rockstar Mentality doesn't sound or feel like a
rock album, at all.
The Shop Boyz and their producers are looking for that grit and pomp that attract audiences to
rock music (and
rock stars), but instead they end up with a
boy band version of it, which is OK, if that's what you're looking for.
~Marisa Brown, All Music Guide
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