Magic Juan

Long respected in the Latino rap world, Magic Juan makes his biggest play for crossover success with a busy whirlwind of an album, Inevitable. Ably producing, writing, and rapping in both English and Spanish, Magic Juan is a force to be reckoned with. While it's easy to believe his talent takes two CDs to really play right, Inevitable's two discs feel like a really, really fantastic album with a bonus disc attached. Disc one is subtitled "U Gotta Believe" and while the packaging has you believe it's the "English Disc," it's really the "Mostly English Disc" since Juan can slither among English, Spanish, and Spanglish effortlessly within a single song. The pacing of the first disc is what really makes it shine, since the smooth ride from hardcore baller music to Twista-styled slow numbers feels entirely thought out, probably due to our man Juan. Producing 90 percent of the album on his lonesome, Juan proves to be an idea-filled knob twiddler; mixing ancient drum machines with wide-angle mariachi samples and gun blasts à la G-Unit. Robot beats and voices down the hall fill "I Can't Cry," Jazzy Jeff goes to the barrio on "Straight Fuego," and "U Gotta Believe" emulates the sound spectrum of a back-in-the-day soul record. Just as exciting are his verbal skills -- thuggish, reflective, deep, and always magnetic. He's got a great sense of humor too, like when he drops a Eddie Murphy homage or seduces the ladies in a Devin the Dude style. The "Spanish Disc" is filled with sparkling, up-tempo numbers that spin and twirl, but it feels like it's laid out all wrong. Still, "El Doro" is a triumph and both "Dejalo Caer" and "Loco" are red hot, and while the numerous guest stars make the second disc a busy, party alternative to the first disc, it does add to the compilation feel. Speaking of guest stars, Malik's poignant lyrical punches on "Never Been Afraid" deserve a paragraph on their own, but you can always look at Inevitable from another angle and come up with more reasons to praise it. The point is, Inevitable is one stunning album with a bunch of loose tracks that are welcome. That's one heck of a deal from one hell of a hip-hopper. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide