Chemically Imbalanced [] [PA] (CD - 2006)

Personnel: Keith "Lil Wonda" Duplessis (keyboards); Joe Tomino (drums).

Audio Mixers: Joel Mullis; Ray Seay; Billy Hume.

Recording information: Bionic Entertainment Studio, Atlanta, GA; ColliPark Studio, Atlanta, GA; Landmine Studio, Atlanta, GA; Platinum Sound Recording Studio, New York, NY; The Zone Studios, Norcross, GA.

Photographer: Michael Blackwell.

After getting a taste of mainstream success, as have the Atlanta duo Ying Yang Twins, many hip-hop acts are faced with a dilemma: how to please their original fanbase while at the same time expanding their appeal. On their fifth studio release, CHEMICALLY IMBALANCED, the Twins have come up with a compromise. As Mr. Collipark explains on the intro, the first half of the album is "for the diehard Ying Yang Twins fans," while the second half, influenced by East Coast producers Wyclef and Jerry Wonder, is "a little different, somethin' a little more musical for y'all." Kaine and D-Roc still bring it with nasty, booty-shakin' rhymes over the signature neck-snapping crunk beats, and their Patron-sippin' club musings-- "Watcha call big booty girls in line?/The march of dimes, the march of dimes"--are as infectious as ever. At the same time, slower smoothed-out tracks like "Take It Slow" and "Family," as well as undeniably catchy bounce beats like "Dangerous," present listeners with a new, more radio-friendly sound.

Mr. Collipark explains it all in the "Intro." The first half of Chemically Imbalanced is for the longtime Ying Yang Twins fans and goes for that strip club thump. The second half "makes it a little musical for y'all" with the help of Wyclef and Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, the duo who brought you the Shakira hit "Hips Don't Lie." In other words, this is effectively two EPs stuck together, an album that takes a massive turn in the middle, and a release that tries to please everyone, including the Ying Yangs themselves. Listening to a track as rich and Sly Stone-flavored as "Family," it's easy to hear that the Twins are anxious to explore new avenues, but they're just as enthusiastic when delivering the first half's stream of club tracks, of which the infectious "Jigglin" is the best, although "1st Booty on Duty" deserves special mention for title alone. The tricky beat on "Leave" and sexy single "Dangerous" are also noteworthy, and if it sounds like the second half of the album is the winner, it's not, since its tracks would make more sense on a real, flowing full-length, as the half-and-half format actually serves the simple, party-minded first half better. Making this frustrating release even more so is the "One Mo for the Road" skit, which infers the two are in for an extended break and all this growth won't be panning out anytime soon. To their credit, no one could have mixed these two sides of the Ying Yangs in a sensible way -- at least not with this selection -- and the only way the "Intro" could have warned the listener any better is if it had been titled "Warning." While Chemically Imbalanced can't decide if it's a home for the Wyclef singles, a haven for the experiments, or a plain old "return to form," the highlights are worth hearing and justify this scattershot placeholder's existence. ~ David Jeffries minimize