Dark Days, Bright Nights

by Bubba Sparxxx

Overview

The notion of a corn-fed white boy from rural Georgia boasting mic skills that could rival any member of the Cash Money clique may give you pause. But Bubba Sparxxx is the real deal, and the skills the Dirty South's fastest-rising star displays on his impressive debut transcend the publicity spin on his backwoods upbringing. Dark Days, Bright Nights -- the flagship release on Timbaland's Beat Club label -- finds this 24-year-old bringing a sense of street credibility to the truck-stop nation with his honest storytelling, Too $hort-esque bravado, and '94-era OutKast bounce. Throughout the disc, Sparxxx makes no bones about his hillbilly heritage, which is evident on tracks such as the frenetic first single, "Ugly," and the autobiographical "Well Water." And with the invaluable sonic backing of beat wizards such as boss man Timbaland and Atlanta's Organized Noize, he seems destined to reach the same heights as Everlast or Eminem did before him. Bubba Sparxxx invites B-boys and good ole boys alike to unite as one hip-hop nation under a groove. Everybody, let's get ugly. Ron Hart

Product Details

Release Date:	10/09/2001
Label:	Universal Import
UPC:	0606949312428
catalogNumber:	9312428
Rank:	79063

Tracks

1. Take Off
2. Ugly
3. Any Porch
4. Bubba Talk
5. Lovely
6. Betty Betty
7. All The Same feat. Backbone and Sleepy
8. Get Right
9. Open Wide feat. Sebastian
10. Infected
11. Twerk A Little feat. Timbaland
12. Take 'em to the Water feat. Duddy Ken
13. Well Wat
14. The 1st Whutchacallit
15. Bubba Sparxxx
16. Regardless feat. C.I.
17. If It's Bumpin' feat. Kosha of Stonewall and Bo Hangin'
18. Dark Days, Bright Nights

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bubba Sparxxx   Primary Artist
Larry Gold   Cello
Gerald Hall   Vocals
Tweet   Background Vocals
Timbaland   Background Vocals
Emil Koshan   Track Performer
Scott Storch   Keyboards

Technical Credits

Larry Gold   Arranger,String Arrangements
Gerald Hall   Engineer
Aaron Mills   Drum Producer
Organized Noize   Producer
Timbaland   Producer
Billy Odum   drum programming
Senator Jimmy D   Engineer
Drew FitzGerald   Art Direction
Michele Michou Robinson   Executive Producer
Steve Penny   Engineer

Editorial Reviews

Bubba Sparxxx is a great idea executed pretty damn well. He's the redneck version of Eminem, a talented bubba sponsored by a great producer (in this case, Timbaland), given a lively soundscape as a background for his semi-autobiographical humorous sketches of life as who he is. Sparxxx is neither as nimble a rapper as Eminem, nor is he as imaginative, so this doesn't have the impact of either the Slim Shady LP or Marshall Mathers LP, but Timbaland is an exceptional producer who can give a gifted, but limited, MC like Bubba Sparxxx a huge boost by simply giving him music that sounds good. And that's the case on Dark Days, Bright Nights, since it has a dexterous, adventurous production that gives the album a real boost. Sparxxx himself is pretty good -- his voice tends to blend into the mix a little too much and he's not as imaginative as, say, Pete Nice, MC Serch, or, yes, Eminem, but he never stumbles, either. So, the album winds up as a solid debut -- nothing is as good as "Ugly" (it'd be hard to top those ethereal wordless backing vocals, regardless of how good the rest of the album was), and it ultimately runs a little too long, but it still is better than most rap debuts of 2001, not just because of the mastermind of Timbaland, but because Bubba Sparxxx is still a strong focal point, even when he tends to repeat himself.

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Standing at the forefront of the post-Eminem wave of white rappers, Sparxxx debuts with a wildly energetic, Timbaland-produced romp that evokes the imagined ring of a Middle Eastern alarm clock.

Entertainment Weekly - Craig Seymour

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