Gym Class Heroes Album: “As Cruel as School Children [Edited]”

I'll admit that I didn't really know much about Gym Class Heroes until I saw them at a show with P.O.S. (Rhymesayers) and K-Os (Canada's finest) back in February. I actually went only because I'm a huge K-Os fan. Anyway, after a few listens to this album, the first thing to jump out at me was how tight an MC their frontman Travis McCoy is. He rides beats very well and I gotta say it's great to hear a young, black rapper (can I call him a rapper?) come out and do his own thing instead of trying to imitate Jay Z or any other "thug of the week." His accapella freestyles (the Sloppy Love Jingles) are noteworthy and worth hearing too. Dude can flow and is a capable singer to boot. The topics range from love to MySpace usage. No stone is left unturned with these guys and that, along with a great sense of humor, is part of their charm in my humble opinion.

As far as flaws go, I couldn't really find any. I mean, some songs hit me more than others, but none of them were bad. Just a little skip material here or there, but nothing worth mentioning. I take that back. "Clothes Off!" was a misstep worth mentioning. Travis' flow on this one is dope, but the hook is annoying. It's the only track I consistently skip. The rest is great.

As Cruel As School Children is an album that I recommend to lovers of all kinds of music. Call it hip hop. Call it punk rock. Call it Pop. Call it whatever you want to call it, but just know that it's great stuff no matter what you call it. I, for one, will be seeking out their previous material as well as any future releases. I recommend adding this to your music library.

Standout Tracks: Viva la White Girl, Cupid's Chokehold, New Friend Request, The Queen and I, 7 Weeks, Sloppy Love Jingle Pt. 1, It's OK But Just This Once!, and Shoot Down the Stars (My Favorite)

Recently bought "As Cruel as School Children" and two of the sixteen tracks were not included on the copy I got, one of them being Cupid's Chokehold which is supposed to be GCH single right now.....explain that

I loved the Papercut Chronicles. To me it was something to listen to that wasn't mainstream rap and it wasnt lame underground. The beats were real and it was completely wonderful.

Now I have Gym Class Heroes second album. I'd like to say the combination of real beats, almost 80's songs beats, Travis actually singing melodically, and the guests are grand. I think this cd should be bumped, loud. It deserves it completely.

Trust me, this cd is amazing. The 80's obsession shows as evident in Clothes Off!. And the beat in New Friend Request is crisp. The guests, such as William Beckett, do their job wonderfully too.

The skits can slow it down a bit at times, but at least he does a great job of rhyming in them. The artwork and picture complements the album wonderfully. Grab it if your a fan of hip-hop, rap, or just a music lover.

Trading on their live status and their need to bring back the fun element of hip-hop which has indefinately been missing, this is like being stuck in a wacky-coloured room with four hyperactive but unimaginative goons desperate for you to like them. "Hey cheer up! It might never happen! Watch me bust a move," were the last words they uttered as I clubbed them unconscious with Public Enemy albums...but hey I really like Public Enemy for the record..

Smoothed out and mellow is the modus operandi of this four man crew from Geneva, New York. For those who are seeking a hip hop revival like Common's "Be" last year or the wonderful delight that helped pioneered MF Doom's to greater heights (I'm talking 2004's brilliant Madvillain - Madvillainy) you might want to look elsewhere. Friends this is hip hop for the Hollister/Abercrombie/Lacoste crowd.

To put it into a pop cultural perspective, this is the type of rap you'd expect to catch Dawson or one of the Gilmore Girls listening to, or if we still even cared about him, Seth from the OC. You'd never hear it bumping out of the trunk of any of the thugs on The Shield, that's for sure.

But before you get this impression that I am totally dismissing this album, let me preface back and say that I actually very much so like this work. The Queen And I tells of a drunk girlfriend who's 'only one more swallow from being oh so hollow' (and you're complaining?) over an acoustic strum and a 'hey-hey' chorus. Shoot Down The Stars contrasts a grim verse with a positive chorus of sunshine harmonies.

Their one track which could be redeeming, the of-its-moment track New Friend Request, plays on the desperate need to be liked on the MySpace website, is actually quite clever even if the pieces are a bit taken from Jurassic 5. I mean really the lyrics can appeal to anyone who has used Myspace - 'I didn't take it personal when you ignored my request to be your friend. I spilled my guts and hit send; I waited two weeks for a response and got nothing. Honestly, it only made me want you more.'

Particularly nasty are covers of Jermaine Jackson's We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off (To Have a Good Time) which ticks a smug '80s referencing box with no tongue in no cheek.

Talking of musical cross-pollination, Gym Class Heroes may apparently be able to 'put the f u back into fun' but on this evidence they could put something into country music (without the r). Putting the fun back into hip-hop isn't too challenging, but their need to show the breadth of their musical styles when they can't even master one isn't ambition, its truly arrested development.

As Cruel as School Children is a great feel good summer album but with quirky tunes and tongue-in-cheek raps which possibly border a little too much on pop culture, I can't see it surviving much past this year when the scene and pop culture take a new shape in 2008. Still regardless I have to say again I think it's a really fun RAP album to listen to care free, and really in a genre bending so much over hos, bling and pimpin' rides it's a nice diversion from the norm.

This CD is just one word: AWESOME. The hit single "The Queen and I" is a great song. The song "Scandalous Scholastics" is another great hit, dealing with the topic of a teacher sleeping with a student. The "Sloppy Love Jingle" interludes are funny as hell. This is a must have for any fan of GCH, or if you're interested in listening to alternative hip-hop.