Hate It Or Love It [Edited]

Performer: Chingy
Producer: Ludacris; Chaka Zulu; Jeff Dixon
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: On his fourth solo release, HATE IT OR LOVE IT, St. Louis representative Chingy presents listeners with another batch of radio-friendly, undeniably charismatic candy-rap club anthems. Versatile as ever, Chingy adopts a distinctive Snoop/Slick Rick-type flow on "Check My Swag," slows things down for the lusty Kanye-esque sex ballad "Gimme Dat," spits rapid-fire lyrics on "All Aboard (Ride It)," and tries his hand at hardcore on "Roll On." HATE IT OR LOVE IT features production from Michael Davis, Cool & Dre, L.T. Moe, the Co-Stars, and Khao, among others, as well as guest appearances by Amerie, Bobby Valentino, Steph Jones, Trey Songz, Anthony Hamilton, Ludacris, and Rick Ross. Newly realigned with Ludacris' Disturbing the Peace, Chingy looks hard to repeat the success he had with "Right Thurr" on Hate It or Love It, trying to mix his singsongy vocals with synth-and-bass-heavy beats. He's all swagger and tough talk, but the production's so fluffy, moving from club-ready to third-rate Casio beats that do nothing to aid Chingy's already suspect rhymes, that it's hard to believe he's anything more than, well, the man who brought the world "Right Thurr." The rapper's certainly not known for his lyrics, relying instead on catchy riffs and drums to propel his songs across radios nationwide. "2 Kool 2 Dance" (is that like "2 Legit 2 Quit"?) uses a decent L.T. Moe half-hyphy beat, but the hook (the title repeated ad infinitum) can't quite redeem itself as dance- or rock-worthy, and the other songs follow suit, whether they're boasts about his cars, his women, his clothes, or the sheer amount of cash he has. To his credit, Chingy speaks repeatedly of one woman he's fallen for, who he wants to be with and spend money on ("What's mines is yours," he says in "Spend Some $"), and two tracks toward the end of the album even border on the reflective ("Lovely Ladies," about his love for his mother, grandmother, and sisters, and "How We Feel," about the way blacks are treated in America, and containing the perhaps subversive Obama endorsement "I don't think we ready for a lady president/It's evident that it's a man's world, so it's irrelevant"). ~ Marisa Brown Newly realigned with Ludacris' Disturbing the Peace, Chingy looks hard to repeat the success he had with "Right Thurr" on Hate It or Love It, trying to mix his singsongy vocals with synth-and-bass-heavy beats in an unfortunate mix of cheese and posturing that can be hard to stomach. He's all swagger and tough talk, but the production's so fluffy, moving from club-ready to third-rate Casio beats that do nothing to aid Chingy's already suspect rhymes, that it's hard to believe he's anything more than, well, the man who brought the world "Right Thurr." The rapper's certainly not known for his lyrics, relying instead on catchy riffs and drums to propel his songs across radios nationwide, but there's not much here musically that comes close to capturing the sound of his earlier hits. "2 Kool 2 Dance" (is that like "2 Legit 2 Quit"?) uses a decent L.T. Moe half-hyphy beat, but the hook (the title repeated ad infinitum) can't quite redeem itself as dance- or rock-worthy, and the other songs follow suit, whether they're boasts about his cars, his women, his clothes, or the sheer amount of cash he has. To his credit, Chingy doesn't always follow bad rap clich�s. He speaks repeatedly of one woman he's fallen for, who he wants to be with and spend money on ("What's mines is yours," he says in "Spend Some $"), and two tracks toward the end of the album even border on the reflective ("Lovely Ladies," about his love for his mother, grandmother, and sisters, and "How We Feel," about the way blacks are treated in America, and containing the perhaps subversive Obama endorsement "I don't think we ready for a lady president/It's evident that it's a man's world, so it's irrelevant"). These however, despite the fact they're reasonably well-executed, seem out of place amid the rest of Hate It or Love It, which is messy and predictable and not even that fun, with nothing to grab onto or remember, not interesting or catchy or angry enough to provoke any kind of strong emotion, more unremarkable than anything else. ~ Marisa Brown

Rapper Chingy (aka Howard Bailey Jr.) honed his craft in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. His style, which features a clever, quick delivery in a high-pitched voice, draws on Dirty South and East Coast hardcore. Chingy's 2003 debut, JACKPOT, released on Ludacris's Disturbing Tha Peace label, pushed the singles "Right Thurr" and "Holidae Inn" into rotation. Chingy's profile increased after his publicized beefs with Ludacris and Nelly. He continued to develop and refine his hip-hop stamp on the albums POWERBALLIN' (2004), HOODSTAR (2006), and HATE IT OR LOVE IT (2007). Each release yielded at least one single, and featured high-profile cameos from the likes of R. Kelly, Little Wayne, Snoop Dog, and Janet Jackson, and production from Scott Storch, Timbaland, Jermaine Dupri, and others.

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