The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 7 [Clean] [Edited]

Performer: Various Artists
Producer: Chink Santana; David Banner; Hangmen 3; E Bass; Irv Gotti; Just Blaze; Mario Winans; Missy Elliott; Panjabi MC; Avery Johnson; Timbaland; Keith McMasters
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Cassette available on Def Jam (0001614)[602498611913]. Personnel: Marc Dorsey (vocals). Unknown Contributor Role: Dawud West. The seventh installment in The Source's HIP HOP HITS series once again delivers the goods with a set of fierce tracks. Ludacris races out of the gates with his revved-up 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS soundtrack contribution, "Act a Fool." Snoop Dogg brings his nonchalant swagger to the soul-tinged "Beautiful," while 2Pac is represented by a posthumous track that features breakout R&B singer Anthony Hamilton. In fact, the "featuring" hip-hop phenomenon continues to snowball here, with 11 out of 15 tracks sporting guest performers. The end result is a collection of mostly male rappers, making it all the more relevant that a solo Missy Elliott turns up in the home stretch to "Work It" and show the boys her uniquely inventive skills. Coinciding with another holiday shopping season is the seventh volume in the Source Presents: Hip-Hop Hits series, released through Def Jam. Like the earlier installments, it provides a decent -- if incomplete -- snapshot of the past year in hip-hop, reaching back to the tail end of the previous calendar year while including tracks that became popular throughout the summer of the year of release. Even though Ludacris ("Act a Fool"), Nelly ("Air Force Ones"), Bone Crusher (the remix of "Neva Scared"), and David Banner ("Like a Pimp") eat up over a quarter of the album, it seems like there aren't enough Southern hits by half. Nevertheless, the disc does tend to stick to the tracks that were most popular, appealing most to those who haven't picked up many full-lengths -- there's Missy Elliott's "Work It," Snoop Dogg's "Beautiful," DMX's "Where the Hood At," and Lil' Kim's "The Jump Off" as well. [A clean version of the disc, with all cursing removed, was also made available.] ~ Andy Kellman

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25