Chamillionaire - Ultimate Victory

Wow. I definitely did not expect this from Chamillionaire. I never checked out Sound of Revenge (maybe I should), and I had only heard Cham on a few random tracks. Based on those tracks however, especially the ILL chorus he delivers on Ras Kass' "U Ain't Me," I decided to check out his just-leaked LP, Ultimate Victory. After bumping it all of the last two days, I have to say this is easily one of the top releases of the year so far. Although I wouldn't put in up there with Below the Heavens of EarDrum, it's still a solid album that I would definitely choose over the likes of Graduation and Curtis (although that's not saying much).

So what's so good about the album? A lot, actually. First of all, Chamillionaire is a very focused MC. He doesn't just spit to spit, he doesn't throwaway too many tracks. He raps with a purpose, with hunger, with passion. And that makes a huge difference. Compare 50 from Curtis and Get Rich or Die Tryin, for example. The lyrics on GRODT are not classic lyrics, but you can hear the hunger, anger, & passion in his voice and delivery. Now, although the lyrics are not THAT much worse, his material suffers because he now lacks those key ingredients that made him listenable in the first place. Chamillionaire is never lacking in that department.

Along with his evident focus and emotion, Cham is a very diverse talent. He has excellent singing abilities that lead to great chorus' (like the Ras Kass one that made me fall in love with his voice). His diversity makes him a very unique MC, especially nowadays when everybody sounds so similar.
However, the most important thing that Chamillionaire exhibits on this album is lyricism. He can spit, and not just for a dude from the South. The man can rap, plain and simple. He is no Kool G Rap or NaS, or even Blu for that matter as of now, but compared to 99% of the rappers out there, he is a monster on the mic. He spits about all sorts of subjects, from politics ("Morning News," "Evening News") to street shit ("Come Back to the Streets") to laid-back shit ("Ultimate Vacation") to just spittin...he can do it all, and pretty well.
I'm not a Chamillionaire groupie or part of his street team. There are weak points to the album. The production, at times, is disappointing, and even ridiculous at a point ("Industry Groupie"). However, I think the casual listener will like the beats a lot, since they are crisp and definitely bang in the whip. Cham often integrates many pop references in his lyrics, which I prefer to be limited to mixtapes since you would like an album to be as timeless as possible, and referencing Britney Spears and T-Pain and DJ Unk probably won't mean much to somebody 10 years from now. Despite some pitfalls, this album is full of bangers....as well as, suprisingly for a modern-day Southern artist, full of meaning. Chamillionaire put forth a great effort, one that you should at least check out. Save your money the 11th and wait till the 18th...