Sean Paul’s subject matter proves to be very limited as evidenced on the album’s three opening cuts. On “Ballin Baby”, “I’m Hood”, and “Icy White Tees” he and company don’t do anything to step outside of the typical street hustler’s mentality, however the bassy production proves to be the saving grace on all of the tracks. “Rockstar” though still conceptually in line with the rest of the album is a definite highlight due to its eclectic hallucinate sound bed. The album’s first higher profile guest spot comes on “Like This” as Trae shows up by way of H-Town and laces the track with a much appreciated and different swagger. As soon as the album seems like it’s about to fall all the way apart Sean Paul enlists the professional help of crooner Lloyd on “They Aint Shit” which by its ending catapults the track to the forefront of the rest of the album. “Do My Thang” suffers from an overly annoying hook, plus weak production making it a definite fast forward candidate.

Fans of the Youngbloodz will definitely appreciate this collection from Sean Paul. Those outside of the fan realm will definitely look down on Hood Anthems and cite its lack of creativity and integrity as major dissatisfactions. As noted earlier Sean Paul doesn’t even attempt to speak on any socially conscious issues, instead he simply uses nearly perfect production to further employ the “hustle ‘til you die” mentality so prevalent in urban America today. The bottom line is, yes Sean Paul comes with a sonically appeasing piece of work, however the end result will definitely be a bad look for some of his unsuspecting and uneducated listeners.

VERDICT – 11 / 20
LYRICS: 2
PRODUCTION: 4
DELIVERY: 2
CONSISTENCY: 3