Daddy's Home

by David JeffriesAfter a six-year absence from the rap game Sir Mix-A-Lot returns with a full-length containing only an EP's worth of new and inspired ideas. A hint of the album that could have been, "Game Don't Get Old," and its commentary on the rap industry represents a refreshingly reflective side to the rapper. The track is effervescent and catchy, as is the rocking "Ya'll Don't Know," but when Sir Mix-A-Lot falls back on his old, reliable sex-party music for the better part of the album, things get weak. Maybe it's the lack of decent production that makes the rapper sound more sleazy than sexy, maybe it's just the fact he's not the strapping young buck he used to be. For the party tunes, the music is harder and more skeletal than usual, with only "2 Horse" delivering the funky shuffle of his big hits. Without the required accompaniment, his raps come off as amusing, but are nothing to return to (the size-obsessed "Big Johnson," is a good example). Things get downright dull towards the end, until an entertaining guest-spot from Digital Underground's Humpty Hump, on "At the Next Show," breaks up the tedious second half of the disc.