Melvin Flynt Da Hustler

The best description of Noreaga is supplied by the man himself: "I ain't never going to be a crazy lyricist... but I know how to make gangsta music." Indeed, this prodigal son from Queens' Lefrak Housing Projects has emerged as a thug supreme, his oft-barked "What what!" the prelude to verbal violence that manifests itself so often in his songs. On this, his second solo album, Noreaga supplies more of the same thugged-out entertainment he did on N.O.R.E.: gruff rhymes about street life and hustling laid over the shiny studio tracks of gangsta pop's current cadre of producers, including the Neptunes, Trackmasterz, EZ-Elpee, and Swizz Beats. As he admits in his confession above, Noreaga isn't about to smash new ground, but he is very good at what he does. Unlike the throngs of wannabes, he doesn't have to front too hard to convince you of his tough-bred attitude--real or not, he's mastered a sort of psychotic sincerity that comes through on "Wethuggedout," "What the F*ck Is Up?", and the surprisingly personal "Sometimes." --Oliver Wang