Thug Holiday

The king of ghetto anthems has done it again! Includes 2 bonus tracks 'In Da Wind' (Ride Out Mix) & 'Ain't No Santa' (Bonus Mix). Features guest appearances from Cee-Lo (Goodie Mob), Big Boi (Outkast), Scarface & more. 2002.

When the late Tupac popularized the "thug" concept to describe his boisterous lifestyle, he couldn't have seen Trick coming. All of Miami-based Trick Daddy's albums (Thugs Are Us, Book of Thugs, www.thug.com) abuse this concept, and no one knows exactly why. On his fifth studio album, Trick flips more 'hood-centric, autobiographical rhymes on "Money & Drugs" and "Ain't No Santa," skillfully charting his rise from rags to, er, bitches. Sonically, this is Trick's most diverse album to date. While there are no clear-cut anthems like "I'm a Thug," "In da Wind" comes the closest, with progressive Atlanta rhyme-spitters Cee-Lo and Outkast's Big Boi guesting. Heck, even legendary soul singer Betty Wright's Children's Choir drops by to add some gospel flavor to "God's Been Good." While a large bulk of the collaborations add very little to the mix (Infa Red of Unda Presha and Tre+6's contributions are quite underwhelming), "Gangsta," featuring a rejuvenated Scarface, will win over those unfamiliar with Trick's hardcore street-poetry appeal. --Dalton Higgins