DAN THE AUTOMATOR PRESENTS 2K7 - DAN THE AUTOMATOR
For this videogame soundtrack, the erstwhile Automator hosts a veritable “Theme Time Radio Hour” on basketball, filling his bench with a smartly assembled roster that includes Ghostface, Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco and Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na. Automator’s tried-and-true beats rock the appropriate level of house throughout (especially the Mos-helmed “Here Comes the Champ,” with its great halftime-band horns), though there is something anesthetizing about hearing basketball metaphors bricked off the rim so often. Chali 2na, with his great “Lion King” voice, breaks the mold on coolly simmering “Anchor Man,” and his declared intent to “night ride like the great David Hasselhoff” is almost worth the price of admission. But on the whole, this collection is more solid than stellar; more Marbury than Lebron. Billboard
