All of the singles are good pop rap, Chingy has an original southern twang and he can rap. Except for 'Bagg Up', produced by DJ Quik, The Trak Starz handle all of the beats, which is rare to see these days for mainstream projects, and even when this dropped, and they create some good beats with some funk. As the list below shows, this makes for a hit or miss album, but it does what it sets out to do well and its highs are high.
"I like the way you do that right thurr (right thurr), swing your hips when you're walkin', let down your hurr (let down your hurr)."
1. Jackpot Intro
2. He's Herre 50
Like with his sophomore also, this starts off underwhelmingly with this and the next song.
3. Represent 59
Better than the previous song, with a better chorus, but still not one to repeat.
4. Right Thurr 96
A classic pop rap song. Enough said.
5. Jackpot the Pimp (Skit)
6. Wurrs My Cash 53
Ehh. I don't mind the instrumentation here, but Chingy raps really slowly for a lot of the song and it just hurts its energy.
7. Chingy Jackpot 96
I might like this more than 'Right Thurr'. Catchy from front to back. Based on the Spotify plays, this song is incredibly under-rated.
8. Sample Dat Ass 54
9. One Call Away 95
This gives off a similar feeling to 'Don't Worry' from Powerballin'. A great R&B/pop rap song.
10. Dice Game (Skit)
11. Gettin' It 70
More production that'll make the listener bounce.
12. Holidae In 89
Another hit with Luda and Snoop adding their unique voices.
13. Juice 60
The slowly rapped bridge to amped up chorus is the strength here.
14. Fuck That Nigga (Skit)
15. Madd at Me 63
Catchy hook.
16. Bagg Up 96
The one track produced by someone other than The Trak Starz. DJ Quik handles this and kills it. You can't listen to this and not bob ya head.
17. Right Thurr (Remix) 87
Trina is fine, but JD hurts this a bit. I'd rather hear the original. The instrumentation is all the same.
Beats: ★★★☆
Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆
Hooks: ★★★★
Best Tracks: Right Thurr, Chingy Jackpot, Holidae In, One Call Away, Bagg Up, Right Thurr (Remix)
While most viewers will have some sympathy for the situation Baby finds himself in, he isn't a very likeable character. For one, there is nothing more annoying than people who play air instruments. I get that they bonded over music, but Baby's and Deb's relationship wasn't built on enough, nor do we learn enough about Deb, for anyone to take such a risk and still go with Baby when she does. It reminded me of Purple Rain that I rewatched recently, where after just meeting him, Prince's love interest gets on a motorbike with him and they travel to a remote area. Nevertheless, this is carried by a unique enough plot, engaging and attractive co-stars, and some unexpected turn of events. 3.5-3/5.
The beginning of this film was very engaging with entertaining action scenes that made the movie start off with a bang. I thought for the most part the de-ageing of Ford (that is only a feature for the first 15-20 minutes or so) looked good. There are small moments where it doesn't quite look right, but I don't have complaints about it. The main issue from the opening though was the silhouette-like distance shot of Indy running across the roof of the rain. They really needed to reanimate that before pressing the movie.
It petered out a little bit towards the end, (the kid flying the plane with no experience was fairly ridiculous as was the pilot sleeping through it), but despite knowing how these movies always end on a good note, it also went some places I didn't expect it to. It does annoy me how so many of these kinds of movies have to have an obnoxious character. Here it's Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena who I'm glad didn't have anymore screen time. A satisfying end to the pentalogy.
I've decided to revisit this one and I think I was way too harsh with my previous rating and was possibly influenced by the haters to be honest.
1. Haters 101 (Skit)
2. Give 'Em Some Mo 54
An underwhelming start. The chorus doesn't differentiated itself enough from verses and the production isn't too enjoyable. It feels more like a filler track than what should be the opener.
3. Fall-N 57
"Doin' it like Donald Trump." It would be interesting to collate pre-POTUS hip hop bars and post about Trump. These rappers sure did a 180. Better than the opener but still one of the weaker songs.
4. Balla Baby 83
"I like them black, white, Puerto Rican, or Haitian / Like Japanese, Chinese, or even Asian." What a classic line! A catchy hook and enjoyable production. The first good song that gets you vibing to the beat unlike the first two tracks.
5. Jackpot the Pimp (Part 2) (Skit)
6. Leave Wit Me 80
R. Kelly was on so many great pop rap songs in the mid '00s. This feels a little like Cassidy's 'Hotel'. Again, the chorus is one to stay in your head.
7. Make That Ass Talk 81
Funky-ass beat here and another catchy hook.
8. I Do 85
This one is from the Need For Speed Underground 2 OST. I don't know if I'd like it as much if I hadn't heard it from that. Yep, another catchy chorus.
9. Don't Worry 91
Another pop rap hit partly thanks to Janet on the chorus. The "don't worry bout a damn thing" line makes me think it was influenced somewhat by Naughty By Nature's 'Feels Good (Don't Worry)' from a couple of years before this dropped.
10. All the Way to St. Lou 62
Nate Dogg is always a welcome voice. The production change up/build up between the verses and chorus is a positive feature but the production is less enjoyable than most of the other songs. You'll enjoy it more than me if you're a fan of David Banner's work.
11. 26's 68
Once again, another catchy hook.
12. We Clubbin' 50
This one feels more repetitive from the chorus to the production. Probably the worst song.
13. We Do 86
"Who controls the British crown?/ Who keeps the metric system down?/We do! We do!" Those lyrics aren't from the song for those not familiar with The Simpsons, but it makes me think of The Stonecutters. Head banging music.
14. Wurr Da 'Git It' Gurlz At? 67
More of the same. By now the album does start to sound a little too familiar. Another decent catchy song though.
15. Bring Da Beef 72
More good production with another example of them nailing the choruses.
16. Outro
Just shoutouts.
17. Balla Baby (Remix) 64
The production is similar to the original but feels more bare.
18. What Up Wit It 60
Repetitive but still a bouncy beat.
19. Don't Really Care 52
The album probably didn't need these bonus tracks. As mentioned above, it does all sound a little too similar.
After a stumbling start, the quality is consistently dope from 'Balla Baby' to 'Don't Worry' and then there are still some songs to go back to and pretty much nothing to skip until the bonus tracks. The production is almost all good, there are lots of catchy choruses and Chingy, on songs like 'We Do', raps very well. Topically there is nothing noteworthy, that hurts the album, and there are some bad lyrics as pointed out above, but I've always felt he was an underrated rapper from a purely stylistic point of view. He rides a pop rap beat well. and his voice suits them. This album doesn't have the standouts of his debut, but it's more consistent.
Beats: ★★★★
Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆
Hooks: ★★★★
Best Tracks: Balla Baby, Leave Wit Me, Make That Ass Talk, I Do, Don't Worry, We Do
I remember talking to someone about Die Hard 4 and they were critical of the movie because of the astonishingly unrealistic feats that John McClane lives through and I'd say they'd have the same opinion here as it's taken to another level with Ethan Hunt. I preferred the slightly more realistic tone of MI:3 to this. While it grew on me in the second half, I wasn't feeling the first half of the movie much. I think part of that feeling was that I dislike Simon Pegg's character a lot, particularly when he's not just an IT whiz. Why do writers of movies like this think you need comedic elements, or attempts at them? There is no way someone like Benji would be an agent in the field alongside someone like Ethan. It removes any believability the film and series develops. Finally, I am glad there was a twist with Ethan's wife, or otherwise it basically made MI:3 meaningless.