MIMS isn't the next Jay-Z or Nas by any means; he lacks the character of better, more seasoned MCs.However, MUSIC IS MY SAVIOR does show that if you can look past its flaw, MIMS has some potential. Unfortunate for MIMS, rap may be suffering to too great a degree that him and Rich Boy (two rap debut acts of 2007), maybe too little too late. However, with the ubiquitous airplay of "This Is Why I'm Hot", MIMS may stand a chance to raise rap sales, though the numbers are questionable.

After an appropriate enough intro (other than the rediculous rhyme MIMS cooks up), "It's Alright" opens the album up pretty well. It isn't "stellar" by any means, but it is pretty good. The track is pretty well produced, though it does have the slightest bit of a generic feel. MIMS as an MC isn't incredibly agile and being from NY, he has major competition from the best MCs in the East Coast Game (Jay-Z, 50 Cent, etc...) All in all, "It's Alright" is alright. The track is followed by the Billboard #1 Hit "This Is Why I'm Hot". Sure, it is a fine enough track, but there have been stronger rap tracks that NEVER reached the summit on the Billboard Hot 100. I'm sure we all wished T.I. could've made it past his #3 peak with "What You Know" or Ludacris's second single "Runaway Love" featuring MJB could've inched up one more spot to the pinnacle. However, "This Is Why I'm Hot" is a good, if self-indulgent, banger for the clubs. Odd for me is the interpolation of "Jesus Walks" (Kanye) within one of the verses... I mean, did he really have to sample something that was most likely already sampled? But it isn't a bad track.

"Girlfriend's Favorite MC" features one of the most clumsy lyrics I've heard for a while: "I milk the cow, I'm a farmer". What a come-on. It isn't a horrible track, but you can tell it is going to be a bit awkward from the beginning. The production is notable enough, but it is a bit overproduced where "It's Alright" (for example) felt a bit underproduced, "cheap" sounding. The guest vocalist sounds good here, though again, the production doesn't feel balanced and the song is rather unmemorable. "Where I Belong" features a soul sample supporting MIMS's East coast vocals. The production is fine and the track isn't bad, but it is a bit bland. "Cop It" is a production must-hear with its Left-Hand piano bass hit and whacky synths surrounding banging drum programming. The track isn't the "second coming" but it is worth a couple of listens.

"Big Black Train" once again features experimental production work in which you can't quite place who the producer is. Whoever it is maybe receiving a couple of calls after people hear this track. Again, MIMS isn't really appealing as an MC, but the overall sound of this track is what saves and makes it. "They Don't Wanna Play" featuring Bun B and Seed

is a production masterpiece but a collaborative disaster that you know is going to fail from the start. "Like This" is repetitive and corny, but a better listen than a number of other tracks on this ultimately mediocre effort. "Just Like That" turns out to be a "machismo" heavy track asserting MIMS's bravado, which you as the listener to a "new" rap artist has to ask the question, 'why is MIMS setting himself as a veteran in the game?' At least the production and the hook are good.

"Without You" features LeToya (Luckett), who sounds a good as ever. The mellow edge of this track is appreciated after the hardcore-feel of "Just Like That". There have been much better rap/sung collaborations but the track is quite listenable and actually pretty lovely. "Superman" is a production showcase but it actually stands out as one the best and corniest tracks on MUSIC IS MY SAVIOR.

"This Is Why I'm Hot [Remix]" features Junior Reed and Baby Cham in one of the most manic remixes I've ever heard! It features an out-of-tune Junior Reed in what during the hook turns out to be a "bi-tonal" duet with MIMS. Hott Mess, is what it should've been entitled. "Doctor, Doctor" proves to be a better track in which MIMS's flow sounds a bit patterned after Jay-Z and actually comes over as first rate. The production work is hot with the sample and it is one of the few outright tracks I can say I was impressed with. "Don't Cry" featuring Purple Popcorn is certainly ambitious, if it just misses the mark of its target by just a bit (and not all that much, actually). The finale, "I Did You Wrong", ends the album up-tempo and on a pretty high note.

Overall, I didn't think MUSIC IS MY SAVIOR was terrible, but I did find it flawed in certain respects. Overall, it is solid, which is a plus. I recommend the following tracks: "It's Alright", "This Is Why I'm Hot", "Big Black Train", and "Doctor, Doctor". There are a couple of good secondary picks as well such as "Cop It", "Superman", "Don't Cry", and the finale, "I Did You Wrong". I don't think MIMS is quite "Hot" as he proclaims in the lead single from the album, but I do think that with more "study" within the rap game, he might actually be a truly serious, credible MC one day. 3 stars.

Mims is straight up garbage! You dont have to take my word for it but take time to look at these verses and judge for yourselves. Hip Hop Laughables from Mims: Superman:"Some say Im fly/ they say Im the best/ catch me in the sky with the S on my chest/ chicks call me Superman/ super duper lover/ Just in case it rains keep the Coupe De Ville for covers"

Chorus for Big Black Train: "Shorty wanna ride/ dont worry bout a car/ Cause you can take a ride on My Big Black Train/and we gone be rollin rollin rollin/ choo choo chooin/ NY ATL LA Houston"

Cop It: "Yes its me/ the underestimated MC, So ill with the flow/ that I need a MD"/ "Somebody call a doctor/ I make em all sick/when I hop out the phantom of the opera"(???)". "Now gimme my space/ Im out of this world/ N***** tryna get a nut/ but Im a very big squirrel"(Oh come on! That doesnt even make sense! But then again he does kind of resemble Dale from Chip and Dale) Im Microsoft Mims/ I rock with Bill Gates/first week shipped a mill out the gate"(that remains to be seen)" You bulls*****n / Im talking what I could do/ Mims is hotter than cooked food" /"Wow thats real/ Ya'll ice grilled/ Im laughing all the way to the bank with a nice meal". Need I write more? As you can see he has the most corniest rhymes since Jibbs and most of his rhymes dont make any sense. There's nothing I could say about this album that Chandler, Anthony Rupert and Norfeest havent said so I wont go into detail. There's at least 3 decent tracks on this album, Doctor Doctor, Where I Belong and They Dont Wanna Play(the saving graces of that song was Bun B). The rest of this album is unwashed crusty booty. The first single, This Is Why Im Hot sounds like a track Yung Joc would make and while Like This has a catchy club beat, that track is beyond cheesy. Superman is easily the worst song on this album and tracks like Girlfriend's Fav MC, Cop It and Big Black Train are so wack they make me laugh till my ribs ache.

Bottom Line: Misery Is My Soulmate oops I meant to say Music Is My Savior is a shoe in for one of the worst releases of 2007 by a rapper who set New York back a thousand years with this album. Corny rhymes, decent beats, just a waste of good cd space period. I seriously question your sanity if you give this album more than two stars. If music is Mims's savior then he needs to convert to atheism because music has forsaken him.

MIMS - Music is My Savior (Capitol, 2007)

Earlier this year, there was speculation on who would bring hip-hop back to New York where it all began. Then Shawn Mims came with the single, "This is Why I'm Hot", which although contains the worst lyric of 2007 ("I'm hot cuz I'm fly/You ain't cuz you not"), was catchy enough to have the streets buzzin'. But once Music is My Savior dropped, so did the buzz. This album ain't hot and this is why, this is why:

MIMS goes through every song with played out thug-isms like pushing nice whips, pulling easy honeys, and challenging wack rappers in his spare time. It also doesn't help matters that on occasion he sounds like Jay-Z. But once he starts quipping medicore metaphors like on "Just Like That" ("I'm looking for that sunshine/But I ain't Lil Flipper/Yeah I'm a star/But I ain't the lil dipper") it's a wrap. Junior Reid and Cham barely save "This is Why I'm Hot (Blackout Remix)" but this album is still a bust. So much for the New York revival as this album proves that wack rappers don't just reside in the south, they're all around us. -EJR

i could never imagine that a song like "this is why im hot" could hit the radio.cuz after 50 cent i was feeling like it couldn t get worst in rap game.this is the worst rap album of all times, this guy raps like a retard, and its a shame he is still going to make a living from this album even from that crapy single. cuz this is not a rap, probably not even a music, i hope

this guy will soon die in a way that he deserves.

I HATE THIS ALBUM SO MUCH "F" THIS CD IT IS A WAIST OF GWOCK. I HATE HIM HE SUCKS VERY BAD HE NEEDS TO STEP HIS LYRICS UP A LOT. A VERY BAD ALBUM DO NOT GET THIS EVER DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.