Slum Village: Fantastic, Vol. 2

This looked promising. The guest artists include Pete Rock, Busta Rhymes, D'Angelo, and one of my personal favorites, Q-Tip. Member Jay Dee was a well-respected, commercially successful hip-hop producer known for his soulful touch. And while I know you can't judge an album by its title, both the names "Slum Village" and "Fantastic, Vol. 2" resonate with me.

This looked promising, but it isn't. The lyrics are ignorant and uninteresting. The production is an irritating re-hash of sounds and styles that have been done (and done better) countless times over the past 20 years. The catchiest song -- and it is catchy, as much as it hurts to admit -- is "I Don't Know," with its chorus of "I don't know why the fuck I'm fuckin' wit'chu."

That's how I feel. I don't know why the fuck I'm fuckin' wit' this.

Music:
It's 20 tracks of generic vibey jazz samples, awkwardly syncopated vocals, flaccid guest spots, inane lyrics, played out DJ work, canned R&B sexiness, and vocal performances that shouldn't have made it off the demo tapes.

Packaging:
The cover photo is good and the cover design is intriguing, but they have nothing to do with the music contained within. The rest of the jacket is bland.

Listen if you like: The many misfires of the aforementioned guest stars over the past decade.

If it were food, it'd be: Instant mashed potatoes from a box.