JAYWERKS FOR LADIES

ALBUM REVIEWS FOR PRINCESS
PRINCESS?“Class Is in Session”?(Jaywerks) Surely you haven’t forgotten Crime Mob, the finest coeducational hip-hop wrecking crew from Atlanta? The group broke through in 2004 with “Knuck if You Buck,” a thrillingly simple but chaotic track that sounded like a homeroom riot. (The members were teenagers when it was released.) And last year Crime Mob scored another hit with “Rock Yo Hips,” built on the mesmerizing sound of booming timpani. The show stealer of many a Crime Mob track is Princess, a tough-talking provocateur who often seems to be having more fun than everyone else. (She once explained her strategy: “I can look jazzy, act nicely with my stiletto heels on/But if a ho says something, trust me, then her hair will get thrown.”) Now it’s time for “Class Is in Session,” a mixtape — released with the Crime Mob rapper and producer Lil Jay — disguised as a debut solo album, unless it’s the other way round. Princess comes out swinging, borrowing a Lil Wayne sample to crown herself “the best,” adding, “Underestimated? Yes I am/But I’m staying, so you heifers need a better plan.” She has a knack for getting angry without losing her cool, and in “The Other Me” she pays tribute to her badly behaved alter ego. And “Hold U Down” is a different kind of crime-and-punishment track: a love letter from a free woman to her locked-up boyfriend. Best of all is “Pretty Rave Girl,” an out-of-left-field dance-track remake. “The mood is so cool,” she purrs, over the slowed-down happy-hardcore beat. If America is going to have a rave revival, it should sound exactly like this. -KELEFA SANNEH
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE G.R.I.T.S
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE LIL JAY "FIGHT-N-SHOOT"
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE LIL JAY & C.K. (CLOUDKAPRI) "FOR YOUR EARS ONLY"
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE PRINCESS "CLASS IS IN SESSION"