Conversation
Compton/Long Beach rap unfolds like a family tree: N.W.A. branches into Ice Cube, Eazy E, and Dr. Dre; Dre begets Snoop and Warren G; and, with Twinz, Warren brings on his own brood of disciples. But don't necessarily expect these follow-up acts to succeed by association. After all, Warren scored by asserting an identity completely apart from his big brother Dre. In fact, the Twinz'Conversationbarely steps out of the shadow cast by Warren's smooth G-Funk/Long Beach flow. The Twinz--identical sibs Deon (Trip Locc) and Dewayne (Wayniac) Williams--rip throughConversationwith muscular rhyme skills, though their best material rides on the more subtle waves created by Warren G's exquisite music production. "Hollywood," for instance, relies on a silky Chaka Khan interpolation and guest rap from female duo Five Footers (the real stars of Warren G's stable) to make itConversation's standout track.--Roni Sarig