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Birdman
11/20/2002 10:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dan Leroy
Whether you prefer the new Cash Money, the old Cash Money, or neither, you have to give Bryan "Baby" Williams the Executive Of The Year Award. He and his brother Ronald have rebuilt their label so successfully that their once-inbred productions now lure the cream of urban music's A-list: Baby's first solo album features tracks from Neptunes and Timbaland, as well as new stunna Jazzy Pha and old reliable Mannie Fresh. Following the number one course Baby and Fresh charted on the last Big Tymers outing, Birdman continues the move away from Cash Money's old N'Awlins gumbo to streamlined, go-for-the-throat hip-pop like "Baby You Can Do It," with an irresistibly sweet hook from Toni Braxton. Even misfires such as "What Happened To That Boy," an inferior rethink of Clipse's "Grindin'," beat the label's usual filler. The many potential hits obscure a major weak link, which is Baby himself. At some point, his amateurish rhymes, obscene and cheddarific boasts, and even the birdcalls will no longer be amusing. But for the moment, the wind beneath his wings is helping the Birdman fly over that concern.
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