American Me

CL Smooth delivers, this time all on his own

"What makes a man a man? It's the choices he makes. It's not how he starts things... it's how he decides to end them…" is the intro to "American Me", and before you can start complaining about the seemingly-permanent separation of CL Smooth from the illustrious Pete Rock, the 70's-era Blaxploitation backdrop unfolds under CL's confident declarations of independence, and the title track intro introduces us to the new millenium Corey. The legendary DJ is not present, but the MC's thoughts are still great, and that unmistakable voice is still slinging his unparalleled mix of street scholar essays and ladies-loving cool jams, as he does consistently over these 17 tracks.

One of the closest songs to the "Lots of Lovin'" days of the Mecca Don is 'Warm Outside' where the 90's BPM summery production bursts forward and shines something lovely. This man is a true-born MC, never forgetting what styles and subjects he speaks upon best. "Terrorism" is a menacing production where some story telling abstraction is employed, and we're left with a bit of a cliffhanger ending... but strangely, there's no part two. Moving along, "The Impossible" is CL Smooth on a rock guitar on a mid tempo thumping along, as he gets gritty, although a little more envelope-pushing wouldn't have been a bad idea, as he chose to go here anyways. By the time the first lines of "Smoke In The Air" hits, "I been in this game for years/ it made me an animal/ to come from nothing at all/ to more than I can handle...", you have accepted the fact that this man never lost his step since 1992, and can hold it down without the production of the Chocolate Boy Wonder. Arguably, 'American Me' is a more cohesive piece of work than any of the Pete Rock full lengths that have been released since these two legends parted ways (to the heartbreaking dismay of 1990's-era hip hoppers nationwide). Yard-hop heads should check for 'The Stroll', where CL grooves inna dancehall style, AND harmonizes while singing the chorus. It's better than what you might imagine. And for those with sharp ears, they might catch this eye-opening lyric: "If there was any doubt before/I could ever return/watch and learn/this the type of heat that make Pete squirm." The double-speed 'American Me (Outro)' bounces and slides with simultaneous alternating melodies, and ends the Caramel King's journey on a positive note. Two extra tracks beyond this are just more icing on the cake produced by Mike Loe, Arsonist, and others.

In summary, this is yet another piece of evidence that the future of hip hop exists by trusting its past. As did Pete Rock with his solo material, CL Smooth delivers the main ingredients of another great album. The question remains: will the hip hop gods ever bless us with a Pete Rock and CL Smooth reunion album one day?  Pray. But in the meantime, play this.

Rating: 3.5/5

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