E-40, 'The Ball Street Journal'

Hip-Hop
E-40 THE BALL STREET JOURNAL
REPRISE
ESSENTIAL "I Can Sell It"

The artistic news here isn't all bad, but it isn't exactly fresh. Longtime San Francisco Bay veteran E-40 also won't make the commercial headlines he made with his last release, "My Ghetto Report Card," which was one of his biggest successes. This one is too scattershot and unwieldy as it tries to summarize the MC's 20-year career. The disc's beats are actually toned down, and instead the emphasis is on more melodic, hook-driven tracks. 40 incorporates T-Pain again (he was also on E-40's hit "U and Dat") for the radio-ready "Give Her the Keys," and Akon is featured on the formulaic but catchy "Wake It Up," as well as Snoop Dogg and the Game. Old fans will not be pleased. But old-school MCs from B-Legit to Too Short (a tame but still lascivious "Sliding Down the Pole") to Ice-T show up also. The problem is that all this talent doesn't come up with many memorable lines, let alone songs. The production, usually a strong suit, doesn't make up for the empty spaces. (Out now)

KEN CAPOBIANCO