51/50 Ratchet (Parental Advisory) [PA] - Hurricane Chris > Reviews > A Bay Bay. Let It Play. That's My Song.

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Lacking inspiration
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
Value for Money	Poor

Advantages:	A couple of good dance tunes
Disadvantages:	Repetitive lines

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

"51/50 Ratchet" is the debut album from the Louisiana rapper Hurricane Chris. When this dropped, 2007, the musician was only eighteen years old, and to fit in with what is expected of young rappers, espcially ones from the Dirty South, he has come out with some 'ringtone rap' with his hit single "A Bay Bay and "The Hand Clap" which followed on from it.

1. "Getting Money" (feat. Nicole Wray)

This track get the album off to a shaky start as it isn't really what I would have liked to have heard. I have to say tha I expect it though because he basially summarises his life stroy to the lsitenr in order to make up a little introduction for you before getitng itno his music. This little contextual information can be overlooked though as it doesn't bring out anything out of the ordinary.

**Two Stars**

2. "A Bay Bay"

This is the big single from the album and as his debut, it manged to catapult him into fame at the start of 2007. From there the exposure grew as he was heard more commonly in the Hip Hop scene, as it take as while for unknowns who didn't perform as part of a collaboration.

I expect that many would simply ignore this as a piece of Hip hop music, especially East Coasters in support of the 'Hip Hop Is Dead' movement. However, as someone who the music is directed to, this dance form of rap is just what I would like to here, and it deserves some decent hype.

**Five Stars**

3. "Don't My Thang" (feat. Big Poppa)

Here you have Hurricane attempt to showcase the sound of Ratchet City (Shreveport, Lousiana) as he colloabrates with Big Poppa in this track, and I have to say that it was good to here, and I wouldn't really complain about it. However it isn't that new to the scene and doesn't really have many defining things which set it apart form other Dirty South rappers, espeically when you consider they come from an unknown place in the world of Hip Hop.

**Three Stars**

4. "New Fashion"

Mr. Ackibee provides the production for this tune, and if you are familair with his music, then you will be aware that he specialises in Dirty South rap music, in particalr the dancey form of it. I found this to be the most enjoyable part of the cut as I didn't really understand the subject to this one at all.

**Three Stars**

5. "The Hand Clap" (feat. Big Poppa)

This was the follow-up to "A Bay bay", and although it didn't receive a similar level of exposure to his debut, this oone was just as catchy as he rapped in a similar form,, whilst promoting his 'Ratchet' form of Crunk rap. It is another dancey rap tune, and has people sway away from 'The Snap' which dominated dancefloors, and replaced it with a more simple 'Hand Clap'

**Four Stars**

6. "Walk Like That"

This one just wasn't happening for me, and it made me change my mind on Dirty South rappers for a while. As a representitve of the New South, I was far from impressed by this cut as Hurricane was terrible with the raps, using the lines of the chorus in the verse extensively. The levels of repetition were simply unacceptable.

**One Star**

7. "Touch Me"

Hurricane Chris decides to focus his attention on the girls for this tune as he talks about when he gets intimate with them. I thought that although at times he was strong at showing how he can vary his approach to the mic(rohphone), by speeding it up and then slowing it at appropriate sections, but overall, it just wasn't working for me.

**Two Stars**

8. "Leaving You"

Hurrincae changes things by doing a rap about a relationship with a girl, a one in which he feels he has to escape. At first, I thought it was OK for what it was, but then he began getting repetitive, but then it got wrose as he started bringing the little "A Bay Bay" phrase into it, and it was entirely inaappropriate for the type of tune which he did.

**One Star**

9. "Do Something"

This is a pretty average track by Hurricane Chris as it has him simply rap on some typical Dirty South beats. I found this one to be quite unmemorable in comparison to the remainder of the albim as it didn't really have any defining features to it.

**Two Stars**

10. "Bang" (feat. Big Poppa and Bigg Redd)

Despite the fact that I didn't really trust much of what he said in this track I thought that it was a big one from him as he performs a Gangsta Rap tune for the listener and has his friends Big Poppa and Bigg Redd back him up as he simply drops in lines which refer to local Crips and Bloods. The extra support is all what was able to rescue this as Hurricane just came with the same old lines, by saying "A Bay Bay" over and over again.

**Four Stars**

11. "Beat In My Trunk"

I was really into this track as it has Hurricane rapping in a way which has been popular in the Dirty South as it has him base the tune around crusing in his whip and blasting out music to the masses. I thought that it was mcuh better than other attempts by DJ Unk with "Beat'n Down Yo Block", Jibbs "King Kong", but failed to compete with the power of T.I,'s "Let My Beat Pound".

**Four Stars**

12. "Playas Rock (feat. Boxie)

This is the third and final EP off the album and it made a change from the previous two singles which he brought out as Hurricane goes for a smooth rap in a collab with the R&B singer Nicole Wray. You also get to hear a change in the style of Mr. Collipark, who does the production, and manages to make it nice and sensual for this tune.

**Three Stars**

13. "Momma" (feat. Nicole Wray)

These tracks really get on my nerves as they are constantly used in debut rap albums, and they are all so simialr. In this one Hurricane simply raps to say thank you to his mother and apologize for all the bad he may have done in his childhood, but he thinks that by making a track about it, it will brush over the past.

**Two Stars**

I wouldn't really recommend this album to anyone, but if you did want to buy it, then you would really have to like what Hurricane Chris does. You shouldn't think that his debut single is too representative of what he does as he can come with some varied raps, which I was impressed by, however the amount of repetition did take it too far at times.