(Babygrande Records/Bon Vie Entertainment)

Grade: C

What happens when eight French MC’s travel to New York for three works to collaborate with Dipset affiliated, Purple City? Apparently you get a severe case of jetlag and create a very average gimmick album. On “Paris to Purple City,” French MC’s from the Baryo Gang go verse for verse with Purple City mainstays Shiest Bub the Emperor, Un Kasa and Agallah the Don Bishop, who also produced the entire album. The problem with international collabos, from reggaeton to French-rap, is that the average fan can’t understand the dialect. Unless you have retained your high school French skills, you’ll only be able to rhyme along with every other verse. Agallah’s production is adequate, but he shines on tracks Hip Hop and New York/Ville De Lumieres, where his vocals bring the songs to life. Dipset’s Jim Jones is featured on the above average The French Connection. The album is a short ten songs deep and when you’re only hittin’ on 4-5 tracks, you leave a lot of room for mediocrity such as the sing-songy Baby Girl and Rap Is All Over The World, where the French language is butchered with lines like “Parlez Vous Francais/Mi Amor, I adore what I do all day.” If you want to enjoy French hip hop, go cop a Solar or Booba album and leave the broken French to sightseeing American tourists.

Posted by J-Hize on Tuesday, March 14th, 2006 and is filed under SICKWIDIT, REVIEWS, CD.