Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

This part of the Bad Boy family is one standout son. G-Dep has the good flow and rhythms that will make him famous on his own. Child of the Ghetto is an excellent debut album for the very real and raw rapper. It features a unique street ghetto sound that endows the album with an authenticity, without all the hoops and whistles of a commercial mainstream hip-hop number.

G-Dep possesses a very genuine sound with his syncopated rhythmic flow. Child of the Ghetto is filled with hip-hop tunes that capture a very real flavor. "Special Delivery" and "Blast Off" are very catchy up-tempo tunes that have a good kind of grittiness. "Whatever Man" is a smoother, slower, in-your-face position piece with an appealing beat. Other tracks with very unusual flows and layers are "I Want the World to See" and "It's All Over" which both have crisp choruses. A surprising track with a twist on a familiar note is "One Way", which plays with Blondie's "One Way or Another" in the chorus.

Fellow hip-hoppers show G-Dep their Bad Boy support by having guest spots on the album. Artists such as Rakim, Shyne, Kain, Loon, Black Rob, P. Diddy, Carl Thomas as well as others are featured on the CD. "Keep It Gangsta" including Shyne provides the album with a darker urban sound. "Fuck on the First Night" is another outstanding cooperative effort, and the remix of "Let's Get It" with P. Diddy and Black Rob is a treat with effortless flow and rhythm. The lines and beats of collaborations such as these only add to the style of the album.

G-Dep shines with his unique brand of urban hip-hop with great beats and even better collaborations. He even remarks about his legitimacy; "It's authentic, don't be fooled/ by these phony accusations…" However, G-Dep has no need to worry about haters hollering about his drift or that he's not real. He has plenty of talent to bring to the Bad Boy family and his authenticity is as clear and noticeable as his rhythm.