In Brief

* Kane & Abel, “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?,” No Limit/Priority. Guest appearances by Mystikal, Snoop Dogg and Master P overshadow the twin brothers on their second album. Hackneyed verses about weed smoking, seduction and hard-core posturing trip over meandering piano and hollow synths. Add a contradictory concept of ghetto spiritualism (“Only God Knows”) and the result is some agonizingly uninspired gangsta rap.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).

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Hear the Music

Excerpts from these albums and other recent releases are available on The Times’ World Wide Web site. Point your browser to: http://161.35.110.226/soundclips