The Realist

Atlanta DJ Kizzy Rock is every bit the realist that the title of his third album suggests. Loaded front to back with easy to remember chants and woofer-rattling bounce beats, this collection never pretends it's going to move minds as well as behinds: It's from the club, for the club, and most often, about the club, as nearly every song references some aspect of Dirty South nightlife. The lyrical content rarely gets much deeper than "Girls in the club/Get yo hands up" and the other call-and-response favorites featured on "Step! (Who Run This?)," which features labelmates and frequent guests the Ying Yang Twins, while most of the tunes seem to be built around same couple of catchy but well-worn basslines and synth licks. Yet this is one of those rare cases where such single-mindedness pays off; the similarity of the melodies and rhythms means the album plays for long stretches like a single song, but since it's a song expertly calculated to pack and maintain a dancefloor, the repetition isn't a huge flaw. And on the notable occasion where Kizzy does change things up — the midtempo R&B of "Flexin'" — he also acknowledges the darker side of the guest list at his endless party, filled with con men, groupies, gold diggers, and gangsta wannabes. That realism is welcome; the rest of The Realist is pure escapist fun.