Angie Martinez

Martinez's day job is as a DJ at a N.Y.C. hip-hop station, and her second album is reason enough for her not to quit. Devoid of style and anything to say, Martinez merely recites her rhymes over flaccid beats, hoping to hook on to something. She falls into nearly all of hip-hop's traps (thankfully, she keeps Animal House at a reasonable 45 minutes): overwrought R&B choruses, lame-ass skits, and "featured" turns by guest-rapping B-listers. She spins records better than she spins tales, most of which are concerned with giving mad props to herself. Only "If I Could Go" has a discernible hook, and it's a vaguely familiar one at that (same goes for the cut that sounds like it was cribbed from Jay-Z's Blueprint reel). Clearly, Martinez fancies herself a baby sis to Missy Elliott (who cameos) and Eve. But it's tough trekking when the beats are this sparse and the rhymes this ho-hum. Maybe she can get her pals at the radio station to play it. ~ Michael Gallucci, All Music Guide