David Banner

Anticipation was high for David Banner's fifth studio album. His blend of political commentary and razor-sharp wit has made him one of the premiere hip-hop artists of his time, but The Greatest Story Ever Told represents an unfortunate turn in his focus. "Suicide Doors" and "A Girl" see Banner creeping towards the sensibilities of some of his dirty south brethren–grungy, slow-like-molasses club tracks that rely on tired puns that interchange the language of cars, sex and money.

There are moments of clarity, but when the best moment on an album comes in the form of a skit, you know there's an inherent flaw in the album. It's only in the one minute and ten seconds of "Syrup Sipping" that we get what we expect from Banner: "What's crazy to me is we then subliminally became what they think we are anyway." That's pretty much as good an explanation for the last five years of southern rap as there’s ever been, and it almost makes you glad you sat through the first half of the album to hear it. Almost.

—Nathan Atnikov
07.14.08