Ascending from rural obscurity, rapper Bubba Sparxxx attempts to make an impact with Dark Days, Bright Nights, the first album to be released on hip-hop super-producer Timbaland's new label, Beat Club. Haling from Athens, Ga., Bubba, the latest white rapper to make it into the limelight, raps with a self proclaimed "southern drawl." While comparisons to fellow white rapper Eminem are almost inevitable, Bubba fails to transcend those resemblances. Although his rhymes can be entertaining, like on "Well Water" and "Take Off," the majority of the content seems like regurgitated Eminem-esque themes of drugs, poverty and misogyny. Even with those limitations, Dark Days, Bright Nights highlights some lyrical promise for Bubba, as it is quite audibly accessible.
The CD's true lure is from Timbaland's high-quality production, partially saving this LP from absolute mediocrity, although not saving the album from Bubba. Bubba seems to have been holding his mentor Timbaland's hand throughout the whole project, and relies too heavily on beats to make songs work. While Dark Days, Bright Nights is surprisingly tolerable and even catchy at times, we've heard it all before, only with elevated creativity and more bleached-blonde ferocity.
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