"Buzzin'' reality stars, musicians

Listen up!

By: Brian Washburn

Posted: 8/25/08

You can't turn on your TV without running into MTV's new golden boy Shwayze (along with his sidekick Cisco Adler, son of famed music producer Lou Adler). They have even garnered their own reality show graciously titled "Buzzin'" after their first single, which was released at the beginning of the summer. But while Shwayze and company have received mass hype, they have only released two songs - "Buzzin'" and the mega-popular and ultra-catchy "Corona and Lime." However, Shwayze's self-titled debut was finally released this past weekend (almost two months after the release of their first single). And whether you like it, Cisco and Shwayze will both be stars. But the real question is, for how long?

The album starts out with "Roamin'," a mid-tempo song which features the same rap/sing theme Shwayze has become known for. While Shwayze's lyrics can be cliched and very simplistic ("someone take her picture, so I can't forget her, I need a Polaroid"), they prove to be extremely catchy. In fact, most of the songs are about hitting the town, infidelity, meeting girls at parties, and basically just chilling in Hollywood with the boys.

Even though "Roamin'" give listeners the same tempo and catchiness the first two singles have, the rest of the album drags at times and is almost too slow for the listeners.

The vocals provided by Cisco (who happens to be the former lead singer of VH1 reality show band Whitestarr) are mostly spot-on the entire record and gives the album a much needed breath of fresh air. Shwayze's rapping seems interchangeable with that of Gym Class Heroes frontman Travis McCoy and can even be compared to the hip-hop dominator himself, Kanye West.

The instrumentals on the album are hip-hop beats with either an acoustic or electric guitar backing them up. However, you can barely hear the guitar in some songs. So while the iTunes listings dub this album as "alternative hip/hop," it is more of a hip- hop album than alternative, but it can prove to hold enough guitar for rock music fans (it made a believer out of myself).

The album will without a doubt remind listeners of Gym Class Heroes and other slow hip-hop/soft rock acts of the same nature. So while Shwayze's sound might come off as original and a new creative endeavor in this cluttered music nation, it really is just taking what GCH is doing and made it catchier (which I didn't think was possible. Have you heard that "Peace Sign" song?).

Although this CD will debut in the Billboard top 50 and will get millions and millions of plays from MTV and similar media outlets, the album can be almost be entirely forgotten after a few listens. It might be catchy and it might be a breath of fresh air that mixes genres, but the truth is that Shwayze's next album better be stronger, more memorable and have bigger hits. If it doesn't, Shwayze and Cisco can kiss their careers, hit TV show and future platinum records goodbye.

Final Thought: Shwayze will be heading to Tulsa in September to get Cains Ballroom bumping. However, the bad news is that this is the same night that Conor Oberst will bring his genius to George's. But Shwayze will be making his way back to Tulsa in November. Even worse, Shwayze will be opening for Metro Station and nobody would want to sit through Trace Cyrus and his circus of wanna-be hardcore goons. So let's just hope Shwayze stops through Fayetteville sometime in the near future by themselves.