Possessing a gift of style and delivery, Loon’s
self-titled debut album is probably the best production ever
released by Bad Boy Entertainment. P. Diddy’s fetish for
Harlem rappers has brought us Loon: a slow-talking rapper whose
style is suspiciously like the departed Mase. The stylistic
similarities between the two are so striking that they cannot be
denied. P. Diddy, executive producer of the album, patchworks
Loon’s tortoise-like delivery with rapid-fire beats to
essentially create a “Super Mase.” It’s kind of
brilliant in an odd, sort of Frankenstein way.

The single “How you want that” with Kelis
isn’t that good when compared to the rest of the album.
“Between Us” and “Hey Woo” are more solid
tracks. Perhaps at the album’s apex, you have “Things
You Do,” effortlessly showcasing Loon’s crawling lyrics
while Aaron Hall croons in the background.

Without a doubt, there is a barely contained enthusiasm in this
album. Through Loon’s 19 tracks, there is only but a handful
that don’t have P. Diddy’s voice in them. You can
literally hear the associate executive producer of the album
saying, “Make sure we get P. Diddy’s voice saying
‘Bad Boy’ and ‘Ungh!’ in this track.”
Loon had to overcome the fact that he was essentially a new artist
who sounded like Mase. He doesn’t just succeed in carving his
own niche and proving his worth — he triumphs.

Loon Loon

Bad Boy Entertainment

Rating: 3 1/2 stars.