David Banner has been around for a minute but has yet to score a big hit. That is until now. With his collaboration with Lil Flip burning up the radio I figured I'd give this a listen. So since my brother had already picked this up I borrowed it from him.  
 
This is Banner's second album after he scored a southern hit with Them Firewater Boyz. This second album has already sold a ton of copies and with constant rotation of the single Like a Pimp currently heating up dance floors across the south it's bound to sell even more. But does this mean the album is a hit. I don't think so but then again I'm only one person.  
 
Banner is from the state of Mississippi in case you didn't know. And even if the album title doesn't tip you off to his home state trust me he hollars it out enough on this album to drive you insane. Here is the tracklising for Mississippi,  
 
1. Intro  
2. What It Do (featuring Smoke D)  
3. Might Getcha (featuring Lil' Jon)  
4. Like A Pimp (featuring Lil Flip)  
5. Wh**remonger  
6. F*** 'Em (featuring Pastor Troy)  
7. Mississippi  
8. Cadillac on 22s  
9. Fast Life  
10. Choose Me (featuring Sky)  
11. Really Don't Wanna Go (featuring B-Flat and Marcus.)  
12. So Trill  
13. My Shawty (featuring Fiend)  
14. Phone Tap  
15. Bush  
16. Bring It On (featuring J Da Groover and Mississippi Shawty)  
17. Still Pimpin' (featuring Marcus. and Kamikaze)  
18. Outro  
 
This cd has left me with mixed feelings. On one hand there are the tracks which I know Banner put some thought into and then there's the tracks that just leave you wondering who would put out such trash. With tracks like Cadillac on 22s, Bush, and Mississippi you start to believe that there's something to this rapper from the poorest state in the Union. But then you get obvious club tracks like Really Don't Wanna Go, Like a Pimp, and Might Getcha and you start to see why Southern rap has such a bad reputation.  
 
In case you've never heard David Banner before his flow can best be described as a sort of raspy, ruff sound. His production on the other hand is loud, but at the same time very intricate.  
 
Banner incorporates live instruments on my personal favorite track Cadillac on 22s. When looking at the tracklisting for this album I singled this song out as possibly the worst track on the album. But once I heard the laid back beat and the acoustic guitar I realized I had this track all wrong. Here's a few bars from this introspective song,  
 
Lord I'm sick of jumping, Lord just please tell me something  
My folks still dumping my music, bumping but I feel nothing  
My heart is stelly pumping  
My heart is stelly breaking  
Sometimes I feel like I'm faking, man  
I'm so sick of taking  
Maybe hell ain't a place meant for us to burn  
Maybe Earth is telling just a place for us to learn  
Bout yo love, yo will and grace  
Sometimes I wish I wasn't born in the first place  
Maybe this first base, God knocked the ball up out the park  
So we can come home this world right here is feeling so dark  
Feeling so cold, Lord I'm feeling so old  
I dunno if I can take this world right here no more  
22 inch rims on the 'Lac  
I guess that was yo footprint in the sand carrying us on yo back  
 
Banner also manages to touch on keeping kids off drugs, and out of the streets on this track. While not the most intricate rhymes they are flawless when spit over this beat.  
 
Bush is a track that gets at the president and the way Mississippi is treated. Banner does not hide his displeasure for the president and his hypocritical ways over a bass beat with another acoustic guitar. Banner raps, I'm runnin' up in this sh*t like a track meet/You murdered, up in Texas where killin' is such a sin/  
The first month you in office you started killin' again.  
 
My feelings on Like a Pimp are mixed. I enjoy the beat but the subject matter is horrible. I also want to point out that I'm no fan of Lil Flip so the fact that I dislike this song should come as no surprise. But my personal feelings have in no way hampered this song's rise on the charts. This once again proves how stupid most people are. The lyrics are boring attempts at humor and braggadocio and in no way add to the albums overall value.  
 
Songs like F*** 'Em, and What it Do are detestable pieces of sediment. Please avoid these songs at all costs. The lyrics are just a mixed bag of profanities spit over average beats. DJ KLC of Beats by the Pound fame handles the production on F*** 'Em with all the skill he exuded while working for No Limit. Which in case you didn't know that was not a compliment.  
 
Overall I would have to say that if you don't really love southern rap you should probably stay away from this one. Granted a couple of the tracks are worth downloading but I wouldn't rush out to do that either.  
 
