Over the course of nine years and five albums, Reggie 'Redman' Noble has established himself as arguably the most consistent rap artist in the world, but the New Jersey emcee has yet to attain the multi-platinum level of success many of his contemporaries routinely reach. 'Malpractice', though, is going to change all of that.
Redman's clearly a believer in the notion that if things ain't broke you shouldn't bother fiddling about with them too much. The snorting P-Funk-inspired basslines and rattling drums that characterised his four previous albums are present and correct, the main difference this time being that the rest of hip hop has moved nearer to Redman and lead producer Erick Sermon's signature style, so 'Malpractice' sounds very du jour.
As with Red's last LP, 1998's 'Doc's Da Name', there is some experimentation with steelier, faster tracks, and British drum'n'bass producer Adam F laces Noble with a fabulous widescreen effort for what will be the first single in the UK, the explosive highlight 'Smash Sumthin''.
Lyrically, Noble is operating well within himself, and while he becomes the first rapper to use the word "smorgasbord" on record ('Da Bullshit') and claims during 'WKYA Drop' that he'll ride a water buffalo to the next edition of The Source magazine's award shows, this is often a begrudging set.
Strangely, for a rapper never shy of peopling his narratives with cartoon characters of Looney Tunes proportions, the most frequent visitor to 'Malpractice's multi-stranded storyboard is the money-digging "bitch" of hip hop's infamous folklore. This, of course, won't do Redman any harm, as, in the post-'The Marshall Mathers LP' climate, any critical discussion of sexism in rap lyrics appears to have disappeared: unless Noble's melanin count gives Eminem's many defenders an excuse to use a different set of standards here, of course.
All things being equal, 'Malpractice' will finally see Redman crowned as the megastar he's deserved to be for almost a decade. That it's his least satisfying, least engaging, least adept album probably says more about the state of the rap art in 2001 than any amount of music magazine theorising ever will.
