Thug Holiday

08/21/2002 9:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dan Leroy

This must be the week for thugs getting right with God. Like Dirty South godfather Scarface (who shows up here on "Gangsta"), Trick Daddy does indeed take a holiday of sorts from thuggery on his latest release. He once again enlists a children's choir, a la past tunes "I'm A Thug" and "Amerika," to ponder his blessings on the gospel-edged "God Been Good," and prays on the title track for gangstas not strong enough to make it in the streets, with an assist from Xscape's Latocha Scott. Yet while his tunes have come a long way from the tuneless Miami shout-outs of yore--the soulful single "In Da Wind," featuring a scene-stealing cameo from Cee-Lo, being a prime example--Thug Holiday still falls back on lyrical and musical cliches a bit too often to make it stand out in the increasingly inventive southern hip-hop landscape.