Album: Chingy – Hate It Or Love It

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Never bite that hand that feeds you; In the case of Chingy that old adage doesn’t seemed to have applied. Following his public falling out with Ludacris and Disturbing Tha Peace, the St. Louis native is back on Luda’s Def Jam-backed imprint as if nothing ever happened, with his fourth studio album, Hate It Or Love It, seemingly with something to prove.

Ching-A-Ling gets things rolling with the opening track Hate It Or Love It, attempting to usher in a more focused style, as he addresses the haters. He even jokingly states “I got rich from saying ‘Right Thurr’ and s**t.” While it is an improvement, some of the work is undone by the substandard beat and ridiculous lyrics about haters wanting to murder him and hinting at his opposition being women. Not exactly an auspicious start but interesting nonetheless.

The lead single Fly Like Me reaches new levels of radio friendly banality with its laidback percussion-driven production, syrupy lyrics about finding the perfect girl and a somewhat phoned-in cameo from Amerie on the hook. Luckily things pick up around the halfway mark on Gimme Dat. While Chingy does put in a decent effort, it is the vibrant sound-bed provided by Full Scale and an animated verse from DTP head Ludacris that do the trick.

Fly Like Me won’t necessarily be winning any awards but it is certainly leaps and bounds above the horrendous ear torture that is Spend Some $. Even the talented Trey Songz can’t save this mess, as many listeners would have probably skipped this track before it even reaches the chorus. The lowliest of all the pseudo club anthems though would have to be All Aboard (Ride It), I can’t imagine this getting any bump in any sort of club. Unfortunately named producer Calvo Da Gr8 does his best Timbaland meets Scott Storch impression on the production tip, but really makes you scratch your head and wonder why they couldn’t get the real Timbaland or Storch to provide some beats; after all Chingy is on Def Jam isn’t he?

Much like the album highlight Gimme Dat, the self-proclaimed Jackpot is saved once again by a more talented collaborator and is forced to step his game up, which to his credit he does on the serious-tone of How We Feel. The ultra-talented Anthony Hamilton lends his soulful crooning on the hook, as Chingy states “the system was designed for us to fail/look at the jails/overpopulated by Mexicans and young Black males.” The lyrics may be blatantly simple but it is a step in the right direction, particularly for a major label artist. Meanwhile, Cool & Dre work their magic on the flossing anthem Roll On ‘Em, featuring the man of the moment Rick Ross.

What you are left with is an uneven listening experience that has you scratching your head rather than bobbing it. It is evident that Chingy has tried to improve as an artist and a lyricist, but unfortunately it is hard to take that progression seriously when the majority of the album consists of filler material.

I can give him credit for allowing upcoming producers their chance to shine, but when their watered-down imitation beats affect the album it’s probably not worth the risk. Peppering his album with slang bootlegged from other regions ('Yessir' and 'Ya Dig') also doesn't help his cause.

Hate It Or Love It? This reviewer will have to go with the former. Weak!

Available Through Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam Records