Baby Boy da Prince - Across the Water

It's easy to ignore that New Orleans' Baby Boy Da Prince doesn't bring much new to the hip-hop game. He's got enough charisma, he's got the lyrical skills, and his flow is alluring, especially when laid on instantly gripping hooks and feel-good choruses. Give him someone like Mannie Fresh to bounce off and he thugs it up a bit more ("Naw Meen") without ever leaving his comfort zone. His debut, Across The Water, plays to his strengths the whole way, refusing to clean the swaggering rapper up for parental approval ("Slide in Slide Out" is 2 Live Crew-sized nasty) or oversell him as a gangster or drug-pushing snowman. Read More