Title:Dark Days, Bright Nights By: Sparxxx, Bubba Released by: Beat Club / Interscope Released on: 10/09/2001 Rating (out of 10): 7 Date: 02/14/2002
Bubba's Way
Maybe it’s the jealousy factor that someone my age has a gold record and more bling-bling than he knows what to do with, but I want a piece of it. But for Bubba Sparxxx, hip-hop master Timbaland’s newest prodigy and first artist on his Beat Club Records label, he seems to be a little too cocky for just one record under his big belt.
It’s hard to take seriously anyone with the name “Bubba” let alone a last name of “Sparxxx.” And note that’s with three X’s. Take that as you like.
Bubba’s album isn’t bad. At first listen, you really try to hear what this Georgia native has to say. Too many white rappers try to prove they have something to say. Vanilla Ice sucked at it. Eminem likes to stir the pot in a way that even Madonna questions his tactics. So what could Bubba Sparxxx have to say?
Not much, really. As he says in his liner notes, he did this “for country folks who never had shit.” Bubba, whose real name is Warren Anderson Mathis, has compassion for the South, and especially Georgia, which is apparent throughout his album.
A good share of rhymes in the tracks portray a deep respect for Georgia, particularly Athens and Atlanta, but not in the highlife other rappers such as Ludacris and Jermaine Dupri tend to show (Bubba’s tracks about the southern cities, however, are actually good—no “Welcome to Atlanta” crap). Bubba shows us the front porch, crickets screams and tailgate parties of the South we never see in country music, and somehow get lost in the “MTV Cribs” styles of mainstream rap. If he has a ride, likely it’s a 1976 Suburban caked in mud or rusted through the floorboards.
But like other mainstreamers, Bubba does like to promote himself. He says his name at least a dozen times each track so you’ll remember him. He’ll need the repetition. His Timmy-style of hip-hop/rap isn’t grabbing the masses he’d probably like to have.
His first single, “Ugly,” was so damn annoying that it eventually became a classic. “Classic,” but still few know it. As he says, “This is Bubba’s moment,” but it takes an “Ugly” use of Missy Elliott’s masterful hopping classic “Get Ur Freak On” toward the end of the track to get any interest. If it wasn’t for Missy, “Ugly” likely wouldn’t have ever caught on, especially when “Get Ur Freak On” was at its peak of popularity in summer 2001.
Timbaland’s sound prevails much more than anything Bubba has to say. The best example of this is “Lovely,” the fifth track on the album and Bubba’s second single. The shuffle and double beat combined with Timmy’s classic “echoes” he usually adds to his “featuring” tracks is what makes this song the best of the album. That simple bass line and jumping high-hat ring in your ear with the backup singers “oooh, oooh, oooh” get stuck in your head. It’s one of those songs that get stuck in your head in a good way. It’s not like any piece of crap Nickelback would sing or the opening line (“pick me up, love) for Dave Matthews’ “Everyday” (Just a taste of what crap gets stuck in my head lately).
It’s hard (not really) to admit that “Get Right” has a great, addictive beat but the lyrics suck. It’s Timbaland beats at their best.
Bubba gives us a good album overall, and a solid debut. But the album loses any listener by the end. The beats get weak and easy and the rhymes are not only unintelligible but unintelligent. And as much as it pains me to say this, even a hoarse crooner like Ja Rule is far superior to anything Bubba can do.
The songs have a diverse sound. Bubba will continue to surprise you from track to track, though the album is well produced and transitions very well. As long as he stays close to his producer, I’d say any future albums will follow the same pattern. But he really should consult Eminem for lyrical lessons. That guy’s a genius. He’s a white rapper who actually made it. That’s why Vanilla is now part of VH1’s Where Are They Now?.
