nothing more than catalog delusions of toughness, fantasies of accommodating women and other wet dreams of the luxe life. But the corollary to hip-hop's holding pattern is that, if the genre itself isn't growing, the ways of talking about the same things are getting more inventive. On "Trade It All" he proposes marriage to a girl that "got me thinking about putting a car seat in back of the Benz." Ghetto Fabolous is the most entertaining argument for hip-hop excess to come along in a while, due to Fab's ability to add lyrical twists and turns to the genre. On "Keepin' It Gangsta," he raps, "I might not even drop/Just take my advance and make a small town in Cleveland pop." You may have heard it all before, but not quite like this.

KRIS EX
(RS 880 - October 25, 2001)