Review: G.O.O.D. Music: The Class of '06 Mixtape / J. Period and Complex

Fonzsworth Bentley is probably best known for once being P. Diddy's personal assistant - or for his trademark fashion and umbrella dance in recent OutKast videos. He's a rather interesting fellow - having been trained in classical violin, graduating from Morehouse College with a degree in biology, attending the Fashion Institute of Technology, all before claiming Diddy as his boss. Now, the next step has come - a rap career, but don't expect anything generic. If "Laid Back" is any indication, Bentley is a keen observer with a unique delivery, that seems to mesh both members of Outkast with Vincent Price. Signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label with an expected summer release date, I imagine Bentley's debut will be far more groundbreaking than anything ever released by his former employer.

West set up G.O.O.D. Music (short for Getting Out Our Dreams) as part of his contract with Sony, following the dissolution of the Roc-a-fella label. The label's profile was quickly raised with the releases of Common's Be and John Legend's Get Lifted in 2005. The Class of '06 Mixtape celebrates many of last year's hits, mixing them alongside new songs and remixes, showcasing lesser known G.O.O.D. Music artists. With only one song from Bentley, the main focus of the mixtape is on Consequence and GLC, both of whom are familiar to Kanye fans from their appearances on his two albums (together on "Spaceship," GLC on "Drive Slow" and Cons on "Gone" - all included here). Unfortunately, neither quite rises to the occasion. While Consequence reminds me slightly of Lupe Fiasco, and GLC possessess a deep voice and cool delivery, their rhymes come off as rather generic, aided little by West's beats. Trio Sa-Ra, whom West describes as "really sexy" with an "'80's type feel" fare a bit better. Though I can't claim to have been crazy about any R&B release since the mid-'80's, "Hollywood" has enough quirky beats to stand out. "Star Warz," with its Houston-style "chopped and screwed" chorus, is less interesting.

Amidst all these new artists, the real stand-out remains Common. Though many of his hits from last year ("The Corner," "They Say," "Testify") are included, the highlight is a new one - "The Movement," boasting a robotic bass beat. It reminds me, I've been thinking that you could play a drinking game for the number of times Common uses pop culture as a metaphor. For instance, here he knocks "MC's and actors/with no Fear Factor," while noting, "Above the Rim?/I'm above the game."

Those who purchased Kanye's Second Semester mixtape will find some overlap, but there are enough new songs, not to mention the excellent mixing of J. Period, to keep us West-obsessivess happy.

3 (out of 5)

::Previous Mixtape Reviews::
1 Kanye Essentials: First Semester (The Reissue) / Mick Boogie
2 Second Semester: Kanye Essentials 2 (mixtape) / Mick Boogie & Kanye West

::1 Related Link::
1 Fonzworth Finds Worthy Collaborators For Debut LP: Kanye, Andre 3000 (MTV News)