'Machine' not ready for the mainstream

It's a shame that southern hip-hop is now being represented in the mainstream by yell-rap artists such as Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz, Ying Yang Twins, Lil' Scrappy, YoungBloodZ, etc., who bark at you until you're forced to admit they're hard, either because you believe them or because you can't take their raspy commands anymore. \nAll the while, Cee-Lo's first single off Cee-Lo Green Is the Soul Machine, "I'll be Around" featuring Timbaland, is a bouncing, soulful four-minute tour through the real south, which hasn't seen a lick of MTV or radio airplay around these parts. \nBut then again, maybe Cee-Lo is just too unique for radio play. You never know where his songs will go next. He's a walking, loving, singing definition of "eclectic," as he blends the old with the new and the new with the unheard. \nCee-Lo brings in fellow southern super-producers Timbaland and the Neptunes on a handful of occasions ("The Art of Noise," "I'll be Around," "Let's Stay Together"), and each are successful in providing beats as unique as Cee-Lo's presence. This isn't to sell Cee-Lo's own production short, because his sound triumphs on more than one occasion. "I Am Selling Soul" takes you on an expressway of disco-funk, then halfway-in suddenly shifts to the darkest depths of Cee-Lo's thoughts. \nCee-Lo at times comes off as one tough cookie on tracks like "Scrap Metal" and his album art has him staring mean-mugged through shades. On "Glockapella" he gets defensive, citing at the beginning, "I will invest four minutes exactly/for everyone who has the audacity to attack me!" It's tough to take him seriously, and you shouldn't. He's a big ol' love machine, and on "All Day Love Affair" we catch him at his happiest, as he sings to his muse over a joyful chorus of brass. \nIt's impossible to describe Cee-Lo's delivery. Many times, it's as though his lyrics are being spoken right as they come to his head, from, of course, the soul. He raps, he sings and sometimes he just preaches over a running beat. At times, the album appears as though it isn't even finished, as he is still scrambling to figure out just what he's thinking. But he eventually convinces listeners there may never be a definitive answer. Cee-Lo just does what feels right, and in the end the results are simply beautiful.