In the city is the debut album from rocker/rapper/producer Kevin Rudolf, and doubles as the latest generic mainstream snoozefest from Ca$h Money Records. Whether he is rapping about being wanted in the city, the cost of fame, or just greatly over who he is, the whole album just seems so bland, rushed and uninteresting. For an album that supposed to be a "biography of his life" it must have one boring rise to fame because I can't tell you a single thing about him other then he lived in Miami and NYC.
Lyrically the entire album is pretty much a mess from start to finish and on the big name track on the album "Let it Rock" it's hard to tell what his verses mean at all "I see your dirty face hide behind your collar/ what is done in vein truth is hard to swallow/ so you to pray to god to justify/ the way you live a lie live a lie" followed by a chorus of "because when I arrive/ I, I bring the fire make you come alive/ I can take you higher, what this is forgot?/ I must now remind you Let it Rock Let It Rock Let it Rock". What do they have to do with each other? no idea. And Waynes typically sprodatic verse about nothing doesn't help.
Then theres tracks like Scarred and how rough life can be, followed by Welcome to the World which is to fast for Rick Ross to keep up on, and a phoned in NaS verse about NYC. So there is star power here, but no memorable lines, songs, lyrics, to be found on any of the tracks.
The production is a mixture of rock and hip hop for the most part, which works surprisingly well for most of the album. Theres no denying the catchiness of tracks like "NYC", "Let It Rock", "Scarred" and a few others. There are some misses though like "No Way Out", "Great Escape", and "Coffee and Donuts" which are just a mess all around.
The biggest flaw with the album is that it lacks an identity to call its own. There's no real overarching theme so the album sounds like a collection of tracks that were finished in time to be released. It feels like with more time, thought, and meaning in the lyrics there's potential here with some of the beats, but all the lyrics feel forced, awkward, and empty. I'm sure Kevin Rudolf will be around for at least one more go around as he seems to have big pull and is on Ca$h money records, a juggernaut in modern times. Maybe that second time he'll put some thought into what he sings about, since there ain't no love on "In The City".
Overall: 3.5/10
Download: NYC (Ft. NaS), Welcome To The World (Remix Ft. KiD CuDi);
