CD Review: The Dirtball - Raptillion

It is not often that I leave the safety and security of the rock and metal world to dip my inexperienced toes into the rap world. This is one of those times. The album is the sophomore release from Oregon native, The Dirtball, who is also a member of the Subnoize Souljaz on Suburban Noize Records. The album is called Raptillion and contains twenty tracks of the Dirtball's speedy raps and elecronica inspired beats. It is different than some of the hip hop albums I've listened to, but not so much to make it stand out, or rather, not so much that it is terribly great.

The biggest issues that I have with The Dirtball are the fact there is not all that much variation in his voice, it is either on or off, and the other is that the beats get a little annoying at times, getting a little busy and overshadowing the rhymes. Still, he does offer a siginificant amount of intensity, always keeping the show moving with his speedy flow.

Raptillion moves along without all that much variation. It is slickly produced, but fails to really develop anything that held my attention. Perhaps it is my unfamiliarity with the genre, or that when I listen to hip hop, it is something different than this, but this album does not strike me as being all that good. It really did not grab me and his voice does get a bit annoying after a while. It is slickly produced and the sound is very clean and crisp, yet it doesn't come together.

While Dirtball's speed impresses, he fails to hold my attention, as the lyrics seem to be kind of generic. On the flipside, his participation in the Subnoize Souljaz crew is much more palatable. I think it may be the blending of his voice and flow with that of the other Souljaz that makes it go down that much easier.

Bottomline. Not awful, as I have heard much worse, but not all that good either. It is a middle of the road release that will most likely satisfy those who like speedy flows and techno style beats. Those others would be better served picking up Droppin' Bombs by Subnoize Souljaz.

Not Recommended.