I know I’ve been complaining about AutoTune for a minute now, but instead of living up to the first two grimy volumes, Lil Wayne’s Dedication 3 has almost as much sonic gloop as a T-Pain record. Sure, there are moments — “my gun an’ money don’t split / call that shit Siamese” — but clearly Weezy’s got bigger fish to fry these days. What about the folks who have the time and inclination to do better?
Start with B.O.B., XXL’s recent cover boy as part of their “The 10 Freshmen” issue. The Atlanta MC’s new mixtape Who The F#*k is B.O.B.? has its share of senseless bravado, but there are moments of personality, like when he pairs up with T.I. and explains, “my nuts is so big, they be saggin’ my jeans.”
Little Brother aren’t new, not that that takes anything away from the North Carolina MCs’ tracks on T-dot jock DJ Wristpect’s new Bridging The Gap mixtape. In between cuts like Big Pooh’s solo joint “Power,” there are fiery and balls-out appearances by locals including Tona, Shad and Wristpect’s recent collaborator JD Era. It’s been said before, but mark my words: Toronto got next. (www.myspace.com/bobatl; www.djwristpect.com)