C-Murder’s Solo Debut Sees No Joy in Life

If gangsta rap is dead, as so many pop commentators suggest, no one has informed No Limit Records. The New Orleans-based label produces thug life parables with such single-mindedness that one wonders whether the numerous reworkings of reformed street hustler accounts are actually reflections of the infinite sadness of urban reality or merely shrewd commercialism. There are traces of both motivations at work in C-Murder’s solo debut, which entered the national album charts at No. 3 this week.

The younger brother of Master P and Silkk the Shocker, C surely owes his record deal to his family ties. Where Silkk’s signature aggression and P’s recognizable groan and country-boy charisma enliven their vocals, however, C cops his sobering flow from Scarface and the late Tupac Shakur. The difference between C-Murder and his models is those lyricists balanced life’s struggle with its joys.

C’s relentlessly depressing outlook--reflected in raps stacked with heavy-handed songs about faulty friends, suspect women and the pursuit of greenbacks--works against what may be sincere intentions.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).