Rating: NNNN
Redman’s made several questionable power moves since Y2K (Right Guard Sport deodorant ads, the movie How High and “Christina Aguilera featuring”). But on his own records, Reggie Noble’s don’t-give-a-fuck MO has remained largely intact for the last 15 years, and on Red Gone Wild, hiphop’s veteran rudeboy improves on his last album, 2001’s shaky Malpractice. Sounding refreshed, Redman spatters a blunted barrage of his trademark non sequiturs, perverted pop-culture shoutouts and self-deprecating boasts (“My doorbell is rubbing two wires together”) over taut, bulky funk bass lines supplied by Timbaland, Erick Sermon and Rockwilder among others. Devoid of filler and pop vocalist appearances, Red Gone Wild’s a solid surprise for fans who thought the Funk Doc’s career had gone up in smoke.
