Cool Breeze: East Point's Greatest Hit

Last year was a banner year for Organized Noise, as the production company behind Outkast, Goodie Mob, and newcomer Cool Breeze saw Outkast's Aquemini achieve massive critical and commercial success. The label would undoubtedly like some of Outkast's momentum to rub off on Cool Breeze's debut, and it certainly doesn't hurt that East Point's Greatest Hit already boasts a monster single, "Watch For The Hook," which teams Cool Breeze with fellow Dungeon Family members Outkast and Goodie Mob. The single has a beat that seems maddeningly simplistic and repetitive at first, but like "All About The Benjamins," it's all but impossible to get out of your head. Built around a short but irritatingly catchy sample of Neil Young's "Southern Man," "Watch For The Hook" brilliantly turns Young's simplistic condemnation of Southern bigotry into a furious, kinetic declaration of Southern pride. It's the best song on the album, but East Point's Greatest Hit is surprisingly consistent. Breeze generally sticks to standard rap subject matter—needless to say, he does not care for haters, is proud of his Dirty South heritage, and enjoys the company of young women—but he also invests his lyrics with a sort of off-kilter spirituality that keeps them interesting. Any rapper who names a song "Black Gangster," as Breeze does here, is not entirely immune to cliches, but his dynamic flow and the dirty funk of his production team generally keep things bubbling along nicely. Organized Noise has devised a clear-cut formula—live funk instrumentation, eclectic samples, and lyrical flows with a Southern, spiritual flavor—but as Aquemini and East Point's Greatest Hit prove, it's a formula that works.