Chicken and Biscuits

It may have taken four albums, but country rap star Colt Ford has made the charts with Chicken and Biscuits. Ford's new recording doesn't differ all that much from the rest of the titles in his catalog, but that's a good thing. His blend of extremely rowdy, outlaw country music, party-down backwoods lyrics, and hard beats, combined with his considerable skill as a rapper, make this set both memorable and more often than not hilarious. That said, Ford avoids the "novelty" tag altogether -- his songwriting is top-notch, catchy, and downright smart. High points on this record include some of its duets -- "Tool Timer" with Darryl Worley and "Country Kids" with Rachel Farley -- as well as the stomping, banjo- and-beat-driven first single, "Hey Y'all," that sounds like Montgomery Gentry at their wildest meeting Redman in a Brooklyn honky tonk.