Noreaga: Melvin Flynt Tha Hustler

As half of the hip-hop duo CNN, Noreaga helped spark a Queensbridge renaissance with The War Report. But after that release, his partner Capone was sent away to prison for an extended stay, while Noreaga made a name for himself with a series of high-profile guest appearances and a surprise-hit solo album. With a loopy, rapid-fire flow that at times suggests the incessant natterings of a hyperactive child, Noreaga's delivery is as unusual and unforgettable as his urgent catch phrase, "What What" Melvin Flynt Tha Hustler, his much-delayed second album, finds the thugged-out rhymer matching his high-intensity vocals to electro-minimalist tracks from the likes of Swizzbeats, The Neptunes, SPK, Trackmasters, EZ Elpee, and Mannie Fresh. It's a formula that works well on the first song, "Sometimes," an elegy for Noreaga's late father that's all the more effective for not indulging in Puffy-esque shmaltz. Elsewhere, however, Melvin Flynt's formula proves promising and frustrating in equal measures, as Noreaga's engagingly demented flow struggles to compensate for the tiresome subject matter. By now, anyone picking up a gangsta-rap album knows exactly what topics will be addressed: Noreaga is a thug. Noreaga loves to sell and use drugs. Noreaga hangs out with a group of disagreeable people who are prone to violence. Noreaga loves to knit precious sweaters and booties for family members. In the end, Melvin Flynt Tha Hustler marks Noreaga as yet another victim of gangsta-itis, the troublesome epidemic infecting hip hop with an endless series of albums addressing the same played-out concerns, to ever-declining results.