Localized Babah Fly

It's refreshing when hip-hop artists subvert the stereotype of egotism and are able to prove their worth through music instead of lofty talk, but unfortunately, local MC Babah Fly doesn't do this. At all. Opening his new album, Electro-Sufi, with the help of fellow hip-hop artist Apostle, the sidekick describes Fly as a "real ladies' man" and as "real hip-hop/he wasn't perpetrating a fraud," all while shit-talking 50 Cent, and continues the unnecessary ego inflation on "Apostle Is Crazy." It would be one thing if he lived up to this own praise and gave the listener a reason to believe his trash talk had legitimate backing, but regrettably Fly falls short in the authenticity department.  

While his chilled-out and smooth beats are catchy enough, Fly's rapping is often too incoherent and monotone to understand. His lyrics might be good, but it's hard to tell, since the rapper speaks through the filter of what sounds like the MC's tongue pushed up against the roof of his mouth, leading most tracks to sound like, well, babble. The album gets stronger as Fly recruits the help of Mike Wird, Ahmad, and Raashan for tracks like "Season's Changing," the guests bringing spirited and enunciated vocal inflections to themes of positive social progress.

Still, a few talented guest stars aren't enough to redeem the album as a whole, which ends with the bland "Warning," featuring shimmery piano samples and a female voice cooing behind Babah Fly's muddled vocals. The track ends abruptly mid-beat, without even so much as a fade-out, but a fitting end to an overall disappointing and uninspired album.  Babah Fly may be a "ladies man" as his first track so boldly asserts, but he should work less on seducing the ladies, and more on seducing his audience.  

A.V. Club Grade: C-