Bubba's Trouble

Don't let the catchy, TRL-friendly single "Ugly" fool you--Bubba Sparxxx is hard core. Once you get past the first few tracks spit-shined ^ la producer Timbaland on Dark Days, Bright Nights, it becomes clear that Bubba's dirt doesn't just come from pig wrestling. Either he's a white rapper from way down South with something big to prove and only one shot at doing it, or folks in LaGrange, Georgia are just super-nasty.

Bubba's misogynistic, "money shot"-in-the-eye lyrics would probably work (after all, this is hardcore rap) if the rest of his message didn't focus so much on how black rappers should learn to love white MCs so we can all just get along and love each other. On "Get Right," Bubba lets you in on a little something: "You really wanna know the secret to this white pimpin'? Though I might love 'em, I don't really like women." Apparently, his brotherly love extends only to the brothers.

Bubba doesn't say anything worse than what's already been said by a dozen rappers before him. But that's just it--everybody else has already said it. From descriptions of drunkenly kicking bitches outta his bed to bragging about his allegiance to Ralph Lauren, Bubba holds onto rap's stereotypes like a greased pig, all while milking the white-trash farm boy schtick drier than a Jersey cow on a Georgia farm.

Lucky for Bubba, Timbaland's got a freaky streak in him too. The seven tracks he produces are the best on the album. Always the innovator, Timbaland draws upon horses, cows and creaky old barn doors to make up the soundscape behind Bubba's drawl. For those who don't mind a spunk shot in the eye, the combination of Bubba's lyrics and Timbaland's beats has more bounce than a stripper in a flatbed.

I wanted to like Bubba so bad, I really did. The redneck with a penchant for hip-hop gimmick, the undeniably catchy Middle-Eastern groove laced throughout "Ugly," and the hilarious video featuring Missy Elliott on a tractor--the whole package is just so damned appealing. But once I got past the gimmick, I realized that I really just liked Timbaland. Aw, shucks, Bubba.

--By Kelly McVicker