Showcasing plenty of welcomed brown pride, California Bay Area rapper Don Cisco proves himself to be truly talented on his debut,
Oh Boy. Balancing a smooth flow with charismatic lyrics, the Latin rapper moves through a stunning number of tracks without exhausting thematic material. In fact, he seems never short of lyrics, and his heavy use of interludes brings a cinematic element of theatrics to the album which furthers his sense of character. In sum, for underground rap circa 2000, this album features an artist capable of going head to head with most major label MCs, along with slick, funk-influenced production. Furthermore, the straight-up Latin moments, such as the chorus to "Mamacita" -- featuring the superstar line-up of Cisco, Frost,
Soopafly, and
Kurupt -- bring a new aesthetic to hip-hop. ~ Jason Birchmeier