Young M.C.

From the bright, cute funk of "I Come Off" to the Q. Jones Jr.-cowritten "Just Say No," he's just too clean. His polysyllables and quick lips aren't as fresh as he thinks they are, either. Much more than his East Coast counterpart the Fresh Prince, though, he has his own sparely hooky musical style--courtesy Matt Dike, Michael Ross, and the usual panoply of pop-funk geniuses past. Has his own style as a writer, too, summed up pretty well in the title--he's not a storyteller, he's a wordslinger. Fun fun fun until daddy takes the contract away. (Grade: B+)