White, West Coast b-boys doing that white b-boy thing,
Kottonmouth Kings combine
Beastie Boy rhymes (without the brains to back them up) and
Sublime-like SoCal ska (without the chops to back them up) for a witless, predictable debut album. Loaded with up-in-smoke winks and nudges -- bud and blunts cover the subjects of nearly every song here --
Royal Highness relies on obvious samples (like on "Suburban Life," which sounds an awful lot like something those other
Beastie wannabes, the
Fun Lovin' Criminals, would do) and inane, rallying chants (about bud and blunts; what else?) to get its one-note message across. Worse, the
Kings' hangin'-with-da-homeboys 'tude (best displayed on "Dog's Life") comes off forced and rather wretched, a desperate cry for attention from a group of lost kids rolling with the times. An all-around worthless endeavor. ~ Michael Gallucci