Week of April 8-14

Run DMC Crown Royal
Arista
The Kings of Rock return with what I hope is the last chapter of their career. In an attempt to keep up with today's generation, Run (minus DMC because he's only on two tracks) falls very short of their previous releases. This CD is what would happen if Michael Jordan came back to play for the LA Clippers. The formula of Run Dee & Jay has been destroyed. Five of the twelve songs should have been placed on someone's rock CD and it shows Run's attempt to maintain a white audience. He enlists some of Rock's heavy hitters to accompnay him such as Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, Everlast, Sugar Ray, and Third Eye Blind. "It's Over" and "Let's Stay Together" are songs geared towards the Jermaine Dupri/Jagged Edge crowd. Which leaves only four songs to be true hip-hop. The tightest being "Queens Day" featuring Nas and Prodigy. After listening to this CD, I truly understand why DMC left the group.

Big Pun Endangered Species
Loud
On February 7, 2000 Christopher Rios a.k.a. Big Pun had his life cut short due to heart failure. Ending the career of a star that had just begun to shine. This CD is a tribute to all the great work Pun left behind. This is a mixture of unreleased tracks and collaborations. "Off the Books" featuring the Beatnuts is a song that introduced the world to Big Pun. "Still Not A Player" featuring Joe is the cut that gave Pun his most commercial success. Also, check the head bangers "Banned From TV", "Twinz", and "John Blaze". "How We Roll" featuring Ashanti is the first single complete with the animated video This album also features some of hip-hop's elite such as Fat Joe, Noreaga, Nas, and Cam'Ron. The only bad thing about this CD is that Big Pun is no longer with us to create hip-hop classics. RIP Big Pun!

Oomp Camp We Too Deep
Big Oomp
ATL's hottest record label drops its long awaited greatest hits album. This CD is packed with some of Oomp Camp's hottest singles along with some new material. "Back Up", "Intoxicated", "Knuckle Up", and "DUI" are four Big Oomp classics that still bang out with a 2001 Remix. New tracks are "Buck Off In This Thang", "Time To Throw A Chair", "Everytime You See Me", and "Wobblin" which highlight the production skills of Top Quality Production, which is Big Oomp's in-house production company. The entire Oomp Camp definitely proves how deep they are with one of this year's hottest underground releases.