Breakin News

E-40’s tenth solo album is dedicated to furthering the cause of hyphy, the woozy, beat-heavy sound that broke in the Bay Area in the early ‘00s. *Breakin News* is anchored by several tracks from Rick Rock, the producer with whom 40 appears to carry on a telepathic chemistry. The album begins with a trio of Rock productions, and “Breakin News,” “Hot” and “I Got Dat Work” are miniature displays of rhythmic fireworks and off-kilter electronics. The Clipse are one of the few younger groups from outside the Bay to incorporate into their sound the ideas of Rick Rock and E-40. The Virginia duo guests on “Quarterbackin’” and their technical expertise pushes 40 to elevate his game: “Seen fiends vomit green stuff I had to clean it up wit\' comet / Mean stuff, so many deaths my streets is haunted / Believe us, you shoulda seen us, like Wile E. Coyote, man super genius / Against all odds like Serena and Venus.” “Anybody Can Get It” proves that crunk’s rock-solid foundation is an ideal foundation for 40’s radical rhymes. Better still, 40 has reached the age where he can flow over the vintage soul of “I Hope U Get This Kite” and make it sound magic.

The most impressive things about E-40 are the way he combines quick and slang-filled rhymes that bridge alternative and hardcore rap and the fact that his albums bounce between excellent and very good.