Bun B

Some MCs are dancers and dodgers — they're like Barry Sanders on the microphone, and it's hard to get a grip on them. Bun B is not one of those rappers. As befits his stocky frame, he's more in the vein of Jerome Bettis and Larry Csonka, a human cannonball who moves piles of humanity with raw, directed power. "I ain't with all that back-talkin', sneak-dissin', or plexin'," he raps on "The Inauguration." And that's his approach here on this almost wall-to-wall collection of bangers about Southern pride and the perils and glories of the dope and rap games. On one of the album's strongest tracks — the Mr. Lee-produced, rock-tinged "Get Throwed" — Pimp C, Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, and Bun trade verses as Z-Ro sings the hook. The Mannie Fresh-produced "I'm Fresh" and "Trill Recognize Trill," one of Lil' Jon's strongest (and strangest) head-bussas to date, also shine, as does "Pushin'," on which Bun, Scarface, and Young Jeezy trade rock-slangin' tales over a sped-up Curtis Mayfield sample. The Ying Yang Twins/2 Live Crew collaboration "Git It" seems to be the weakest track, although I've yet to hear it in its natural habitat — which is when you're tequila-drunk in a strip club.