Ying Yang Twins

When a cut off an upcoming album that’s just supposed to be a filler track is leaked to the masses on the Internet by some unscrupulous insider, one would expect that either heads would roll or shoulders would shrug. But when said song winds up in steady rotation on Top 40 and urban radio stations across the country, the only conceivable response would be a resounding “fuck, yeah!” So saith the Ying Yang Twins, whose “Wait (The Whisper Song)” went through the above leakage and subsequent bumpage. The second album on the TVT imprint (fourth total) from the Atlanta duo finds Kaine and D-Rock intent on distancing themselves from the crunk craze that the Peach Tree City has become famous for. Still, “Wait,” together with the other tracks of the album’s sex-themed core (“Pull My Hair” and “Bedroom Boom” plus several “Sex Therapy” skit sessions), are the reasons U.S.A. is viable. The intoxicating, crude and crass single uses the virtually unprecedented combination of whispered verses over a minimalist beat, easily making it the album’s showcase cut and overshadowing more earnest attempts at social commentary, i.e., the lament “Long Time,” featuring Anthony Hamilton, and “Live Again,” which has Adam Levine of Maroon 5 awkwardly singing about the bleak life of a stripper. Although the Ying Yang Twins want to prove they are more than just booty-club rappers, this album will ultimately be judged on the success of the lead single, which, to say the least, fits the profile of a booty-shaking song.