David Banner

Only three of 17 tracks from David Banner’s new album find him without the aid of a guest appearance, which distracts from the strength of this release. This album features so many guests should be listed as "David Banner featuring…” Aside from that, this is as good as it gets for the Mississippi native. His words fly fast and furious, lashing out from the heart of the south, propelled by the tumultuous and violence-plagued history full of pain and oppression. Both Banner and the beat bombard listeners with crude, hyper-aggressive polemics covering everything from the autobiographical "Lost Souls” to hood anthems like "Gangster Walk” featuring Three 6 Mafia, 8Ball and MJG. "Play” stimulates sexual urges and finds Banner copying the Ying Yang Twins "Wait (The Whisper Song).” Shuffling from speaker-rattling intensity to slow motion seduction, Banner channels his anger into tracks that expose his defiance with ear-pleasing rewards.