"Never Change [Clean] [Edited]" (12/04/2001) R&B Mexican, South Park, Dope House RecordsPersonnel includes: SPM, Baby Beesh, Rasheeda, Uchei, Coast, Ayana, Russell Lee, Icee Hot, Roger Tausz, Wally, Pete Camarillo, Marilyn. Producers: Happy Perez, Jamie Ortiz, SPM, Delwin Bell. Engineers include: Shadow Ramirez, Jamie Ortiz, Jose De Leon. Personnel: Marilyn, Ronnie Spencer, Russell Lee (vocals). Introduction by: Marilyn. South Park Mexican (SPM) continues to polish his sound with Never Change, his most crafted album yet. The Houston, TX, rapper/producer does almost everything on this album with the exception of a few outside producers and some vocalists on the album's many hooks. It's the outside vocalists who characterize this album more than anything. SPM hasn't changed much as either a producer or a rapper -- his trademark snail-paced, low-toned idiom and his mid-tempo, sparse tracks are highly evident. What has changed, though, is the way SPM emphasizes the vocal hooks -- they anchor each of his songs, with Ayana handling most of the hooks. Overall, Never Change sounds great. SPM's music has never been this crafted. However, it's also just as formulaic as it is crafted. Sure, SPM has perfected his craft, but he's also fallen victim to its confines. He seldom ventures into new territory and seems overly content polishing up his trademark sound. And that's unfortunate because as crafted as these songs are, they're also a bit too routine. Nonetheless, even if many of the hooks are as catchy as hooks are intended to be, it's worth repeating that this album sounds great. Songs like "I Must Be High" are among SPM's best, and the inclusion of a few screwed songs is also nice, particularly since they're distributed throughout the album and since they fit into the album's sedate tone. ~ Jason Birchmeier Houston, Texas native Carlos Coy, alias South Park Mexican, creates an eclectic and ambivalent mix of dangerous, misogynist raps and pro- and anti-drug cuts (in a previous, teenage life he was a drug dealer) that are often as menacing as they are entertaining. Tracks such as "Habitual Criminal" and "I Must Be High" are hard, truthful slices of Houston gangsta life (the latter with the refrain "I know that I must be high so that I can function") that reveal the pain and the attraction of the thug lifestyle. The backing tracks here are simple and spare, serving to highlight some incisive lyrics ("everybody knows that my back is not dry, if you say it is you are just a damn lie," from "Mexican Radio"). Though many of the raps cover familiar ground, cuts such as the apocalyptic opener "Screens Falling" and the aforementioned caustic "Mexican Radio" make NEVER CHANGE worth the price of admission. South Park Mexican (SPM) continues to polish his sound with Never Change, his most crafted album yet. The Houston, TX, rapper/producer does almost everything on this album with the exception of a few outside producers and some vocalists on the album's many hooks. It's the outside vocalists who characterize this album more than anything. SPM hasn't changed much as either a producer or a rapper -- his trademark snail-paced, low-toned idiom and his mid-tempo, sparse tracks are highly evident. What has changed, though, is the way SPM emphasizes the vocal hooks -- they anchor each of his songs, with Ayana handling most of the hooks. Overall, Never Change sounds great. SPM's music has never been this crafted. However, it's also just as formulaic as it is crafted. Sure, SPM has perfected his craft, but he's also fallen victim to its confines. He seldom ventures into new territory and seems overly content polishing up his trademark sound. And that's unfortunate because as crafted as these songs are, they're also a bit too routine. Nonetheless, even if many of the hooks are as catchy as hooks are intended to be, it's worth repeating that this album sounds great. Songs like "I Must Be High" are among SPM's best, and the inclusion of a few screwed songs is also nice, particularly since they're distributed throughout the album and since they fit into the album's sedate tone. In the end, Never Change is another impressive effort for SPM,