Left of the Dial
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Swizz Beatz: One Man Band Man
by Donny Kutzbach
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(Universal Motown)
New York City-based Kasseem Dean—better known to the world as Swizz Beatz—is dead serious about making it known that he is a one-man band, a super producer who can do it all. Known for his quick, dirty and headbob-banging rhythms, he’s been an in-demand remixer and producer who gave DMX and the Ruff Ryders their trademark sound and who has been called in by Usher, Britney Spears, Beyonce, Chris Brown, TI and Madonna to lend the streamed and streetwise gravitas elemental in his beats and hooks. His clear aim this time around is to enter the top-tier: to be not only the dude making the beats but the superstar up front rhyming. With Swizz focusing on the mic, he gets some help on a few tracks from guest producers like Needlz and Neo Da Matrix. The ultimate question is this: Does Swizz pull off the one-man-bandness? On the one hand, the music is solid throughout. Clearly the guy known for giving artists the best beats saved a few for himself, like the minimal crush of “Money in the Bank,” the club-ready thump “It’s Me, Bitches” and the grandiose 1970s soul of “Top Down.” Just when you think you heard it all, there’s a hefty hunk of Coldplay’s “X&Y” with Chris Martin’s vocal anchoring “Part of the Plan.” The subject matter across One Man Band Man is a mélange of the hip-hop essentials—boasting, New York street tales and more boasting. Swizz Beatz is hardly the greatest MC ever, and with his monotone style, repetitive lines and occasional hollering, he comes off less like a skilled, crafty wordsmith and more like a hypeman stuck out in front and shouting out. Still, if One Man Band Man doesn’t stick Beatz in league with Dre, Timbaland or Pharrell as a super producer rapping, running the board, building beats and pulling it all together, he’s still got a decent record here.
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