Jin

Just like the legions of street-ball legends who could never quite cut it in the organised confines of the NBA, many a freestyle battle champ has frozen up when stuck in a studio. Jin, the seven-time 106 and Park freestyle champ, is a perfect example. After releasing a rightfully under-received debut album for Ruff Ryderz, he returns here with a non-major follow-up that is only slightly better. While "Foolish Little Girls,” his glowing ode to the women in his life, comes off tight enough, for the most part he attempts to gain some respect back simply by naming names, as he does on lead-off single "Top 5 (Dead or Alive)” and the Neptunes-knockoff, "G.O.L.D.E.N.” While, Golden Child, who handles the album’s beats, ably apes what the big name producers are doing these days, and there’s no denying that Jin’s got a sick verbal crossover, he has yet to make any truly memorable songs, and is still only deserving of towel-boy status.