Mike Jones
The Voice (Asylum)
Mike Jones did T-Pain way before T-Pain. He perfected the politics of ubiquity years before Soulja Boy Tell 'Em danced onto the scene. But, like that, Jones disappeared into the deep, black abyss that is label woes and industry turmoil. And despite the 2005 singles “Still Tippin’” and “Back Then” propelling Jones to the forefront of the Southern hip hop movement with one pronouncement—“Who? Mike Jones!”—his fame fizzled quicker than it arrived. Truth be told, Mike Jones is a sign of happier times, when hitting the million-sold mark for a rapper was as easy as batting an eyelid, directed toward the right crowd, of course. His debut, Who is Mike Jones? (Asylum/Warner Bros.), went double platinum. Jones was the teacher—perhaps our generation’s greatest self-promoter—in pre-Auto-Tune, pre-blog mania. A sage who made our recession seem unimaginable. But on The Voice, Jones’s second full-length, he sounds more like the student.
Committing artist suicide barely into the intro, Jones warns listeners to look out for his next album, Expect the Unexpected, reportedly due early 2010. Such an act can only point to low expectations from the rapper himself. You’ll remember, Common was spotted on the Web gleefully discussing his follow-up to the queasy Universal Mind Control (G.O.O.D./Geffen), which hadn’t even dropped yet. So what are we to expect of this effort if Jones is already anticipating his next? Nothing spectacular.
Aside from a new number (281-206-4336!), Jones offers few surprises—the guest list is robust and his rhymes are still mediocre. On “Swagger Right,” a military-style, hut-one, hut-two ballad, Jones declares, “They say Mike Jones fell off, but I’m so on in my city.” Despite referring to himself in the third person (which he does often, to no avail), he couldn’t be more accurate—this is Houston music. Woozy, chopped-up vocals. Syrupy club anthems. Relentless self-promotion. Following suit, the vapid “Happy Birthday” is a failed attempt by Jones to enter the pantheon of bash-worthy birthday classics (see “In Da Club” by 50 Cent and “Happy Birthday” by Stevie Wonder) and “Boi!” is an obvious rip-off of Lil Wayne and producer Bangladesh’s meteoric 2008 smash “A Milli”—down to the chopped-and-screwed background vocal, rapid snare-claps and heavy bass. Really, Mike?
Though few, Jones’s bright spots include guest appearances from rappers that rose in his absence. “Cuddy Buddy,” which features T-Pain, Wayne and Twista, is a soft and smooth saga chock full of lyrical bravado where the gentlemen speak frankly on women and cheating. Twista spits at a supersonic pace, Wayne soars over the cascading beat and Jones croaks, “She know that I got that wood” while Teddy Penderazdoun gurgles the hook. Other favorites are the frenzied, Hurricane Chris-assisted “Drop & Gimmie 50” and “Scandalous H**s II,” which finds the Texas born-rapper riffing on scheming chicks.
But even for Jones, the album is lackluster at best. Look no further than the cover as proof of what to expect. Seemingly self-assured—his head is slightly cocked to the side, as if to say “I got this”—Jones stands gripping a bullhorn with an abandoned warehouse to his back. Jones is yelling. No one is listening.
Mike Jones' "The Voice" is in stores 4/28/09
Track Listing for The Voicce1. “Intro”
2. “Swagger Right”
3. “Houston Oilers”
4. “Boi!” feat. Young Problemz
5. “Cuddy Buddy” feat. T-Pain, Lil Wayne and Twista
6. “I Know” feat. Trey Songz
7. “Drop & Gimmie 50” feat. Hurricane Chris
8. “Give Me A Call” feat. Devin the Dude
9. “Happy Birthday”
10. “Next To You”
11. “Swagg Thru Da Roof”
12. “On Top of The Covers” feat. Essay Potna
13. “Scandalous H**s (Skit)”
14. “Scandalous H**s II” feat. T-Pain
15. “Hate On Me” feat. Tanya Herron
16. “Grandma II” feat. Kai
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