The gimmick here is that on each track a
hard rock
act has been combined with a
rap
act:
Sonic Youth
and
Cypress Hill
,
Living Colour
Run-D.M.C.
, and so on. The idea, as with
's duet with
Aerosmith
on
"Walk This Way,"
is to achieve musical synergy and commercial crossover, and at least the second goal was met when this album went gold while the movie it accompanied went into the dumper. But, as on any duet album, from
Sinatra
to
Elton John
, the concept has to be translated into appropriate pairings on good songs to really work. Sometimes, it has.
meld well on
"Me, Myself & My Microphone,"
Slayer
Ice-T
make an angry thrash of
"Disorder."
But in both cases, the rappers are familiar with the style --
has a
metal
band of his own in
Body Count
. Elsewhere, neither the rappers nor the
kids sound distinctive enough to make a striking impression beyond a faithfulness to a hard, angry approach. ~ William Ruhlmann