Ludacris

Admittedly, this next-generation Busta Rhymes mined ghetto gold with his hilarious Nate Dogg-assisted "Area Codes" and Timbaland-built "Rollout (My Business)," which indeed rolls along at an nicely laidback old school speed. But Nate and Timmy are on just about every rap record released and that these are the album's most distinctive tracks just further proves that commercial hip-hop - be it from the West, East or Ludacris' Dirty South - is stuck in a creative rut. By the end of the record you won't feel cheated, necessarily, but you'll realise that 'Cris is just another charismatic rapper pumping out same-sounding, club bumpin' clichés.