Big Tymers Brian "Baby" Williams and
Mannie Fresh step up their game a bit for
I Got That Work, improving both as rappers and songwriters and delivering two big hits in the process, "Get Your Roll On" and "#1 Stunna."
How You Luv That?, the duo's debut release two years earlier, had set
the Big Tymers apart from the other, and considerably younger, Cash Money Records group,
the Hot Boys. Unlike like them,
the Big Tymers are full-fledged adults; in fact, Williams and Fresh produce
the Hot Boys and thus play father-figure roles within the Cash Money family to a certain extent. Yet, for as much game as they can spit,
the Big Tymers proved to be so-so rappers on
How You Luv That?, often overshadowed by their
Hot Boy protégés. However, during the two-year interim leading up to
I Got That Work, Williams and Fresh considerably improved as rappers. Here, they're as good as any of
the Hot Boys, whether it be
Lil Wayne,
B.G.,
Turk, or
Juvenile, and they certainly boast and brag better, whether about money-making ("10 Wayz," "We Hustle"), bling-blinging ("#1 Stunna," "Stuntastic"), women-mastering ("Snake," "Rocky"), or themselves ("Big Tymers," "Hard Life"). Moreover,
the Big Tymers deliver a rambunctious club-banger with the album-opening "Get Your Roll On." Following this rowdy beginning, the album moves toward its other highlights -- "Nigga Couldn't Know," "#1 Stunna," and "No, No" -- before descending into guest-laden filler. As usual, Fresh's beats remain potent until the album's end, but the songwriting grows progressively less inventive, often seeming unlabored, as if
the Big Tymers are content to ride out the remainder of their 18-track album after delivering the early-album highlights. Regardless of this common grievance,
the Big Tymers impressively step up their game for
I Got That Work and deliver enough highlights to surely please their fans. [The clean version censors all moments of profanity.] ~ Jason Birchmeier