He has a new record, Tarantula, in stores on December 18, but Mystikal seems to still be living by the title of one of his old songs, “Ready to Rumble.”
On the LP’s first single, “Bouncin’ Back (Bumpin’ Me Against the Wall),” the New Orleans MC, who served in the Army during Operation Desert Storm, expresses his patriotism and his outrage against terrorism.
“The hook is like, ‘You keep bumping me against a wall,’ ” said the Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams, who co-produced and sings on the track. ” ‘Yeah, I know I let you slide before/ But until you seen me, trust me/ You ain’t seen bouncin’ back.’ He’s talking about [Osama] bin Laden’s people…. That whole crew who has America on their hearts and have been trying to hurt us and sorta disband us.
“When he says ‘Bouncin’ back,’ he doesn’t mean we’re striking back,” Williams added. “He just means getting back in the stride of things and healing. It’s not necessarily about the war aspect, but just the American self-esteem and the American morale – raising it back to what it was before. America’s bouncin’ back. It’s gonna take so much more than anthrax to wipe us out, and blowing up our planes.”
The Neptunes, who infused jazzy horns to give “Bouncin’ Back” a 1920s New Orleans ragtime feel, also take it back to the old school with the potential second single “Go Head.”
Singing with a high-pitch ’50s doo-wop flow, Williams soulfully croons, “Go ‘head/ Go ‘head and move it, bay-beee/ You got em watchin’… / Don’t you stop it, bay-beee/ You got me soooo.” Meanwhile, with his thick, raging Cajun accent, Mystikal rhymes about lust at first sight, which eventually turns into a love jones when he hooks up with his “BM,” or baby’s mother.
Mystikal not only hits Juvenile up for guest vocals but for a beat as well on “Settle the Score.” The two N.O. native sons talk about getting retribution on those who wronged them.
“F
ing right, I made the beat/ And I wrote this rap,” Juvi boasts before promising to leave greedy foes lying on the floor in a fetal position. Although Juvenile has complained that his label cheated him out of money, on “Settle the Score” he seems ready to move on. “Am I hating on Cash Money?/ Nah, stop playing/ I respect it how it came/ Now I gots game… / I don’t need a record deal/ Just give me my props.”
On the title track, the self-anointed Black Prince of the South rocks over producer Scott Storch’s West Coast-flavored synths, shouting that when it comes to the bedroom, he rules the roost. “Pu
Crook” is just as unwavering in sexual frankness. Somehow, as Mystikal rhymes about the power of his loins, you get the feeling that the “Pu
Crook” doesn’t run in the same circles as that other lovable thief, the Hamburglar.
Redman and Method Man also headed into the studio for Tarantula, but according to Jive, their DJ Twinz- and Rockwilder-produced track may not be included. Rock’s production will definitely be heard elsewhere on the LP on “Oooo Yeah.” The track-making team Medicine Men also checked in behind the boards for the album.