Album Review: Music Is My Savior by Mims

How did Shawn Mims, all but unknown just six months ago, become the rap star du jour? The 25-year-old New Yorker addresses that very question in ”This Is Why I’m Hot,” the chartcrushing lead single from his debut Music Is My Savior, explaining repeatedly that ”I’m hot ’cause I’m fly/You ain’t ’cause you not.” Okay, so he’s no Shakespeare. But the rest of the disc contains more than a few moments where Mims’ quick, confident style recalls Jay-Z’s mid-’90s blinged-out phase — not a bad starting point for a career. B .

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Having a top rap song on the Billboard charts in 2007 is not exactly an unusual accomplishment. Commendable, yes, but a hit single does not mean that the full-length record will be met with much success, nor necessarily should it be. Fortunately for New York (specifically, 164th Street in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood) MC MIMS follows up his hit "This Is Why I'm Hot" with an album that proves his place on the charts is based on talent as well as luck.

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MIMS :: Music Is My SaviorCapitol/EMI MusicAuthor: Steve 'Flash' JuonTo avoid confusion right at the start, MIMS is an acronym which stands for "Music Is My Savior" while Sean Mims is the given birthname of the actual rapper in question being reviewed. Got it? Good. Henceforth in this review the rapper will be referred to by his last name, uncapitalized.

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Shawn Mims makes the kind of hip-hop that causes purists to wring their hands and complain about how the genre is not what it was. His debut full-length offering is not aimed at those looking for an artist with anything to say. "I can sell a mill sayin' nothin' on a track," he brags, and often it seems as if that is exactly what he is doing. This doesn't matter, though, when he is so adept at producing slick club-bangers: generic, yes, but that is no cause for complaint when the genre is so good.

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