Dark Days Bright Nights
Since the cover artwork forDark Days, Bright Nightsis filled to overload with white trash iconography, one gets an immediate sense of straight-outta-nowhere Bubba Sparxxx's persona. He may be a fat, country redneck with something to prove, but does the man have skills? Er, not really. He's not especially charismatic; his rhyme flow is average at best and sorely lacking in lyrical content. WhatdoesSparxxx have going for him?  Well, to paraphraseTha Liks, "It's the beats baby, it's the beats." Production wizardTimbaland, the ever-innovative Organized Noize, and some talented newcomers have laid out a series of tracks dope enough for a full-length instrumental album. Such a fertile landscape deserves to be inhabited by an MC of higher caliber.--Rebecca Levine