SunN.Y.

Overnight Celebrity

BY Joe GaliwangoPublished Oct 1, 2005

SunN.Y. sounds fresh. He was scooped up by Jermaine Dupri but there are no Bow Wow-isms to disrupt things on Overnight Celebrity. Dupri’s expertise on this album is invisible but still present in the crisp beats and vintage break beats that compliment SunN.Y.’s smooth flow. "Street 4 Eva” and "Same Corner” both use Rakim era snares and bass kicks as Sun raps about New York blocks and diligent hustling. The tired subject and used percussion are both made new. Dupri, the executive producer of this album and leader of the young, fly, and flashy movement, could quite possibly have been behind the idea for "Gucci Kicks,” which is a celebration of Sun dapper footwear. And Dupri, using a mishmash of snares and symbols, is quite possibly the only producer who could make this song sound so fun. The theme running through this album is the young gifted New Yorker coming of age before our eyes. "Luv 4 Me” is the song that packages that experience into just under four minutes. Using a chopped string sample, it’s clear and very polished. The whole album is very polished. Maybe a bit too much though.
(Virgin)

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