Make It Reign

You could compare the debut release from the rap team of Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz, Make It Reign, to the party rap albums of such hip-pop stars as Mase, Puff Daddy, and the Lox and you wouldn't be missing the mark by much. Make It Reign is an album tightly produced and packed together so that it rolls and flows from one end to the next with jiggy beats and braggart raps. Much in the fashion of current hip-hop, the duo capitalizes on past Top Ten R&B hits on such tracks as "Startin Somethin," and with guest Blackstreet, a track that is nothing short of an exact imitation of Micheal Jackson's 1982 hit "Wanna Be Startin Somethin." On Make It Reign, Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz — who received his odd moniker from his arms-selling past — continue the trend of hip-hop's heavily danceable and materialistic reputation. They lace their ballin beats with raps of mic supremacy, sexual prowess, Bronx shout-outs, and accounts of their extensive wealth, witnessed on the album's first single and new rap anthem, "Déjà Vu (Uptown baby)." You won't find anything very innovative or original on this album, a fact the two readily admit in one of the many racy interludes when they remark that their party raps are designed for airplay and quick money, and not necessarily for "keeping it real."

One refreshing aspect of Make It Reign is the raw, hardcore rapping that the two bluntly unload on occasion. Tariq and Gunz don't flow with vocals and hooks as catchy as their present-day counterparts in the rap game, but they make up for it with resolutely opinionated quips and boasts. Mix this with sugary smooth, Benzo-bumping party beats on hits such as "We Will Ball," and Make It Reign is another in a long line of recent hip-hop albums that will enjoy enormous pop crossover success. (Make it Reign was also released in a "clean" version which contained no profanity or vulgarity.)