Sandman
““No Secrets, No Lies””
(Lifestyle Records)
Sandman hails from Minnesota, and his lyrical style shows the influence of fellow Midwesterners Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Bone never really did anything for me, but armed with the rapid-fire, sing-song flow that BTNH made famous, Sandman puts together some real bangers. “Whut You Gone Do…” and “Are You A Rider?” (with Slink Capone) are solid tracks, even if they offer nothing new to the aging genre of gangsta rap. “Redrum II” is a catchy song based around hallucinogenic images, and “Lets Ride” is a smooth rap, even if it does take time to decipher Sandman’s hyperactive rhymes. The best track, however, might be “Untitled,” an honest discussion of a relationship gone wrong. “No Secrets, No Lies” might be a better album if a few songs (especially “In The Mood” and the Prince-biting “Darklight”) had been dropped, but on the whole, the album is definitely worth checking out.
