Ghetto Supastar
It's difficult to tell whether Pras's debut,Ghetto Supastar(riding on the infectious 1998 summer jam of the same name), is intended as an 18-track infomercial for the newest rap collective, the Refugee Camp (star campers include Canibus, Most Wanted, and head counselor Wyclef Jean) or an elaborate parody of self-proclaimed rap prodigies. The album opens with a "Hallelujah" chorus, closes with "Amazing Grace," and stuffs the middle with weak Dolly Parton interpolations, weaker rhymes ("Two guns blazing / Purple hazing" on "For the Love of This"), and not one, butfourseparate tracks chock full of shamelessly scripted shout-outs from a horde of bizarre star supporters. (Donald Trump? Mike Tyson? Sting? You haven't heard this many hard-up celebrities since New York City cabs started talking.) There are a lot of reasons this album fails, but the most flagrant is this: for all the effort expended here to raise himself up as the next great Hip-Hop Hope, between the Refugee Camp agenda and the sea of guest vocalists, Pras's presence is nearly invisible.--Todd Levin