Murs, 'Murs for President' (Warner Bros.)

Call him Barack O'Drama -- the rap game's agent of change.

With his seventh solo album, this veteran Los Angeles MC really sounds like he's campaigning for higher office. The onetime underground hip-hopper now hangs with Snoop Dogg and will.i.am, and stocks this major-label debut with a variety of producers and crowd-pleasing styles -- from the gospel uplift of "Time Is Now" to the jittery hyphy bounce of "Lookin' Fly." Boasting authoritative presence and crisp diction, Murs crams multiple ideas into topical songs on love affairs ("Break Up") and racism ("The Science"), sometimes overwhelming the tracks. But ultimately, Murs for President has a cumulative bang that's impossible to deny.

Comments

Got something to say?

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • No HTML tags allowed
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Use <!--pagebreak--> to create page breaks.

More information about formatting options

Are You Human?
If so, enter the four-letter code below to post your comment.
Image CAPTCHA