CD Review of Me Myself and I by DJ $crilla
Recommended if you like
Bone Thugs N Harmony,
Big Crunk, Fluteboy
Label
New Heights Records
DJ $crilla: Me Myself and I

Reviewed by Jason Thompson

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M
eh. Yeah, that’s an overused term to describe something slightly below average. But I figure that’s okay, because DJ $crilla (a.k.a. Christopher Harris) has created another same-old same-old rap album that doesn’t really deserve anything but that one word to sum it up. But since we have time to kill and fill, let’s go ahead and crack this nut open and see just how deep it goes. Harris says he’s been influenced by such legends as Tupac, Jay-Z, and Stevie Wonder, and that he just wants to make “timeless music.” Well, Tupac got killed, so his legend will be forever even though his mom continues to crank out terrible posthumous releases of random stuff the guy had laying around wherever. Jay-Z has undoubtedly had some solid hits, crossing over to plenty of listeners and creating new fans with each album. And we all know about Stevie. So what does $crilla bring to the table?

How does the tired notion of dope smoking, banging ho’s and bragging about his lyrical prowess sound? Yeah, well, that’s what you get right here in 18 crunked-up tracks and a bonus DVD featuring some video action. If $crilla wants to make timeless tunes, he might want to take a look around and see he’s in a cesspool of like-minded rap artists who also aren’t making anywhere close to the mark that his heroes have. So what’s a guy to do?

On “Do Like Me,” $crilla tells us to make noise for “the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.” Yeah…maybe not so much, Chris. I get it, you have to brag and do the MC thing, but “the best there ever will be”? Not during this lifetime, I’m afraid. At least two tracks later on “Do What I Do,” the same message is relayed with a far tighter rap that’s actually halfway catchy. Mind you, it’s annoyingly halfway catchy, but at least you can hear a semblance of talent in this one.

But then, Williams just craps all over the place with the lazy “I Want It,” which sounds like a bajillion other bragfests that have come before and will certainly come after. Don’t care about your money, don’t care about how good you think you are. Rapping about how good you think you are doesn’t make it so. How many fucking vanity tracks to rap fans have to put up with? Don’t they want something a bit more for their money than just a lame-ass commercial spread across an entire CD? Yeesh.

The fact that “She Wines” has a whining chorus is only barely worth mentioning. And “Ride” is one of those slow jams featuring rhymes spit out at 100 MPH to suggest $crilla’s prowess as a rapper, but since he’s been doing that on and off the entire CD, it’s more like a headache than proof that the guy is entertaining in any way. When he gets around to asking “Who’s Gon Stop Me Now,” you’ll undoubtedly have a quick list of your own to answer the question.

Whether or not $crilla knows it, rappers like him are a dime a dozen. If you’ve got the talent, let’s hear something other than the usual tired tales about how good you are and the chicks you’re bangin’. There’s got to be something far more interesting to write about (and certainly to listen to) at this point in rap’s history. Unlike his heroes, $crilla doesn’t have a damn thing to say about anything but himself. Not that we should be surprised. After all, someone’s guaranteed to buy this somewhere.

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