Lil' Rob - Twelve Eighteen Part 1 (Cln) (CD)

All Music Guide

Restless and persistent, Lil Rob inched his career forward year after year, album after album, and Twelve Eighteen, Pt. 1 reflects his steady growth. It's a thoroughly contemporary rap album, tied very closely to the sounds of 2005, not unlike his past albums reflected their own time frame. So while Rob may have begun his career in the late '90s as a hardcore rapper a Chicano thug who fit in well with the Low Profile crowd and its gangsta style here in 2005 he's a commercially minded yet thoroughly streetsavvy rapper who's content to sit back at times and let his producers run the show. In other words, he sounds kind of like 50 Cent, albeit not nearly as polished and not really that threatening. Like 50, Rob is graced with standout productions that more often than not eclipse him on the hooks, which is perfectly fine because there are some great hooks here courtesy of producers Fingazz and Moox. And also like 50, Rob mixes lookhowfarI'vecome raps of barrio pride with goodtime raps ab...out pleasure, particularly of a sexual nature (though far less drug references than in the past). "Summer Nights," the album's lead single, is a little different, as it mixes both approaches. It's a feelgood song, for sure a Chicano "Summertime" à la Will Smith but it also boasts a strong undercurrent of selfsatisfaction that radiates Latino pride. It also boasts a great production by Fingazz that any rapper would love to call his own. Twelve Eighteen, Pt. 1 might be Rob's best album yet, and if not, it's certainly his most accessible. However, it's still held back a bit by Rob himself. Frankly, his raps aren't always liquid smooth. His lyrics are thoughtful and his songwriting showcases his veteran status, but his flow can be clumsy at times. It's easy to look past this, though, because there's so much else to apprecaite here, especially if you're a longtime fan of Rob or if you're into Chicano rap. Twelve Eighteen, Pt. 1 is another positive step forward for Rob, overall. [The clean edition does away with the more profane moments. Too, the album unfortunately is plagued by some shoddy copyprotection software. It's compatible with most operating systems, but it requires the use of a rudimentary media player for playback, ripping, and so on. Frustration may ensue if you're not patient no iTunes or anything like that.] - Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide Read more Less