Ghetto Heismann

Def Jam's forays into the world of West Coast gangstas haven't always gone well (remember the bitter parting with San Diego thug Jayo Felony), but the label nevertheless signed up Jayo's fellow Crip-walker W.C., late of Maad Circle and Westside Connection, giving the underrated Cailfornia rhymer the break many felt he'd long deserved. Yet he doesn't take full advantage of it on Ghetto Heisman, despite an impressive parade of guests that includes Snoop Dogg and even old pal Ice Cube, lured back to the rap game from his silver screen duties. The rich, Clinton-sampling G-funk sounds just as good here as it did it in its early-'90s heyday, but W.C.'s verses too often lapse into gangsta boilerplate; when he gives it a fleet-tongued twist on "Bellin," the results really are Heisman-worthy. But the most impressive and troubling moment comes with "Something 2 Live 4," a fantasy worthy of Eminem in sound and subject matter. The gory fantasy about the kidnapping of Dub's daughter won't shock anyone who's lived through Slim Shady's "Kim" -- or the Geto Boys, Schoolly D, or a long list of other acts, hip-hop and otherwise. Using it to deliver a message about the important things in life, however, closes the album on an unnervingly twisted note.