Ghetto Hymns

A former member of Teddy Riley's R&B supergroup, Blackstreet, Dave Hollister was recruited by the Def Squad after he decided to make a go of a solo career. Joining up with the Squad gives Hollister a certain amount of street cred, but it also has other benefits--such as getting Squad member Erick Sermon to produce three tracks and Redman to produce another (albeit the intro). With his set of pipes, though--high, pleading, and wrought with emotion--Hollister might not have needed the hook-up. He moves a little fast sometimes, as on "Round & Round," where the backing vocalist is "taking off your clothes" and asking to "sex you from head to toe" before the first verse even starts; on "Came in the Door Pimpin'," the implication is that he's not even willing to wait that long. There's also some sweet doo-wop, though it shows up only on a throw-away interlude ("Cheaterlude"). Overall, the songs don't always live up to Hollister's voice, but he's able to raise even the most mediocre material into something serviceable; hopefully, he won't always have to. --Randy Silver