Hip-Hop Island

Swizz Beatz has been producing club beats for years, and his newest solo album One Man Band Man doesn't fail to get the party started. Following Timbaland's valiant effort Shock Value (great beats, but completely outshined by his collaborations), it's great to see Swizz actually show off his talent as both a producer and performer.

"I'm 28 with $96 million/my catalogue is a senior citizen/my number are senior citizens/I'm just giving you good music to vibe to," Swizz boasts on "You Know Your Boy Did That." That's the exact flow you get throughout One Man Band Man -- feel good party music that's all about having fun.

Swizz breaks open with bragging rights on "Product Man" and follows with the guilty pleasure "It's Me Bitches." The most playful track on the album, "Take A Picture" samples Bill Withers "Lovely Day" and mixes in Grandmaster Flash's classic "The Message" -- Swizz plays up his celebrity status and life under the flashing lights.

Swizz manages to flash a bit socially conscious rap on "Part Of The Plan" featuring Coldplay's Chris Martin. "So who cares if I'm stretch on the scene/Surrounded by homicide forensics team, yellow tape/Haters glad I'm dead/Pedestrians walking by and they just shakin' their heads." He even gets heavy on "The Funeral," but dark lyrics aside, Swizz remembers to have fun with his music.

One Man Band Man makes having an identity crisis look good -- Swizz sways between happy party music and spitting hood life rap lyrics. Swizz is an amazing producer, and thankfully, he doesn't boast to be anything more on this album. He just does what he does best -- producing hot beats for good times.

Originally published @ http://www.collegeclub.com/article/view/3702