Pittsburg Slim – Tastemaker

Def Jam – December 4 2007
by Terra Cooney

Newcomer Pittsburgh Slim's Island Def debut rap album proves that you can't judge a CD by its cover. Don't be deceived by his mysterious image on the front (or the sly one on the back) of Tastemakerbut dotake cues from the powerfulness even his look exudes. In the first self-titled track, Mr. Slim gets loud...and he continues that way throughout the half-hour long album. If the first song doesn't convince you that he is big in his hometown, the second track, "Superstar Extraordinaire," should show you that he's world-wide. Pittsburgh Slim's smart, energetic lyrics foreshadow the truth in his self-proclaimed stardom. You don't even have to imagine his rise to the top of his game. In "My Flashy World," you can picture him "ridin' in them caddy's with them girls."

Hip-hop and rap's expected themes like women, money and cars, are present and even more prevalent in a song about Slim's desires called "Girls Kiss Girls." You can smell the hit-potential of "Sunrays featuring Sonny Cheeba of Camp Lo," in which Slim spits smooth lyrics about pretty sunsets and girls over a sample of the popular "Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder. The energetic CD is a "Kiss And Tell" of all of Pittsburgh Slim's talent and is over too quickly with the final track, "Toy." In the closer, the rapper offers himself up as a prize to anyone worthy of a listen, noting "this ain't a hit record, it's magical." Though not unconventional in his genre, there may be some credibility to Slim's egotistical lyrics. Check out the CD as a sample of feel-good rap.



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