by Leo Stanley
Despite their best efforts, the trio of Mass 187 turns in a standard gangsta rap record with their debut Real Trues Paying Dues. Mass 187 fancies themselves social commentors -- gangsta reporters, if you will -- so their songs should, in theory, be more incisive and insightful than their gang-banging brethren. You could assume that would be the case, but you would be wrong. Mass 187 is by-the-book gangsta -- after all, their first single is "Gangsta Strut," which is hardly an indictment of the pimp lifestyle, is it? Sure, the Houston-based trio can rhyme with dexterity and they know the G-funk when they hear it, but if you just want to hear some beats, there are better places to go.