D.C. Show

When rappers Buttnz and Mossberg and rapper-producer King Dylan are being clever and creative, they succeed with flying colours. Dylan’s production is crisp, clean and professional-sounding — the type of beats likely to get them radio play. Unfortunately, the music can be a little generic at times. The trio of MCs handle themselves well with only a few rough spots here and there. But again, a little bit of an Eminem sound tends to creep in at times, especially with "Coming Down,” which sounds like it could have been an outtake track from 8 Mile. The D.C. Show tend towards concepts, but only about a half-dozen work well: "Sunday Morning,” a perfect song for lazy Sunday listening; "Fight,” a raucous threat of physical violence through verbal braggadocio; "Gone Camping,” a creepy slasher song gone wrong; "No Gold Teeth,” a look at artistic poverty; "Robot Wars,” a funny little back-and-forth that demonstrates the trio's ability to work together while razzing each other; and finally, "Sacks of Rice,” a short play on words that too quickly turns into the boring "Sacrifice.” Smacked By Popular Demand would have been much tighter at half the length, but still has plenty to offer for an enjoyable listen.