Everything about PHENOMENON (the production, the samples, the guest appearances) tells you that LL intended it to be a blockbuster release, one that confirmed his position as the one old school rapper who was still very relevant in his second decade as a performer.  The album was a commercial success, but it artistically fails to satisfy.  LL obviously spent a lot of time putting the disc together (with every production trick in the book), but failed to project much energy in the writing and performing areas.

He sounds flat out exhausted on the title track (#55 Pop, #16 R&B, #14 Rap), which also suffers from possibly the most repetitive hook that LL has ever committed to vinyl.  Several songs suffer from overobvious samples (as is the case with "Candy" and "Hot, Hot, Hot"), while other tracks ("Nobody Can Free You," the whiny "Don't Be Late, Don't Come To Soon") are blatant copies of songs from MR. SMITH.  The hit "4, 3, 2, 1" (#75 Pop, #24 R&B, #10 Rap) features plenty of guests (Redman, Method Man, Cannibus, and DMX all contribute), but the disjointed track has no central melody and sounds like four different songs stitched together.

On the plus side, "Starsky & Hutch (with Busta Rhymes) and "Wanna Get Paid" are energetic and fun, and the hit "Father" (#18 Pop,  #12 R&B, #1 Rap) is a real classic.  With the combination of a haunting instrumental (a sample from George Michael's "Father Figure," used very effectively) and LL's intense performance and lyrics, "Father" is the only track on PHENOMENON that truly can stand next to LL's best work.  Nearly everything else is misguided, at best.
Everything about PHENOMENON (the production, the samples, the guest appearances) tells you that LL intended it to be a blockbuster release, one that confirmed his position as the one old school rapper who was still very relevant in his second decade as a performer. The album was a commercial success, but it artistically fails to satisfy. LL obviously spent a lot of time putting the disc together (with every production trick in the book), but failed to project much energy in the writing and performing areas. He sounds flat out exhausted on the title track (#55 Pop, #16 R&B, #14 Rap), which also suffers from possibly the most repetitive hook that LL has ever committed to vinyl. Several songs suffer from overobvious samples (as is the case with "Candy" and "Hot, Hot, Hot"), while other tracks ("Nobody Can Free You," the whiny "Don't Be Late, Don't Come To Soon") are blatant copies of songs from MR. SMITH. The hit "4, 3, 2, 1" (#75 Pop, #24 R&B, #10 Rap) features plenty of guests (Redman, Method Man, Cannibus, and DMX all contribute), but the disjointed track has no central melody and sounds like four different songs stitched together. On the plus side, "Starsky & Hutch (with Busta Rhymes) and "Wanna Get Paid" are energetic and fun, and the hit "Father" (#18 Pop,  #12 R&B, #1 Rap) is a real classic. With the combination of a haunting instrumental (a sample from George Michael's "Father Figure," used very effectively) and LL's intense performance and lyrics, "Father" is the only track on PHENOMENON that truly can stand next to LL's best work. Nearly everything else is misguided, at best.