Beauty Party

Beauty Party, the second instalment of eccentric hip-hop agitator Mike Ladd's Star Wars-esque Infesticons Vs Majesticons trilogy, finds the fictional scourge of the rap galaxy, the bling bling obsessed Majesticons, nursing egos and replenishing cash reserves after their defeat at the hands of the pure of rhyme Infesticons in episode one, 2000's Gun Hill Road. If the Infesticons are rootsy hip-hop heroes, the Majesticons are Cristal-drinking thug rappers who rate dollar bills above artistic integrity. Hence Beauty Party is pure hip-hop excess, where every track is quite literally a party. From the slamming "Intro Party", through to the self-satisfied R&B of "Platinum BlaQue Party", the men shout about how much they've got and loathsome women brag about how they're going to relieve them of it.

With the cynical ladies of "Parlor Party" sneering "Beauty exists on the inside, who told you that ma, they lied", there's no doubting that the Majesticons are intended as Ladd's damning indictment of big bucks hip-hop and all who feed off it. The only flaw in his plan is that they're also masters of inventiveness and addictive tunes, and as such almost heroic. The Pet-Boys-referencing-R&B of "Brains Party" delivers the most seductive of smooches and "Helicopter Party" sounds like Sly Stone cruising in outer space. Meanwhile, the sci-fi bleep funk of "Fader Party" could have them mistaken for the Neptunes' underground cousins, which can only be a good thing. --Dan Gennoe