Oh, to be young and rich - the hallmarks of the American Dream. Hip hop seems to relish in the idea of it. Not that other genres haven’t ever flaunted their extravagant lifestyles, but rarely do you hear rock stars, folk singers, or divas crooning about how much money they have throughout an entire album. Isn’t that part of the charm of some emcees though? MIMS proved, single-handedly, that you can rap about essentially nothing and still make a sufficient single. And the Shop Boyz are out to prove that they just might be hot too.On their debut album Rockstar Mentality, the Shop Boyz gloat about their 26″ rims, party-til-they-drop lifestyle, and countless women. That’s it. Seriously.

Rockstar Mentality is something of a meta-album - entirely aware of its existence and completely self-referential. The Shop Boyz are young and rich so they decided to make an album. On said album, they rap about being young and rich. It’s a sonic mindfuck, equivalent only to John Malkovich crawling inside John Malkovich.

But for all the superfluous “we so icy” rhymes, the Shop Boyz have managed to make one of the most genuinely fun albums in quite some time. Recalling the unabashed charm of little Cash Money tykes, the Hot Boyz, the Shop Boyz (note the similarity in their names) aren’t creating beef or talking about how lyrically unstoppable they are. They just like having money.

Rockstar’s opener “Party Like a Rockstar” thumps alongside a palm-muted guitar riff and, strangely, unobtrusive percussion. This is the first of a number of tracks that dedicates itself more to the guitar than drums. And even though it might be expected from the title, the album fully commits to the rock-and-roll mindset and compositions - something no hip hop act has done since Run DMC.

So when they say Rockstar Mentality, they mean it. “Rollin’” is one of the most disorienting songs in hip hop history. Reminiscent of contemporary country, though more accurately a throwback tribute to the Rolling Stones, the track’s chorus is immediately grating but will quickly grow on you and have you throwing out your worn out copy of Sticky Fingers.

And if you didn’t believe that the Shop Boyz have literally nothing to talk about, look no further than their second single “Totally Dude.” Half of the chorus from the aforementioned debut single “Party Like a Rockstar” is indistinguishable members of the group screaming out “totally dude.” Self referential? Malkovich in Malkovich?

But for as much fun-loving, rockstar-partying antics of Rockstar Mentality, this type of music simply has a ceiling. No album that has this little to say can ever be great. Outside of wanting to impress the high school girls nearby with the 28-speaker custom soundsystem in your car, the Shop Boyz have little to no use. But that doesn’t mean they won’t sit alongside the Cash Money Platinum Hits disc on my shelf.

by Chris Gaerig

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