What is The Sound of Revenge? Well, judging from Chamillionaire’s album of the same name, it’s a dry inflected rap sound that’s aggressive and strong. It’s clear on several track that the influence is Houston legends the Geto Boys, with Scarface guesting on “Rain”.

But there’s also the sing-song style of 50 Cent, and while “Radio Interruption” might say “This is for the streets/Not just for the radio”, the likes of mega-sized hits “Ridin” and “Frontin” are pure radio-driven ear-pleasers designed to find a spot on the dial, rather than actually do anything remarkably outlandish.

With big names like Scott Storch on tap for the likes of “Turn It Up”, the Beat Bullies end up handling six of the fourteen tracks (not including an into and outro) over the course of an hour and a bit. “Grown and Sexy” is as dirrrty as is to be expected on an album such as this, but the cool synth line that runs under it is the lynchpin that guides it.

Natalie adds a great sultry vocal on “Think I’m Crazy”, and The Sound of Revenge is a better album in its second half than in the first, where the album is overloaded with pop hits like “Ridin”. Chamillionaire is at his best when he’s using wordplay rather than sing-song rhythms, and telling stories. He’s a talent, but The Sound of Revenge tries too hard to be too many things to so many people.