CD Review: Music Is My Savior by Mims

In the intro of Music Is My Savior, the debut album from NY rapper Mims, he talks about how music saved his life and kept him “in the right place at the right time.” The title of the album shows how thankful he is that music kept him from a rougher, potentially sadder way of life. Hearing something like that at the beginning of a debut album really makes you hope that the album will be something special. Unfortunately, that's just not the case.

Music Is My Savior isn't as bad as some would lead you to believe. However, it isn't that good either. It's an album that lies smack dab in the middle. There are times when he's pretty decent and there are times when he's almost embarrassing. The end result is something mediocre.

There are some good things about Music Is My Savior. The album's two singles, “This Is Why I'm Hot” and “Like This” are both fun songs. The part of “This Is Why I'm Hot” where various regions are referenced musically (with small clips from songs like “Jesus Walks”) is clever and helps the song stand out. “Like This” is just a nice little club track.

There are also some other good tracks. “Doctor Doctor” has Mims talking to his psychiatrist about his problems. The beat works well with the material. On “Don't Cry,” the album's outro, he talks about his life. The first half of the song, where Mims raps over some sparse piano, works really well. However, once Purple Popcorn enters the picture, the song becomes a little overblown and cheesy. Still, it's one of the album's better tracks.

For the good tracks on Music Is My Savior, there are also some annoying ones. The worst songs on the album are cursed with really weak hooks. If you thought the chorus to “This Is Why I'm Hot” was bad, you'll want to run from tracks like “Superman”: “Hold up / Wait / Look up in the sky / It's a bird / It's a plane / No it's me cause I'm fly / I'm fly / I'm fly / I'm fly....” Then, there's the awful “Big Black Train,” where Mims croons: “Shorty wanna ride / Don't worry about a car / Cause we can take a ride on my big black train....” Other tracks like “Just Like That” don't make much of an impression.

Music Is My Savior may not end up being the worst hip-hop album of 2007, but overall it's an underwhelming debut. There are some nice moments on this album and some songs I wouldn't mind listening to again. However, they are overshadowed by the good amount of bad or just unimpressive tracks. Also, it doesn't help that Mims doesn't have a distinctive flow. There are times when he sounds too much like other NY rappers, particularly Jay-Z. If Mims can distinguish himself more and focus more on his lyrical content, then he just might make a good album instead of a so-so one.