[rozettasmolanov]

I know I'm an old white guy and I generally keep anything rap or hip-hop at a LONG arm's length away but I've been seeing nothing but RAVING reviews for this. When Rolling Stone declared it to be the current generation's "Sgt. Pepper" that made me go "Hmmmm....".

So, what the hell- I picked it up.

I have to say- DAMN! A lot of the language is cringe-worthy (I just completely skip over track 2), but the music, the hooks, the production values are all incredible.

One track, "Monster" really made me just stop what I was doing and rewind to relisten to one of the guest spots. It's by this chick, Nicki Minaj.She goes from a Barbie doll on helium to a growling hell-beast in a single breath. According to the same issue of RS she's going to be huge and I don't doubt it. If she can make a 40+ white boy stop and think "Damn!" she's gotta be good.

I'm not going to head out and subscribe to "Source" or anything like that. I'm still an old guy that listens to too much Miles Davis and "classic" rock, but I'm damn impressed.