Las Vegas Weekly

[Soundcheck]

Bun B

II Trill

With II Trill, the follow up to 2005’s semi-solid Trill, Bun B (Bernard Freeman) might finally get credit for helping power the South’s rise in the rap game. An eminently capable emcee, he’s always had a problem with inconsistency, turning in uneven performances in the limelight (his rapid-fire verse on Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin’” was so-so) but shining on underground joints like “Pocket Full of Stones”—recorded as one-half of Port Arthur, Texas, duo UGK—and on guest appearances with rappers not named Jay-Z.

Consistency is the core strength of II Trill (the title combines “true” and “real”). It’s a dark, contradictory and appealing album whose ethereal synths, wailing organs and dollops of Southern-fried funk create soundscapes atop which Bun B recounts thug stories (“That’s Gangsta” and “My Block”) and freaky tales (“I Luv That” and “Pop It 4 Pimp”).

A lyrical op-ed on corruption in the highest places, “Get Cha Issue” berates tithe-stealing pastors who are undercover pedophiles, politicians with pliant morals and abusive (and, in the still-unsolved murders of Tupac and Biggie, lazy) cops. “Y’all liars, stealers, philanderers and all, got senators sucking dick inside a bathroom stall.”

Having mastered the guest appearance, Bun makes sure his collaborators enhance his appeal. Lupe Fiasco sounds at home on the black college-band sounding “Swang on ’Em,” as does current It rapper Lil Wayne on “Damn I’m Cold.” Bun B has lots to be proud of. And that’s trill.

The bottom line: ***1/2