Trina: Diamond Princess | Music Review

MUSIC ALBUM REVIEW

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Trina
Diamond Princess
*

by Sal Cinquemani on August 24, 2002
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It's hard to decide what's more reprehensible about Trina's Diamond Princess, its utter lack of social significance or that it's completely devoid of any sense of fun or irony. While it's no shock that Trina's rhymes are unabashedly derivative of Lil' Kim's forthright cum-hither sex-talk, she lacks the Queen Bee's charisma and the tongue-in-cheek appeal that makes Kim so damn likeable. Trina's voice is abrasive at best (see the aptly-titled "Nasty Bitch" and "B R Right") while the album itself is weighed down by second-rate, Timbaland-copycat production (the tabla-infused "How We Do?" and "I Wanna Holla"). Even when Missy Elliott mans the boards on the album's lead single "No Panties," the results are less than stellar; the track isn't even remotely as erotic as guest artist Tweet's similarly-themed hit "Oops (Oh My)." Other good names (Eve, Ludacris, Fabolous) have been tainted by Trina's crass sophomore effort as well. Key embarrassments include the oh-so-artfully-titled "Kandi" (a lazy replay of New Edition's New Jack Swing classic "Candy Girl") and "Get This Money," which replicates portions of Gloria Estefan's "Conga." The virtually unlistenable Diamond Princess, in which Trina thanks "Jesus!" (her Pimp Daddy, perhaps?), is probably the most uninspired hip-hop record of the year.

Label: Atlantic
Release Date: 2002