Featuring
Ali from
Nelly's
St. Lunatics crew along with
Gipp from
Goodie Mob,
Kinfolk is a casual collaboration and should be approached as such. If you're looking for a great marriage of the St. Louis sound with dirty Atlanta beats, it happens here and there and while it's interesting to hear
Gipp over a
Nelly-styled dance beat, it's not much to build an album on. Instead,
Ali & Gipp supplement their easygoing chemistry with high-profile friends for an old-fashioned rhyme exchange over mostly club tracks. A grinding
Nitti beat finds
Nelly acting as energetic hypeman on "N da Paint" as
Ali and
Gipp compare rim sizes, their harems, and the fatness of their pockets.
Trife uses a flute and drum machine for the minimal booty highlight "Go 'Head," while
Trak Starz's hypnotic work on "Lean'n" is just another reason to ignore the album's shortcomings. Even if
Ali,
Gipp, and all their guests don't bother to bring their best or say anything new, and even if the very good "Get on the Floor" with
David Banner is way too close in sound to "Go 'Head,"
Kinfolk's familiar feel is welcoming, comfortable, and supported by nostalgia.
Brandy's "Almost Doesn't Count" figures into "Almost Made Ya," elements of Genesis' "That's All" are found on "I Told Ya" (featuring the dream team of Cee-Lo and
Bun B), and best of all, "Forever and Ever" goes new jack swing and twists
Guy's "Let's Chill" into a "Pimpin' All Over the World"-styled swagger fest. Good-time music delivered well,
Kinfolk is a worthy weekend album. ~ David Jeffries