Sunny Ledfurd liken themselves as the Lynyrd Skynyrd for the new millennium and when judging by the sounds of this, their major label debut, that's a claim that could justifiably be argued in favor of. Hailing from the unlikely city of Gastonia, North Carolina, the bands sound is fundamentally a hybrid of rap and metal that crosses bluesy southern rock with a blend of hip hop that suggests influence from both the dirty south and southern Cali g-funk sound of old; making them much like a cross between Kid Rock, Pimpadelic, Snoop Dogg, Tupac and late 70's southern rock.

Band frontman Dugi can bring to mind the likes of Kid Rock crossed with the Kottonmouth Kings, delivering emphatic rhymes and soulful croons as the music shifts from traditional hip-hop beats to rap-rock and even a touch of electronica. However, the guitar playing is in contrast fairly traditional and suggests a lot of influence from traditional rock and metal, while solid funk tinged basslines fill in the blanks underneath, keeping the songs consistently flowing at a regimented pace. Drum wise the album is packed with versatile hip-hop oriented beats that aren't necessarily technical, yet do still motivate the tracks to progress onward at a steady pace with ample variation. Meanwhile, the sampling/programming is the element which plays perhaps the largest role in the bands sound, adding in parts that truly shape the songs with an ever present extra auditory dimension that can materialize in the form of everything from synth driven ambiance and sub rattling bass drops to smooth Dr. Dre reminiscent hip-hop beats and disjointed throbbing 80's tinged electronica.

A few things tend to unite each song together on this album, the most prevalent of which seem to be the bands fondness of bluesy melody and their constant partying atmosphere, not too mention the often seedy lyrical content which usually centers around drugs and pimping. There's a definite charm to a more than a few songs on here and in their favor, each track tries to accomplish something different, usually through drastically different styles. At its heart, the album is a combination of rap and rock, but thankfully the groups influences aren't worn too prominently on their sleeve, suggesting only faint traces of other contemporary acts. Without question it is the crafty electronic aspects of their music that pushes them apart from the pack, which when combined with their diverse tastes, helps to bolster their sound into something that is fairly unique. Featuring the sounds of steel drums, acoustic guitars, early 90's hip-hop reminiscent 808 bass drops and much more, this 5 piece are quite eager to ambitiously push the boundaries of the rap-rock genre. Unfortunately though, the album does contain a lot of obnoxious lyrical posturing that may turn off the more conservative people instantly. This factor also tends to rob the songs of any deep meaning, which in the long run, suggests that this album will not possess a lasting impression in the CD collections of many. Another strike against it is that its a bit quirky and disjointed with its all encompassing approach on combining different styles, something that may disorient listeners who aren't fans of the various genres that are stuck together. Aside from all that, its a catchy outing, but in the end result is still rap paired with rock and though the band have successfully put their own fresh spin on it, its really nothing that hasn't been done before.