Yung Joc Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
A big improvement over his debut, Hustlenomics finds a looser Yung Joc letting more of his personality through. Added to his already proven ability to deliver infectious hooks and convincing swagger, it's a pretty deadly combination and best experienced on the excellent single "Coffee Shop," a playful number that combines hard thugging and coffee culture in ways never thought possible. Almost as good is "BYOB," a robotic and minimal triumph for both Joc and producers the Neptunes, who are also in charge of the very good "Hell Yeah" with Joc's label boss Diddy as guest star. Featuring a cool loop from the Stylistics' "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and Joc holding his own with heavyweights Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross, "Brand New" is definitely a keeper, and both "Bottle Poppin'" and "Chevy Smile" have good-time choruses that stick in the head. The hustlenomics theme of the album and the strange, almost Parliament-Funkadelic character Pak Man both show up repeatedly, making this full-length flow splendidly, even with a couple redundant tracks. Sounding a lot less like T.I. and a lot more like his likable self, Hustlenomics is a step in the right direction for Joc, but more importantly to the listener, it's always entertaining and quite impressive in parts. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
As a longtime member of Atlanta's hip-hop community, Yung Joc watched his neighbor Young Jeezy blow up while he waited on the sidelines. Bad Boy South CEO Diddy watched from a different angle since his label was home to Jeezy's first group, Boyz N da Hood, and yet he lost the boy to Def Jam. There's no doubt Jeezy's style and success were major influences on Joc's Bad Boy South debut, New Joc City. Those influences are audible, and the parts of the album that don't sound like Jeezy's breakthrough, Let's Get It, sound a heck a lot like another Atlanta hit, T.I.'s King. Put the Bad Boy polish to the two albums and you're close to New Joc City, although the club tracks here are much more hooky, pleasingly more slick. "It's Goin' Down" with Nitti is the key track, a simple, familiar-sounding bit of Southern weekend music that withstands numerous replays. The rowdy "Do Ya Bad" and "I Know You See It" are more of the same, while "Hear Me Coming" goes in a different direction and borrows G-Unit's attitude and production style. Joc's skills are solid enough in these safe and tested surroundings, but he's less convincing when delivering a swaggering ballad or attempting Jeezy-type storytelling, like on "Dope Boy Magic." He doesn't sound comfortable with all these concessions to what's hot, and the album as a whole suffers from an identity crisis. With plenty of hooks and great beats, it's a solid album for Bad Boy South, but here's hoping Joc brings his own style next time. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
