Baby Bash

Cyclone

(Arista)

US release date: 30 October 2007

UK release date: Available as import

by Lana Cooper

While his latest offering could easily have become just another clone, Baby Bash instead rips through the hip-hop landscape with a Cyclone. Bash strikes a delicate balance with the crisp sound on the disc. Neither too over-produced or under-produced, the kid presents a smooth blend of old-school pop/R&B flavoring to his Latin-tinged hip-hop stylings. Mostly light-hearted throughout, Cyclone features a strong mix of grind-worthy dance floor tracks as well as some slow, introspective pieces. “Just Like That” brims with tribal drumming that would sound more at home in a metal track creating a winding groove that hypnotizes, contrasted by lightning-quick lyrical flow. The pensive “Too Many Things” breaks things up with acoustic chords reminiscent of a much more melodic version of Everlast.  Emblematic of Bash’s throwback style to beat-heavy, danceable late ‘80s and early ‘90s R&B, “Don’t Stop” features a cameo appearance by the legendary Keith Sweat. Sweat is just one of many artists to pop up in a guest spot on Cyclone alongside One Republic, Andrea of the all-girl R&B group Danity Kane, and the combo of T-Pain and Lil Jon on the disc’s catchy, chart-climbing title track.  While it would be easy for Bash to take a more common route and rap about the addiction and family turmoil he’s witnessed first-hand, instead, he offers a refreshing take, incorporating the best of modern hip-hop with his own twist.

Baby Bash ft. T-Pain - Cyclone
— 8 February 2008
Tagged as: baby bash
Related articles
 

TODAY ON POPMATTERS
Columns | recent
Marginal Utility: Brand Evangelists
Field Studies: Vinyl: Got to Get You Into My Life
Events | recent | archive
:. Sonic Youth - River to River Festival — 4.July.08: Manhattan, NY
Books | recent | archive
:. Federico Fellini The Book of Dreams by Federico Fellini
:. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Multimedia | recent | archive
:. Wii Fit
RECENT MUSIC

In bold are PopMatters Picks, the best in new music.