Trick Daddy

Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets is an appropriate title for Trick Daddy's sixth album; it's not only a nod to the Miami thug's recent marriage, but to the album's focus on love and sex. On "4 Eva," Trick pledges, "I have never been a man with manners/But I think I can handle being a little romantic." Then there's "Thugs About," where he and Dirtbag spit real talk while producers Cool and Dre harmonize a charming, gentlemanly chorus. More surprisingly, Trick even dedicates three tracks to the kids, offering "These Are The Daze" and "I Wanna Sing" with a sincerity that proves disarming.

Related Content

• Miami's top ten underground rap and hip-hop acts
  January 5, 2012
• Trina: Hip-Hop's Diamond Diva
  November 24, 2011
• Top Five Rap Tracks That Ripped Off Classic Rock Songs
  September 19, 2011
• Test Your Pimp Game With Trick Daddy and Don Magic Juan at the Miami Players Ball
  May 25, 2011
• Ten Worst Cover Songs: From Vanilla Ice vs. Public Enemy to All Time Low on Rihanna
  October 11, 2010

More About

• Trick Daddy
• Da Dick
• Ozzy Osbourne
• Da South

Trick's sweet pop numbers, however, contrast sharply with his raw strip-club cuts ("Ménage A Trois" and "Jump On Da Dick"). Confusing matters further are Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets' numerous, booming club and gangsta tracks, including "Let's Go," on which newcomers Unusual Suspects loop a dangerously infectious snippet of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train"; and "Down Wit Da South," itself a mix of Con Funk Shun's "Fun" and Midnight Star's "No Parking (On the Dance Floor)."

Thematically, Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets is pulled in so many different directions that it struggles to build a compelling narrative. It would be a great album if the songs were sequenced better or, better yet, the strip-club joints were jettisoned all together. Despite these flaws, Trick Daddy has produced a very good album, one that's packed with a preponderance of hits among its seventeen cuts.