Def Squad Presents Erick Onasis
Underappreciated multiplatinum seller Erick Sermon's star is falling fast. Along withRedmanand the perpetually incarceratedKeith Murray, Sermon makes up theDef Squad. This 17-cut follow-up to 1998'sEl Niño, has Sermon, er, Onasis (named after the late Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis) recruiting more than a dozen mediocre MCs to join in the fun alongside the Squad's core members. There are a few gems--posse cut "Focus," where Sermon slurs alongsideXzibitandDJ Quik, and "Hostile," where Redman "rocks the spot more than 1001 Dalmatians." But tracks like "Can't Stop," and "Get Da Money," featuringJa Rule, revolve around moola and ladies and not much else. Despite Onasis's empty ode to God on the "Sermon" interlude, his subject matter is too thin to sustain an album.Erick Onasisis for E double diehards only.Dalton Higgins