Universal Soldier

10/08/2002 11:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dan Leroy

With the sizzling single "Are We Cuttin'?" blazing his trail out of the Southern underground, Georgia rapper Pastor Troy might be getting the last laugh on rival warlord Master P. But while the radio-ready collaborations with Timbaland (on "Cuttin'" and "Tell 'Em It's On") and Jazze Pha ("Undefeated") do add some spunk to Troy's crunk, Universal Soldier isn't a full-scale recon into crossover territory.

Jams like "You Can't Pimp Me" could have come straight from the trunk; what makes the loyalty to the old sounds work is the strong personality behind them. Like the Godfather of the South, Scarface, Troy struggles to reconcile his spirituality with the street, drawing inspiration from his father, an Army vet and pastor who appears on "When He Comes." Troy comes closest on "I Pray For," a raw but reverent appeal that notes "I pray for the Congress, I pray for the president/I pray for the nigga locked down with no evidence." In hip hop's perpetual battle for hearts and minds, the fighting pastor wins this round.