Boyz N Da Hood

Bad Boy CEO Sean “P. Diddy” Combs is no less than a rap mogul. On the surface, he may be all style, complete with Armani suits, Versace shades and a dapper persona. Underneath, however, the Harlem World hitmaker is as gangster — in the slick mafioso sense — as they come in New York City, and the latest project from Bad Boy Records proves as much. Combs introduces the world to Block Entertainment’s Boys N Da Hood, a collective of Atlanta rappers (Young Jeezy, Jody Breeze, Duke and Big Gee) destined to change the crunk image that now pervades the Atlanta scene. Inspired by the legendary gangsta rapping of N.W.A. (for whose first single the group is named), BNDH’s lead single, “Dem Boyz,” serves as the starting point for this 16-song disc, with Jody Breeze unabashedly rapping on the hook: It’s the boyz in the hood/Sell anything for profit/Five in the morning/On the corner, clocking/Yeah we roam/But dare a nigga try to stop it/And you can get it anywhere, anybody. Featuring production by hip-hop mainstays Jazze Pha, Frannk Nitti and DJ Toomp, Boyz N Da Hood is as unpredictable as any given day in the ’hood, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.