April 12, 2005 - As part of a genre saturated with gangster, Mafioso-type personas, Nitty strays from the popular mold of the hard-edged New York street emcee. Many of his upbeat, curse-free jams toe the line between R&B; and hip hop, both stylistically and in substance - the entire track list distinctly aimed at a female crowd.

Putting out an album full of feel-good, dance floor bangers is all good, but too often Player's Paradise tries too hard to be happy and ends up knee-high in sap. "Hey Nitty" closely mimics the pop jam "Mickey" by Toni Basil. To his credit, Nitty delivers an airtight flow in spite of the claps and corny 80's instrumental. Next comes "Nasty Girl," a single that goes even further into the past, borrowing and twisting the chorus to "Sugar Sugar" by The Archies. The classic love jam that started "Sugar, oh honey honey" becomes "Honey, I got a lot of money." Pretty sure that one example is enough to prove the point.

Corniness considered, though, nearly all of the 12 tracks are danceable. Even when Nitty tones down the silliness on "Sorry" and "Fly," the smoother, R&B; grooves keep things catchy. Player's Paradise may hold extra appeal to those who don't like getting down to more explicit club singles. Explicit is relative, though, since the majority of the album is packed with sexual innuendo despite leaving out the curses.

Definitely Download:
1."Sorry"
2."Fly"
3. "Nasty Girl"

Overall Score 6.0