*** Redman

MUDDY WATERS

(Def Jam)

In answer to "real-ness," Redman offers escapism. He doesn't rap so much as he spews forth spacy, imaginative narratives. The music varies from the minimalist beat-and-bassline hum of mentor Erik Sermon to Redman's loop-a-rama sample-based stylings. Redman's action-packed lyrics still cover the same well-worn topics: (a) how bad he is, (b) his sexual prowess and, of course, (c) how much "la" (weed) he smokes. (On "Smoking Buddah," he admits, "I have a problem. I smoke weed too much.") Still, his humor and childlike enthusiasm triumph over the tired material -- especially on "That's How It Is," where K-Solo and Redman annihilate the competition with little more than a beat and a bassline. At a time when hip-hop is converging with R&B, Redman brings it back to the essence -- the funk.

-- Adam Matthews