Album Review: Cocky And Confident by Juvenile

On his ninth studio effort, Juvenile proves his veteran status by packing a 19-track album with consistency. While some of his New Orleans ilk have strayed from the region's classic bounce sound, the lead-off title track assures us that the same old Juve is in the mix. A synth-aided drum line pushes the disc into the Auto-Tune era, while Juvenile maintains his trademark delivery throughout.

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Shaking off the personal tragedy of losing his four-year-old daughter to gun violence a year earlier, Juvenile’s 2009 effort is just what it says on the cover. Cocky & Confident is also a return to form for the rapper, filled with the street music and club tracks that helped launch his career, along with all the provocative sniping that Juvy always nails. During the opening title track it’s “If you a pitbull/I’m Mike Vick,” while later, during the Dirty South triumph that’s “I’m Out Chere,” it’s the flat-out admittance that “I’m no humanitarian” before some bragging about his gear begins with “All white Guccis like an Aryan.

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When Reality Check dropped in 2006, Juvenile had been exiled from Cash Money Records and many assumed Juve would have a point to prove. Instead, he went the strip club route with a large collection of generic bangers. Tellingly, it didn’t result in any huge singles outside of his region. As Juvenile unleashes his latest on the public, my main worry after seeing the album art was whether Juvenile was going to attempt to grow as an artist or if his budget would even allow him to.

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R. KELLY“Untitled”(Jive) Call it focus, call it obsession, call it tunnel vision, call it formula: R. Kelly is consistent. Album after album he provides single-minded, slow-grinding songs about sex. After singing about pickups, hookups, bedroom marathons, kinks, ménages, even a stray midget ….

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