Forever in the looming shadow of B-Real, Sen Dog is the other MC from hip hop royalty act, Cypress Hill. He’s had his share of side projects, but he’s almost twenty years in the business when he lands with his first solo record. Diary of a Mad Dog is unfortunately named and even more unfortunately bloated. At sixteen tracks spanning more than an hour, he already has the unenviable task of finding a memorable voice but also needs to do so with consistency over a long haul. Sen Dog could have used a more judicious editor, but even more so, he could have benefited from more time spent searching for innovation.
Opening with the dashed-expectations anthem, “Fumble,” Sen Dog spits choppy rhymes against a Pharmacist Chris rock n’ roll-flavored beat not far off from early Linkin Park. The lyrics aren’t terribly unique or hard-hitting (“So I pray to the Lord all day/Please help me change my ways/I know that I did wrong/Gotta be some better days”), but Sen Dog’s hard rock flow gives it a down-turned immediacy. He probably learned how to do that well with his punk/rap fusion side project, SX-10. Next up is “Capo,” a more Cypress Hill-styled number, detailing a paranoid, everyone’s-out-to-get-you mentality. It’s a prosperous if not terribly inventive effort, but strong enough to warrant a few spins. But this solid one-two punch promises a lot more than the album delivers from here out.
The terribly-titled “Biggy Bang” is a standard issue socio-political tirade, but with lyrics that will send eyes rolling if taken at face value. “Who the real deal and what can you trust in/Not this country’s perception of justice/In the republic for which it stands/Been f--kin’ pissed on by the f--kin’ man.” And, of course, the chorus features the goofy “biggy bang” as a stanza stinger again and again. “Jugger” is a brief-lived bright spot, but mostly due to the 70s funk-n’-soul beat. Positioned at track six, it’s the point on the album when you begin to realize that Sen Dog probably isn’t going to broadcast a unique new voice. He has skills, but not much to make him stand apart from a sea of other untested MCs. After “Jugger,” you begin to wish that B-Real would show up…or just feel a need to swap this out for Black Sunday.
“What What” is one of the only first half tracks to expose Sen Dog’s Latin roots: opening in Espanol, running through Tony Montana’s motto, spitting Spanglish phrases and getting help from Mellow Man Ace (Sen Dog’s brother and Reyes Brothers partner). It’s not a great cut, but at least it sounds authentic. “Hood Rat Love” also gets the treatment, but the looping electric piano is its only selling point. The "ho holla" refrain, “You’re my nasty little girl, my hood rat love/Freaky little thing, my hood rat love,” is just cringe-worthy. And the shadow of Cypress falls too hard on “International.” Its “kill a man” and “membrane” shout-outs just bubble up memories of early hits that can’t possibly find favorable comparisons.
Too much of the middle section of this album is relentlessly half-baked West Coast gangsta rap noodling. The song titles don’t hide this M.O.—“Backin’ Up My Gang” and “Don’t Sleep on the Streets,” especially—but it’s never easy for an MC nearly two decades in the business to keep painting urban life with fresh perspective. Worst of all is the decided lack of proper chronic bangers; Sen Dog seems to be too preoccupied with violence to get nicely toasted now. “Let’s Roll” even finds him reproducing embarrassing DMX-style barking. If it was shameful when DMX did it, what chance does an imitator have?
If Sen Dog uses this opportunity to vent frustrations and try to find a voice, more power to him. But Diary of a Mad Dog fails to make him stand apart. The best moments typically flashback to former Cypress Hill glory and almost every effort to step away from B-Real just makes his approach seem all the more paint-by-numbers. Cypress Hill’s buzzworthy status originated from the nasal, smoky-room paranoia of B-Real’s style. But Sen Dog sounds like any other cookie cutter rap voice. He’s just another veteran in desperate need of better material.
"Diary of a Mad Dog" is on sale September 30, 2008 from Suburban Noize.
