Search - Fat Joe :: The Elephant In The Road

(2.5 Stars) Can't Bare To Be In The Same Room!

Charles L. Hubbert | Milwaukee, WI | 04/10/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"An "elephant in the room" is described as a problem that everybody knows exists but nobody bothers to bring it up because it would be too humiliating. Such is the case with Fat Joe's doomed rap career. Anybody that's paid any attention to the declining sales and popularity of Joey Crack knows that it's only a matter of time before the inevitable happens. His crew knows it; that's why the Terror Squad has had more lineup changes than Must See TV. So with the collection of unimpressive tracks on Elephant In The Room, Fat Joe substantiates everybody's beliefs that he's fast approaching that exit ramp that has been visited by the likes of Ja Rule, DMX, and soon 50 Cent. "K.A.R. (Kill All Rats)" is one of the few tracks that actually sounds decent, with a throwback to early Fat Joe . "I Won't Tell" with singer J. Holiday is another track that is at least listenable. But the album standout has to be his collaboration with KRS-One, a pairing that actually works out for the song "My Conscience." But the rest of the album is either uninspiring or too bland to even force yourself to listen to. "Ain't Saying Nothing" featuring Plies unfortunately lives up to its name, Lil Wayne provides little for "The Crackhouse," and the failed attempt at a pseudo dance track with "Cocababy." DJ Khaled does his usual role of being an annoying hypeman and mediocre producer for the track "Get It For Life." Scott Storch fails miserably with the production on "Preacher On A Sunday Morning," a song that just sounds like a bad idea from one glance at the title. And Swizz Beatz gives Fat Joe a decent up-tempo track to rock called "Drop," but Fat Joe doesn't work it like a classic DMX or Eve track. Things don't look good for Fat Joe. He has a crew that is practically non-existent (a la Flipmode Squad), yet another failed album (well, barely an album considering it doesn't even clock in at 45 minutes), and a stupid beef with another doomed rapper (pay attention to how well 50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct does whenever it comes out).

"