This week’s album is The King of Crunk & BME Recordings present: Trillville & Lil Scrappy (2004) by Lil Scrappy & Trillville.

4/10

Lil Scrappy & Trillville released their two-part self-titled album on February 24, 2004. The album is split into two halves—the first ten tracks credited to Trillville, with the last ten credited to Lil Scrappy. The album features Lil Jon, Pastor Troy, Cutty, Big Nod, Kaskit, and Bohagon. It is produced entirely by Lil Jon.

Lyrically, neither artist can be discredited for the album’s lack of substantial lyrical themes or topics. Lil Scrappy and Trillville are both artists within the crunk hip-hop subgenre, which centers mostly on up-tempo club-bangers as opposed to any insightful lyrics. Both artists rap mostly about typical southern hip-hop themes, like their hometown Atlanta, partying at clubs and women. Throughout the tape are various skits that portray the album as a playlist on “Trillville Radio” which add some humor to the record.

Lil Jon’s production is the album’s focal point. Jon uses the classic crunk style of production, with heavy bass line, synthesizers, and an electro influence. However, Lil Jon does not utilize this sound in an original way. The album’s production is very one-dimensional, with little variation in the beats at all. In fact, most beats are indistinguishable. The one exception is “Be Real”, the final song on the Lil Scrappy side of the album, which uses a wailing guitar sample as the song’s main riff. Furthermore, the aim of crunk hip-hop is to excite listeners; for example, someone trying to relax and sleep would not listen to crunk, but an athlete warming up pre-game would. Not a single song on the tape is exceptionally inspiring. Many crunk fans may be disappointed by the album’s monotonous production. Seemingly any trap/southern hip-hop producer could have produced this uninteresting album. Lil Scrappy & Trillville prove they belong in the dollar section with their mundane self-titled album.