Meglio prima (?)

Recensione album

In the ironically titled Meglio Prima, J-Ax — who spent a good deal of his last album glorifying his own youth in the '80s and early '90s — reckons that not necessarily everything was better in the past. As for the rapper himself, this 2011 release finds him pretty much at the same inspired spot as his two 2009 mini-albums, setting his acerbic commentaries on Italian society and his personal life to an alternatively bouncy or irate mixture of Euro-dance beats, rock, reggae, and hardcore. At 16 tracks (18 on the deluxe edition), Meglio Prima is not always as consistent as the more concise Rap n' Roll and Deca Dance, but still packs a hefty dose of catchy, fun, and smart hip-hop tunes, such as "Ancora in Piedi," "Meglio Prima," "Domenica da Coma," and "Per una Volta," and even a surprisingly effective acoustic guitar-driven ballad, "Altra Vita."