In an ideal world, the highest-caliber music would sell the best. Instead, as New Orleans rapper Juvenile's fifth solo release Project English reminds us, sales and talent don't always correlate. The shameless materialism and outlandish bragging that appears on this album by the commercially successful Juvenile and his bling-blinging crew, the Cash Money Millionaires, runs quite shallow.
As a whole, the Project lacks creativity and originality, as the subject matter rarely strays from guns, bitches, drugs and jewelry. Then add the elementary rhyme schemes and tired similes, and the product is so ridiculous that it's almost comical. And while there are a few exceptions to the rule, like the reflective joints "My Life" and "They Lied," there are countless other songs, like the intolerable calypso rip off "Sunshine" and the deplorable "Get Your Hustle On," where the appalling nature of the CD is apparent. From tales of over-exaggerated violence and riches, references to kidnapping mothers and purchasing "choo-choo trains" included, it seems unreal that this caliber of music is actually well-liked.
Project English is a reminder that having all the Cash Money in the world can't buy you skills.
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