My Ghetto Report Card

Editors’ Notes On My Ghetto Report Card, E-40 and his “Yay Area” crew of associates and guests make the game sound more fun than grim. Most of the album works bare, thumping beats for all the clout that can be wrung from them. “Go Hard or Go Home” welds together an Art of Noise sample, human beatboxing and 808. In other spots, minimalist string parts are brought on board. E-40’s chanted hooks (“Tell Me When to Go,” for one) and occasional speed rapping alongside his usual conversational flow are also designed to keep the ear perked. His expansiveness allows for plenty of changes on the usual street tales; in addition to dealing weight, there are odes to “Muscle Cars,” money-counting (“Gouda,” which makes it sound as catchy as a new dance craze) and a shoutout to the same the-CIA-brought-rock-to-the-hood theory that Kanye West laid out on “Crack Music.”