Amazon.com
Husky vocalist L.V. first entered the ears of the world alongside his South Central homeboy Coolio on the rapper’s monster 1995 single “Gangsta’s Paradise.” With that song, interpolated from an old Stevie Wonder gem and layered with L.V.’s preacher-man chorus and buttery refrain, the pair was onto something good–reworkings of classic soul and R&B into radio-friendly hip-hop–which Coolio exploited further on his album. This formula gets another workout on the first half of L.V.’s debut solo shot, I Am L.V. The singer turns replayed bits of songs from the O’Jays, Isaac Hayes, and Al Hudson into modern soul music with a retro feel and a smooth West Coast hip-hop heart. With wah-wah and talkbox effects, flute and horn work, and soaring vocals, songs like “Fire From the Gun,” “Gangsta’s Boogie,” and “Throw Your Hands Up” owe more to classics by Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, and Parliament than to any recent R&B. And with his rapless version of “Gangsta’s Paradise” and the praise-the-lording of “The ‘G’ Within,” L.V. offers a conscious–even gospel–take on gangsta music. I Am L.V. takes a nosedive halfway through and changes into an entirely different, far less worthwhile record. The last six of the album’s fourteen songs are original L.V. love ballads, and left without a blueprint from which to interpolate, the music degenerates into the same, vapid R&B pop that clutters so much of the urban airwaves. Thankfully, L.V. piles the losers at the end. Enjoy tracks 1 through 9; after that, buyer beware. –Roni Sarig

I Am L.V.