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The University News

Is music Mims’ savior?

Since the rise of West Coast-centered “gangsta” rap, every East Coast rapper has claimed that he or she is restoring New York’s status as the birthplace and reigning geographic center of rap music. This tradition includes such notables as The Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z, and extends to current pop sensation Mims. Like the aforementioned legends, Mims is able to appeal to a larger audience with music diverse enough to warrant spins on pop stations and urban radio, in addition to generating significant record sales.

A native New Yorker, Shawn Mims lost both of his parents before he turned 13. The power of music was his main source of inspiration and hope as he matured, hence the title of his debut record, Music Is My Savior (March 27, Capitol/EMI). This release is the product of years of work perfecting his skills in underground rap.

Mims probably won’t initially appeal to hip-hop purists who bemoan the state of commercial hip-hop. These detractors are quick to point out that radio play-lists consist primarily of one-hit wonders who lose popularity in a matter of months, and the same bland artists who succeed through a combination of rote lyrics, great beats and a marketable image. In defiance of these critiques, Mims manages to deliver an album that is a fairly accomplished, if not an entirely immaculate, affair.

Album high points include the grooving, boastful “It’s Alright,” which features a brassy horn part and a number of sports metaphors; “They Don’t Wanna Play,” a collaboration with Bun B of UGK and Seed, in which Mims more than holds his own in a tough-guy talk-off; “Doctor Doctor,” a soulful 20-something quarter-life crisis song with lyrics about Mims’ struggles as an up-and-coming rapper; and the emotional “Don’t Cry,” which chronicles the effect that Mims’ family has had on his life.

The most telling and promising cut on the album is “I Did You Wrong,” recorded in 2003, in which Mims shows a degree of self-awareness by apologizing for his constant womanizing, without seeming to fully mean it. Mims tells the stories of his philandering with a catchy flow that shows him having fun with hip-hop, a quality that’s severely lacking in today’s commercial rap climate.

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On a number of the tracks, including “Big Black Train” and “Superman,” Mims follows the basic formula of smack talk, materialism and sexual innuendos that have graced many a rap album. Despite these missteps, open-minded listeners would do well to remember that many critics were unhappy with Jay-Z’s classic debut album Reasonable Doubt when it was released, dismissing it as a damning sign of the times, which followed current trends by glorifying street hustling and violence. In their reviews of the album, critics ignored Jay’s gift for the psychological motivations of his characters, as well as his witty way with words, simply because his subject matter was familiar.

Similarly, while the current hip-hop clich?s are present in Mims’ lyrics, they serve as mere window dressing on the finer tracks. Mims presents a vision that isn’t quite as distinct as some of his more illustrious East Coast predecessors, but nonetheless serves as a breath of fresh air for listeners willing to put up with a few boasts, threats and displays of materialism in the interest of hearing one of the more talented rappers around.

Far from a one-hit wonder, Mims mimics Eminem, one of the more successful commercial rappers in recent memory, by releasing pop-minded singles to boost his public profile, and then cementing his status by releasing quality albums that will expand his fan base far beyond the TRL crowd.

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