Papa Reu's Review

Many people in the music industry have made attempts to fuse different genres to make an interesting sound that would appeal to the ears of music junkies everywhere. Some attempts of musical mixtures have succeeded and some have become a trend that would be forecasted to fail (can we say “reggaeton”), but with Papa Reu it’s a gray area. His attempt at introducing the world to “Thug Hall” music (a unique combo of reggae and dirty south) is great at first, but it fluctuates.

Before this nationally released album, Papa Reu (pronounced “Roo”) independently released two albums, Excuse Me and U Know Me. Apparently, the world wasn’t ready for “Thug Hall” music, but now, with the help of artists like Sean Paul, the world of reggae and dance hall is in the forefront. Even so, Papa Reu’s musical influence on this album leans more towards his “dirty south-ness” from his current home of Houston rather than the reggae from his native Trinidad.

His rhyming skills are slightly tinged with the chant-like styles of Mr. Vegas and Beanie Man, but the grittiness of the Cash Money style is the heaviest. After a drawn out intro of shout-outs, the first two tracks, “Streets Callin’” and “Clap 2 Dis,” are full of energy and dance worthy, but the album begins to become a little bit repetitive. The socially conscious first single about the struggle in the ghetto, “Hold On,” is a good track, but not the best way to be introduced to those who do not know about him. Something less heavy like the Timbaland-esque “Twist Your Cap” probably would’ve been a better way to go.

It is no doubt that his vocal styles are unique, but on this album, his talent could’ve been more assorted. Many of the beats used can be compared to other sounds that out there—and that’s its major fallback. Despite this small fall back and a couple of other small flaws, Papa Reu proves his musical worth and makes it apparent that we haven’t heard the last of him.