Album Reviews

Album Reviews: The Villain by Trick Trick

Trick Trick is yet one more in the long line of self-styled Detroit bad-asses, and he doesn't ever let you forget it on The Villain, his second record of "let 'em burn" hardcore rap, giving his home city about a hundred shout-outs, and pulling Eminem, Esham, the now-deceased Proof (of D12 fame), and even Kid Rock to flesh out his tracks. But it's not only Detroit that loves him. Ice Cube puts in a perfunctory—though amusing—appearance on single, "Let It Fly," and Dre has produced a track for him too.

His rhymes don't really justify all this interest, but his productions are compelling in a basic way, full of lots of darkly dramatic synth pads, some classic drum programming and bass-lines, and one or two imaginatively discordant details. The anthemic "All Around the World" and "Let It Fly" are the two most fully realized of his tracks, while Dre's classy "Hold On" is built around an indelible R&B guitar loop, even if Trick Trick fails to do anything memorable over it. His best rhyme, "You poppin' bottles and dressin' like Kanye West/Then you act like a thug," occurs on the typically pissed-off "Get It Crackin," but, for many, the real draw here may be Eminem's presence on "Who Want It," which Em also produced. His entrance on it is suitably delayed, and he warms himself up with a few lines worth of cliché before he gets into a real rhythm involving "hypnotic," "robotic," and getting his "screws knocked out," so that when he says he's "getting lose now," it feels like he is—for the first time in who knows how long—and his pitch-bent Castlevania synth lead is a perfect choice. Slim Shady to the rescue, yet again, if only for a moment.

—Nathan Cunningham
11.24.08