Be Yourself

Since “Shake Ya Tailfeather”, everybody on this planet probably knows about Murphy Lee, Nelly’s protégé. Back when he appeared on the “Rock the Mic” remix with Nelly, we all recognized that this cat is gonna be representin’ that Midwest/St. Lunatic vibe to the fullest. But could he do it himself? Can Murphy Lee hold it down on his own?

To answer this question in the first place: Murphy Lee definitely could. A lot of tracks on this album are off the hook and will for sure burn your afterschool party as well as your local sweatboxes and the huge clubs. Peep the first single with Jermaine Dupri “What the Hook Gon’ Be” which is one of the best joints done by JD I heard in a while. Check “Luv Me Baby” with Jazze Pha and Sleepy Brown – it’s definitely gonna hit every part of your body! “This goes out” with Nelly, Lil’ Wayne, Lil’ Jon, Roscoe and Cardan is another one that goes straight to the dancefloor and rocks the crowd! Besides of that, Murphy also has other stuff to offer: “Cool With It” feat. St. Lunatics or “So X-Treme” feat. King Jacob and the Professor don’t go the same way, the beats alone prove that after a couple of seconds. And while the basic topic of this disc seem to be the chicks, Murphy also takes a close look at different things, for example on “Regular Guy”, where he explains how he fits into the whole community of people and that he ain’t that different from everyone else, or on “Gods Don’t Chill” – peep this and check whether you know that situation or not. My personal favorite on the album is “Murphy Lee” feat. Zee where Murphy focuses on one girl – for once – and shows his rhyme capability to the fullest. Wanna go back to a kick-ass dancefloor track? “Hold Up” feat. Nelly, another one of my favorites – Murphy and Nelly just harmonize perfect, and the beat is killer.

What about the word “could” in the first line of the second paragraph now? The problem is the number of guest appearances. I know that that is a matter of taste, but I just like solo albums to be more or less solo (!!) albums. Too many guests on an album force me to get the impression that the artist can’t hold it down on his own. Now that’s a real pity ‘cause Murphy Lee has got great skills and his debut album is definitely hot. It’s just more a compilation than only him. Nevertheless, the record is worth the bucks, no doubt. Murphy Lee persuades with each and every bar he spit, and if there were a couple of bars more done by him and not anybody else, it would be very, very hot. Yet, it’s just hot. But that’s what it is. If you like that Midwest thing, go run like hell for this record.