Q and Not U Power
New York's dance punk scene continues to expand its influence westward. Leaving in its wake a host of diluted bands hoping to replicate its sloppy, frantic energy, Q and Not U's latest release, Power, is simply the sound of a band trying too hard to fit in. By attempting to formulate an equation to imitate a genre that is built on electricity and spontaneity, Q and Not U have sapped their sound of both.
Most of the thirteen tracks on Power are wholly uninspired and subdued, like
the muzak version of a Blondie record. Q and Not U sound timid and unable to simply cut loose and enjoy themselves. It's this reservation that prevents the album from becoming a frenetic, dance worthy success. Still, there are a few highlights on Power, tracks that should have been the building blocks for the sound the band wanted to achieve. "X-Polynation" is a raucous, energetic blast that is even able to overcome an ill-advised reedy flute. The album's best track, "Book of Flags," is a bouncing, funk-filled song that appears late on the album, giving Q and Not U's career hope for the future.
Q and Not U can make you move at times on Power, but the album's rigidity allows for few highlights. Q and Not U have the ability, now they just need to relax and play like they have nothing to lose.
Grade: C
See Instead: The Rapture, Out of the Races and onto the Tracks
Dave Ruigh
Lloyd Banks
The Hunger For More
Let's get this much straight from the outset. G-Unit will win no awards for lyricism, subject matter, or breaking new ground conceptually. They will not lead hip-hop into any Golden Age or remind listeners of the genre's heyday. The strength of Lloyd Banks, and that of his partner in rhyme, 50 Cent, lies squarely on their ability to harmonize on a beat better than anyone spitting. As Banks demonstrates on the chorus of "Warrior," where he enunciates every syllable of the phrase "I'm a War-i-or" with earnest, G-Unit's is a sound uniquely rooted in the full-on enjoyment of the now.
On the group's third formal disc – and Banks' debut - Interscope's Shady imprint has found it's most marketable
homegrown star. Banks has a voice that resides somewhere in the space between Shyne and Jakakiss, where flows are thick like molasses and syrupy like syzurp. it's put to good use on a spate of tracks that retreads 50 Cent's debut nearly track for track. There's the club anthem "Fire," the staccato ode to philandering "Playboy" and even the Snoop assisted opiate "I Get High" which features a keyboard riff that swirls like a wafting cloud of purple haze. While Eminem and Nate Dogg make an appearance on "Warrior, Part 2" that sounds more contractual than essential, the masterpiece here is "Til The End." The track turns a cliched day in the life narrative into a still life of struggle by not just providing observations ("Hoping your moms ain't the mama on crack rock").
A little over a year after the onset of 50 Cent, Banks' Hunger For More is definitely a satisfying second course – but only necessary for those who weren't satiated by an already hardy entree.
Grade: B
If you got down with this, go out and cop 50 Cent's Power of a Dollar or the 8 Mile soundtrack. Holla!
— Ahsan Latif