Certified Crunk [PA]

Performer: Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz
Artist: Ludacris; Ying Yang Twins; DJ Smurf; Killer Mike; Kool Ace; Jermaine Dupri; Hitman Sammy Sam; Organized Noize; Jazze Pha; 404 Soldierz; No Surrender
Distributor: Ryko Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Lil Jon (rap vocals); Joe Corcoran (guitar); Ludacris, The Ying Ying Twins, DJ Smurf, Kool Ace, Hitman Sammy Sam, No Surrender. Producers include: Midnight Black, Kool Ace. Six or so years after Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz debuted on the Atlanta indie label Mirror Image with Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album in 1997, the label gathered together leftovers from that album and released Certified Crunk, which is essentially an alternate version of Get Crunk. Certified Crunk features most of the same songs -- "Get Crunk," "Who U Wit," "Bounce Dat Ass," "Cut Up," "Ya'll Don't Feel Me," "Shawty Freak a Lil' Sumthin'" -- in slightly remixed form (and often with slightly altered track-title spellings) along with a few other previously released odds and ends like "Stop Trippin'," a notable 1998 DJ Smurf production featuring Ludacris. Frankly, there isn't anything exceptional here that is worth going out of your way to hear, even if you're a fairly fervent Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz fan -- Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album is better, and pretty much every other Lil' Jon album is far better. Essentially, Certified Crunk is a cash-in release by Mirror Image, who hoped to capitalize on Jon's remarkable success circa 2003 (with "Get Low" in particular) by passing off a collection of leftovers as a timely new album to unsuspecting fans. ~ Jason Birchmeier CERTIFIED CRUNK is packaged with cover art simulating the low-budget "mixtape" CDs one can find populating the sidewalks of any city worth its hip-hop salt, a shout out to the spirit of the streets and the creativity of the DJs, putting out inventive remix and mix albums. Lil Jon did indeed start off as a DJ, and in that spirit, CERTIFIED CRUNK captures the flavor of the mixtapes and the feel of a party. The album compiles some of Lil Jon's earlier tracks (before he crossed over into the mainstream) and follows on the heels of his infectious and successful breakthrough, KINGS OF CRUNK. That said, much of the record's beats are spare in the spirit of the genre--almost hypnotically so--and drenched in a haze that allows the band to provide some surprises. For an album immersed in sex and dance-floor shaking, the intro track, "Get Crunk," features a refreshingly progressive call-response imploring women to shout that they are neither "tricks" nor "hoes" nor "skanks," and men to scream they are not pimps. More of a collection (actually done without the input of Lil Jon) than an official album, CERTIFIED CRUNK offers a nice insight into the makings of these kings of crunk.

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