"Wooden Leather" Could Be a Classic

The Nappy Roots sophomore album, "Wooden Leather," serves up the same trademark sound found in the group's debut, "Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz."

The Kentucky-based group sticks to its country roots and creatively combined hard-hitting lyrics with "Dirty South" bass lines.

With songs like "Leave This Morning," featuring Raphael Saadiq, and "What Cha' Gonna Do? (The Anthem)," produced by the king of crunk, Lil' Jon, this album will please music lovers.

The tracks "Nappy Roots Day"; "Roun' The Globe"; "War/Peace," a rocked-out track similar to the work of Outkast; and "These Walls" are highlights of an album that could become a classic.

"Nappy Roots Day" has a tight bass line and lyrics. The words demonstrate the group's uniqueness and each member's individuality.

"These Walls" features tight, conscious lyrics that investigate the meaning of life. The chorus is easy for hip-hop music lovers to digest:

These walls are closing in/
How long I'm sposed' to grin/
I lost my will to win/
Forgive my sins/

At the end of the track, the original, chilling television announcement of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination, complete with the devastated crowd's screams in reaction, will almost move you to tears.

And, of course, the CD contains the one club song that every hip-hop album must have.

"Twang" talks of an exchange that a male and female might have in a club.

The chorus tells it all:

What is it that you tryin' to hide off in them pockets gurl?/
Them jeans so tight you know ain't nothin' in them pockets gurl/
The way you workin' em, be hurtin 'em you oughta stop it gurl.
You betta watch it gurl/
You know I got you girl

This album includes a variety of songs with different messages. However, it is not clichéd. Instead, it has the makings of a classic hip-hop album.

Gabrielle Finley, a student at Florida A&M University, writes for The Famuan.

Posted Jan. 5, 2004