You Can't See Me [PA] * by John Cena

It's easy to dismiss athletes who claim to be musicians, particularly if said jocks are professional wrestlers. But World Wrestling Entertainment grappler John Cena's recording debut, YOU CAN'T SEE ME, is an impressive foray into the world of hip-hop. Rap fan Cena boasts an organic flow that seems far beyond any shtick concocted during a marketing session. Backed by Tha Trademarc, he bobs and weaves among funky samples of KRS-One, Killah Priest, and Eric Clapton throughout the home-city shout-out " Beantown, " and rocks a West Coast groove on the thumping " Summer Flings. " The WWE champ also holds his own working alongside rap legend Freddie Foxxx (AKA Bumpy Knuckles) on the rubbery funk of " Flow Easy " and hard-edged " Bad, Bad Man. " Cena, who refers to his devoted fans as the Chain Gang, is never far from his man-of-the-people persona. The Massachusetts native incorporates crowd noise from one of his matches into the party anthem ...
Overall John Cena's album was both a pleasant surprise and a let down at the same time. I expected a corny, half-assed album from John Cena but it actually turned out to be not much different from anyone else's rap album. The tracks were mixed very well and everything was put together professionally. The let down was that Cena didn't do most of the rapping even though it was HIS album. Another let down was the mellow tone of the whole album. I expected to hear the intense John Cena that we see on SmackDown! every week. I think that his freestyles from 2003 were actually better than a lot of the lyrical work on the album. Despite the flaws though, the album was very solid and I actually think it's worth the money. When I first listened to it, I told people that Macho Man's album was better. But after listening a few more times it actually grew on me.. John Cena is no Tupac or anything but the album is no worse than the majority of albums out these days. Unfortunately, I don't think he has too many possibilities for hit singles. The possibly hits on the album are "Our Time is Now", "Right Now", "Beantown", and of course, "Bad Bad Man".