Phinally Phamous

Album Review

With a rapid mouth and an attitude that's straight-up crunk, Lil Wyte came out of nowhere, landed his "My Smoking Song" on every Southern mixtape that mattered, and ended up one of the flagship artists on the revitalized Asylum label. Not bad, and while mainstream rap fans won't find much to holler about here, crunk fans with a taste for underground beats will be supersatisfied. From start to finish, Phinally Phamous is hard, filled with street beats to make your head bob, and more fun than filling. Not that Lil Wyte can't make a point or two. He's just not a troubled soul like Eminem. He's more concerned with giving it raw and getting the party started, and Phinally Phamous does just that. "I Sho Will" is the monolithic kickoff single with rolling bass, a gripping chorus, and the right amount of punch to announce Wyte's arrival. "Static Addict" is a halfway successful attempt to keep the momentum going and the only time the album's party chants are standard issue. Not to worry, tracks like "I Did 'Em Wrong," "My Cutlass," and "Icy Whites Soljas" are so alive they're hard to resist if you have even the slightest taste for that brash and minimal sound from the South. Lil Wyte is one of crunk's greatest champions and even a major label can't make him stray from releasing a street-worthy album. Maybe it's the guest stars, all from Wyte's hood and all straight crunk. Maybe it's producers DJ Paul and Juicy J who work on all the tracks but still keep things fresh. Maybe it's that Lil Wyte couldn't do it any other way. He's crunk to the core and has delivered one of the genre's few great full-lengths. [Initial pressings of Phinally Phamous came with a bonus DVD including the "I Sho Will" video and an interview.]