Chingy's third album shows his 'Hoodstar' is waning

BY BRETT JOHNSON

Associated Press

After an acrimonious split with former mentor Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace camp and an underwhelming second album, it looked like Chingy would become another twentysomething, hip-hop has-been. However, the St. Louis rapper known for lightweight hit singles "Right Thurr" and "Holidae Inn" is not throwing in the towel yet.

On paper, Chingy's latest disc, "Hoodstar" (Capitol) looks like a success waiting to happen. He has enlisted some of the South's top beatmakers, including Mannie Fresh, Three 6 Mafia, Timbaland and Jermaine Dupri. And the first single, "Pullin' Me Back," an R&B-flavored jam about an on-again, off-again love affair featuring an achingly bittersweet hook from Tyrese, is already a chart-topper.

But where that song hints at Chingy's artistic growth, the bulk of "Hoodstar" only reasserts his limited range as an MC who's preoccupied with boasting about his fashion sense and making strip-club anthems.

Songs such as "... N Da Aurr" and "U A Freak (Nasty Girl)" are booty-obsessed retreads, the latter recycling bits of the Ying Yang Twins' whisper-rap style. Others including "Nike Aurr's & Crispy Tee's" and "Dem Jeans" scream of being calculated attempts at product placement. Though the former track's thunderous drum kicks and wheezing synths may be adequate for trunk-rattling drives through the hood, the latter's lyrical content is one-dimensional: "Prada, Gucci/ Tell me what you like/ Coach bag to match up with your shoes/ Forget the price."

Chingy is far from the only rapper to rely on sex and materialism as their schtick. But even when he attempts to ground his vapid leanings with a heartfelt rags-to-riches tale (see "Cadillac Door"), it falls flat. It makes one wonder if Chingy should've packed it in a long time ago.