Billboard Top Ten for my Birthday Week: Number 4

Trina's Still Da Baddest


First of all, I’ve gotta say that I may rate this album low because she’s dated Lil’ Wayne. It’s a judgment call about personal integrity that I may just have to make. That being said…

The beats are a step or two above Beats By The Pound’s (from No Limit), but that doesn’t necessarily make them good. All of them are boring… all of them are boring. Let me say that one more time: B-O-R-I-N-G.

The singing rap & B shit is something I’ve never felt, and Trina has it in spades. So if you’re into corny sounding lines sung by someone who is marginal at best, this album is for YOU! :-D

She told Billboard.com that she “put 150% into this album” and that “I have a thousand different emotions and feelings [which… let me go to the judges… yes… “emotions” and “feelings” are what we call “synonyms”] and I show it all in this project” noting that “people can see Trina really grew up”.

Just like Trina said, the range of subject matter is incredible. The album goes from exploring how big her ass is to Trina’s drunken stupors to anger at Lil’ Wayne! The album also shows serious personal evolution and reflection and refinement, growing up from songs like “Da Baddest Bitch,” “Da Club,” and “Sexy Gurl” to “Still Da Baddest,” “I Got A Bottle,” and “Hot Commodity”.

You’d think with subject matter like this, she’d have some great beats, or at least passable, or at least ones that you could say “in the club, I’d like this”… but, let me reiterate, the beats are BORING. The best one, by far, is “I Got A Bottle” and that’s probably only because Missy Elliot is on the track and she would have bitch slapped anyone giving her a bad beat, then suffocated them in that puffy suit she wore in “The Rain”.

Honestly, I didn’t have to get too far into the album to realize why it was released on April 1st.

I think the constant irony is my favorite part of bad albums. In “Single Again” she seems quite angry that Wayne only “fell in love with my ass/King Magazine, you fell in love with my ad” but talks about her ass in at least half of her songs, the other half end up about her pussy, and sprinkled here and there are references to things like fucking “a nigga in the dump”.

Outside of the irony, she has some of the funniest lines off of any album ever. “Look Back at Me” has some of the funniest. A few lines that had me rewind were “Licky, licky, licky, licky, licky for an hour/I’ma make it rain for you, here’s a golden shower/Smell it like a flower, my pussy is a rose/Come a little closer, I wanna fuck your nose”. My best guess is that she’s trying to come off as a freak, like she was trying to do when she told the listener to smack her in the face with their cock earlier in the song, but in this particular portion of the song, she goes from hilariously gross to hilarious. I’m sure anyone that’s eaten pussy has, whether on purpose or accidentally, has had the girl fuck their nose, but it’s just something you don’t verbally say, particularly to me, who just pictures a guy with a bad head cold sneezing into a cunt.

On “Clear It Out” she just reminds me of when rappers who haven’t done shit rap about their money. She makes audacious claims like “if they talking, I’m the topic of the conversation” and “1,000 dollar shoes, European jewels, million dollar crib with a swimming pool”. Most of the song can be followed by “because of [insert Lil’ Wayne, Rick Ross, or Trick Daddy here]”. She attached herself to more famous names for a while and developed the theory that SHE is the famous one. Hmmm… really, Trina? Really?

One more track specific thing: “Phone Sexx” has two X’s because it’s not as graphic as “Look Back at Me,” and is quite dull in comparison (more rap & B nonsense). Frankly, it makes me really wish for “Ayo Technology”… or better yet “Digital Get Down” by N*Sync. Oh, and the line “sexin’ your body” has always made me laugh, and it shows up here in the hook.

Maybe she should beat up a her neighbor with a Blackberry and I’d give her a 73%.

Best Tracks: “Still Da Baddest,” “I Got A Bottle,” “Hot Commodity”

Pros:
- It ends.
- Any songs about disliking Lil’ Wayne, (for any reason), gets a “pro” from me.
- If you have two songs about disliking Lil’ Wayne, you get two “pro” marks. Get it?

Cons:
- Killer Mike drops the weakest verse I’ve seen from him… ever.
- Pitbull pulls a Killer Mike.
- I think I forgot to mention the beats are FUCKING BORING!

Overall Score: 45%