M. J. Medeiros - of gods and girls

There's an old adage that money talks, and nowhere is this more true than in the world of hip-hop; a place where P. Diddy's classic P-boppin ventures the theory that throwing the GNP of a medium-sized African republic at a stripper's rear end is akin to sexual gratification. Money has a voice as well, or so theorises socially-aware emcee Mr J. Medeiros, formally of the Procussions, on his solo debut. Money sounds like a grunting half-wit, who spouts erudite phrases such as "I'm the money you stupid idiot". It's the aggressively retarded cousin of Pink Floyd's Have a Cigar character, who delivers the infamous "by the way, which one's Pink?." J's raps are cleanly delivered and catchy, but on Money his lyrics sadly slide into bland soap-boxing. It's exemplary of the whole album, which is by no means unpleasant listening. J's heavily involved in a number of charities and voluntary organisations such as Americorps NCCC and Habitat for Humanity, and in all fairness he manages to spread positive messages without becoming overly-worthy. It's just that the album's not strong enough to carry such content and it ends up a mildly diverting piece of hip-pop. [Liam Arnold]