Warren G - I Want It All

Warren G's status as something like a camp follower of his pal Snoop Dogg is ironic in the light of I Want It All, a much better disc than Snoop's own recent, flimsy No Limit releases. Want gets across more on agreeably familiar-sounding Long Beach-style tracks and smart wordplay than on the storytelling that made Warren G's best-known track, "Regulate," such a standout. Still, who can really dislike a gangsta whose idea of luxury includes not only Benzes and champagne but "brand new socks and drawers"? While it would be interesting to hear Warren lay down rhymes with a little more substance than his boasts of being connected with the Doggfather, it's also refreshing to hear a tough guy who's more into laying back and partying than looking for someone to fill with bullets. Of such small favors are listenable rap albums sometimes made these days; the groovewise I Want It All is certainly one to keep in rotation. --Rickey Wright