J-Kwon

When he was only 17, St. Louis emcee J-Kwon hit the scene HARD with his instantly likeable club smash "Tipsy." His debut LP, Hood Hop, sports a catchy mix of thug stories, romance raps, and party anthems. The Trackboyz and Jermaine Dupri provide the always-thumping beats.

St. Louis' J-Kwon is an argument against drafting high school rappers straight to the pros. It's
unclear what's clunkier here: Kwon's entry-level verse or the derivative production, even
on the mechanized thunderstorm that is "Tipsy." On the title track he muses, "We dropped
one single/Left the game/Now the whole world miss me." One can hope. CHRISTIAN HOARD
AND JON CARAMANICA (RS 948, May 13, 2004)