The Prezident

E-Dub's debut album for MCA, The Prezident, synthesizes a variety of styles, resulting in a unique rap album that doesn't fall into any existing classification yet draws from all. Like fellow Detroit rappers Eminem, Royce the 5'9," and Drunken Master, E-Dub has the lyrical skills of the East Coast, the game mentality of the West Coast, and the brash posturing of the Dirty South. In addition, he's not shy about his Detroit home base, representing the D on a number of tracks. However, despite Dub's novel approach to MCing, he doesn't have enough presence to stand out and his lyrics aren't very novel, instead being somewhat derived. There are a few big-name producers here worth mentioning, namely Swizz Beatz, Scott Storch, and KLC. These three offer their trademark sounds, but not even captivating beats can salvage E-Dub's lackluster songwriting. Overall, E-Dub has a great flow on the mic and some rousing beats to work with, but he doesn't have much substance. His lyrics are shallow and derived, much like his songwriting, which is too formulaic to warrant much attention.