Section 8

06/15/1999 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
James Dunn

Most hip-hop fans know what to expect from their favorite artists, and don't want to hear them do much else. But there are limits to how much of the same thing the public can stand--limits MC Eiht finally shatters with his new release, Section 8. Eiht gained fame with Compton's Most Wanted, dropping the masterpieces Straight Checkn' Em and Music To Driveby. DJ Mike T's now-classic samples and scratching and Eiht's straight-up delivery gave CMW a bi-coastal appeal Eiht still enjoys today. However, the group lost some of its inventiveness when CMW became MC Eiht Featuring CMW in '94 and Eiht opted for non-sampled beats. He's essentially been re-releasing the same album under different titles, and it's wearing thin.

Song names are self-explanatory ("Murder At Night," "The Hood Still Got Me Under") but pointless. Every song is the same. Airy synths and scattered "jeahs" herald crisp pimp-funk beats that bump but go nowhere, meandering until the choruses repeat into oblivion. Creating original music is not for everyone. Indeed, SE's highlight is "Days of '89," which replays Norman Connors's "You Are My Starship."

As one of few gangsta rappers who could afford to call himself an MC, Eiht's storytelling with CMW brought new dimensions to the gangsta stereotype. Here, Eiht simply rotates between threats, braggadocio, and nostalgia in an awkward sing-song style. His charisma, which compelled us to like him no matter what dirt he did, is gone. The fact that it's reality rap is no excuse for beating the dead horse. The few bearable tracks are faint shadows of greater Eiht-tracks. Unfortunately, Section 8 sounds exactly like you expect it to.