Westside Connection - Terrorist Threats

Throwing up the "W" just isn't as ghetto glamorous as it once was as the triple vets of the Westside Connection have ended up third fiddle behind a resurgent New York and upstart Southern scene. Though the events of 9/11 and the national paranoia that followed are part of the inspirational fuel behind this album--their first since 1996's Bow Down--there's something quaintly anachronistic about the Connection's gangsta posturing, especially with Ice Cube, whose attempts at righteous fury on "Call 911" seem a pale shadow of the days of The Predator. As such, Terrorist Threats at times feels less than "condition red," but WC, Mack 10, and Cube still show some bite with their bark: "So Many Rappers in Love" is a hilarious slap at the Ja Rule school of R&B/hip-hop crossover, while the single "Gangsta Nation" bumps with irrepressible energy. It's nice to know that even if the sun might be setting in the West, the Connection refuse to go quietly into the night. --Oliver Wang