Shwayze: Shwayze

Corona & Lime - Shwayze

The self-titled debut by Malibu "chill-hop"

newcomer Shwayze is the aural equivalent of an episode of Entourage. Obsessed with babes,

blunts, and beaches, it's relentlessly and proudly shallow, content to promote

no agenda beyond having a good time with the brahs. It's a snapshot of a lifestyle

that's envied by some and hated by more, which means the burden is on Shwayze

to prove he's worthy of admiration. Unfortunately, Shwayze is remarkable only in how

unremarkable it is. More of the blame for the album's mediocrity falls on the

production, which comes courtesy of Cisco Adler, who's known more for the

skanks he's boned (and perhaps for the MTV reality series Buzzin', starring him and

Shwayze) than the music he's produced and made with the band Whitestarr.

Shwayze has an appealing, laid-back delivery, and while his rhymes aren't

revelatory, they're perfectly suitable for poolside lounging or backyard

partying. However, in his quest for a "chill" aesthetic, Adler has burdened

Shwayze with beats that come across like G. Love lite. The album-opening "Roamin'"

sets a promising tone with its simple, piano-laced hook and bouncy beat, but

quickly devolves into an amorphous blob of acoustic guitars and Adler's own

feeble warbling on the choruses—a sameness epitomized by the nearly

identical tracks "Buzzin'" and "Corona And Lime." Sometimes the formula works,

as on "James Brown Is Dead," but more often, it's just inane and

boring—much like the lifestyle it so halfheartedly espouses.