The South has been altering the learning curve of popular music for the past five or more years. First it was the Dirty South sounds of Ludacris and the soulfulness of Usher. Then Lil John came on the scene and Crunk was born, giving way to a new array of artists including “Crunk&B” siren Ciara. Come 2006, however, Crunk is moving aside for a similar but newer sound. It’s called Snap music. The frontrunner for this new genre is the group D4L.
D4L has already been making waves with their hit single, “Laffy Taffy.” The track, which has been played and overplayed, is one of the hottest joints in the club. It very recently broke the record for SoundScan Digital Download Sales by selling over 175,000 copies. Meaning that it's the number one song in America. I have to admit…”Laffy Taffy” is definitely a guilty pleasure.
The group consists of four members – Fa-bo, Mook-B, Stoney and Shawty Lo – all of whom represent a different area of Atlanta. Spitting out a “southern fried-flow,” the group shows off skills not only in rapping but in dancing as well. Their “nimble dance moves” are, to say the least, hilarious. If you need more proof, just watch the video for “Laffy Taffy.” Still, the group does have the backing of various well known rappers such as Mike Jones out of Houston and Lil Jon.
With the success of their first single, it’s sad to say that D4L’s debut album, Down For Life, is not such a hit. With the exceptions of “Laffy Taffy” and maybe the harder track, “Bankhead,” the rest of the album starts sounding the same after the fourth or fifth song. To be honest, the whole thing sounds like it was made on an Atari Playstation. The beats are repetitive, the snaps get a little annoying, and the lyrics aren’t that intriguing.
It is a shame that a group with such a popular first single doesn’t have an album to back it up, though that does seem to happen a lot with new artists. Still, it seems that with the emerging popularity of Snap music, this won’t be the last we hear from D4L.
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