June 02, 2008 @ 10:00 am

Trina, "Still Da Baddest"

by: Evelyn McDonnell

Queen Victoria of Rap.

As proclaimed in the Dirty Diamond Princess’ distinctive twang, the Still of this album title is no idle boast. Female rappers have long been declared an endangered species—not financially viable, certainly not career artists. Trina first “dropped in ’98,’’ as she self-mythologizes on “Clear It Out,” as a foulmouthed sidekick to Trick Daddy, rapping about Nann. But sex and bling tend to be fleeting pleasures, and Trina has never fully transcended her regional appeal as the personification of booty music. She’s scarcely a household name—not a Kim, not a Foxy, not even a Remy Ma.

And yet an argument could be made that Trina is the Queen Victoria of rap: long-ruling, trendsetting—da baddest bitch, still. “I’m setting new standards for women rappers,’’ she declares on “Clear It Out,” a bold anthem complete with wah-wah pedal and guitar solo. Given: A lot of those standards have to do with explicit coital positions. In a sort of one-woman assault on anorexic beauty standards, the strongest leitmotif here on Trina’s fourth album is her big ass.

But Trina is no one-trick pony. Produced by a small army—including Jim Jonsin and Gorilla Tek—Still Da Baddest mixes empowerment anthems (“Single Again”), strip-club scorchers (“Look Back at Me”), and R&B ballads (“Wish I Never Met You’’). A creeping house influence suggests that Trina has been hitting the South Beach nightclubs.

But formulaic tracks are Still’s Achilles heel: These producers should spend more time studying songwriting basics and less time trying to come up with indestructible beats. Doesn’t anyone believe in a bridge anymore? All the bells and whistles in the world are so much gloss if every track has the same sing-songy structure. Still, the harp on the Steve Obas–produced XXX track “Phone Sex” is a nice touch. Trina as an angel sexing up heaven—why not?

Article tags: Trina, Revolutions