AKON - Konvicted Review

No matter how grammarians punctuate the phrase, hip-hop lives by the hyphen. From its birth in the Bronx at the hands of West Indian immigrants to its flowering in regional scenes from Atlanta to Oakland, the music has juxtaposed the universal with the untranslated: Top 40 samples wrapped around slangy rhymes outsiders can't possibly grasp; the most common human impulses — sex, money, partying, power — expressed in simple choruses that give way to verses as locally rooted as gossip shared over inner-city fire escapes....full text This sophomore disc from the Senegal-born/Atlanta-based singer, songwriter, and producer works like a backpacker's version of a tough-guy hip-hop album. Played-out G-funk braggadocio and bedroom boasting (the hit single "Smack That" featuring Eminem) are undercut by thoughtful songs of remorse and vulnerability ("Tired of Runnin'," written while he served a three-year stint in jail)....full text There is an old saying our grandmothers use to say years ago, "If it's not broke, then don't fix it." Platinum-recording artist Akon must have adopted this concept when recording his sophomore album, Konvicted (SRC/Universal Motown). With 11 songs written, arranged, and produced by Akon himself, his new album is a collective effort of the re-invention of the first (2004's Trouble). Konvicted is an excellent combination of precision, execution, disposition, and aptitude....full text